Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 3 year old King Snake. It won't eat anything but crickets. I've tried to starve it for a few weeks and then introduce the small mice. I even tried meal worms. I've tried everything that the people down at Petsmart told me to do and it refuses to eat, except for the crickets. What else can I try and can it live on crickets. I'm afraid that it needs better nutrition.

Thanks.

A kingsnake that eats crickets? That's odd. Are you sure its a kingsnake? What kind of kingsnake is it?
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I have never offered a king snake crickets. Has it always fed on crickets only?what size is your king snake? Curious to see how much its growth has been stunted.

When I found my King snake it was just born. It was just a little longer than my finger. I took it in because the bug man just sprayed the playground I found it in. my snake has only eaten crickets because that was the only food source small enough for him to eat. You might not approve but I have tried everything to get this snake to eat a pinkie (both live and frozen) Right now I have a frozen pinkie in a cage and have crickets climbing all over it to make it small like a cricket. I dont need critisism i need help in getting my snake to eat something besides crickets. its been almost three months since its eaten anything.

Please post a picture of it. Does not sound like a kingsnake.

Kerby...
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Life is like a bunch of fish in an aquarium....we all get along (bonding) until I want to eat you....and I do.

Ok, here's a couple of pictures.
Link

Its a sand snake and it does eat crickets and spiders and scorpions. Its also an adult. Cheers

Thank you so much. Pet Smart said it was a King Snake. So my snake is OK? Where do I find more info on a sand snake. I have never heard of them.

>>Ok, here's a couple of pictures.
>>Link
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You mean this kingsnake coffee mug I got at the same pet store isn't a kingsnake mug either!!???

I thought pet stores always knew what they had???...

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

hahahaha Good one, Doug. They'd probably call a banded Krait a kingsnake too.

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Ok, so does this look like a Sand Snake to you?
Link

It looks like a Shovel nosed snake to me. If you found it in CA its most likely a Shovel nose. My friend had one he kept with his banded geckos and both ate crickets.
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Well I'm thinking there's a good chance that it's a type of snake that doesn't get very large and eats insects. If it was a King it would have grown faster and larger and would have eaten the baby mice.

What state was it found in?
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Southern California.

So far I have people that say it looks like a King Snake, Sand Snake and a Shovel Nosed Snake.

Tomorrow I'll get better pictures of it's head and post them.

OK well, then its definitely a shovel nose snake. I thought it looked like one. Its not a kingsnake, because a lot of or most of the brown bands do not reach the belly. Also the nose is very pointed, so they can swim through sand fast. And baby kingsnakes are usually 13" long when they are babies and I doubt they would eat crickets. Go to this link:

http://californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/c.o.annulata.html
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Thanks for the info and your help.

.......That's because it IS a Banded Sand Snake (Chilomeniscus cinctus). They are extremely variable and can range from black and white to black and red or black and orange/yellow, aor anything in between. They "swim" through the loose desert sand and eat insects they can sense on the surface, and under tight cover.

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Yeah, looks like one of those too. lol I have a hard time telling the difference.
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It can be VERY difficult to distinguish the two, especially with certain photos that aren't real close and detailed. It could actually be a Shovel Nose too Ross. They both look extremely similar and eat the same type of prey too as you know.

We all know what it definitley AIN'T, and that's a kingsnake..

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Ok, that makes since. It has to be a snake that doesn't grow fast or gets very large and eats insects. If it was a King it would have grown faster and would have eaten the baby mice. I would just like to give it something other than crickets, but it seems fine with them, it ate two today.

Sorry but I just clicked on thread and am a bit late. But yeah, that is definetly a shovelnose. One of the most common desert snakes in calif. They are extremly easy to keep and make hardy captives.

yours is a full grown adult.

Just keep them in sand (do not use beach sand!)and they will pop out and grab anything that moves by.

Also you need a undertank heat source on one end of the tank and a humid box. Do not use overhad lighting as a heat sourse as this will dehydrate them.

Here are some pics of mine. i bred than and have been keeping shovelnose for decades, off and on. It is good to offer them some other insect besides crickets all the time. They love wax worms, moths, spiders ect.

The babies they hatch out are super tiny and they will feed on pinhead crickets.

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Thank you. That's perfect. We now know what he is and can take care of him. I've had a couple other people tell me the same thing on the forum also. Thanks again.

Awesome!
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Dang man!,....that desert phase Cal. king is pretty skinny!

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

So, by the pictures you think it's a California King and not a Sand Snake?

Yeah, very thin, but definitely harmless. lol
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Tomorrow I'll post better pictures of its head. Maybe we can get this nailed down.

>>Tomorrow I'll post better pictures of its head. Maybe we can get this nailed down.

Read my reply above. I'm pretty sure I know what it is now.
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Here's some more pics. I don't think it matters what kind of snake it is as long as the diet is the same.
Link

Yeah, its a Shovel nosed snake.
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I'll accept that. Thanks for your help.

Sure thing. The sand snake I believe was only found once in CA near the AZ border, but that sighting is unconfirmed.
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Yes, it could be a Shovel nose too in all honesty, because it is very tough to make out the head in the original pics. Get some very good, detailed shots of the head and we can ID it for sure, because Shovel Nose Snakes also eat insects, spiders, centipedes, scorpions, and occasionally tiny reptiles.

Here is a Shovel Nose that could be what you have. It's one or the other though, but definitely NOT a Cal. king, or any other type of kingsnake........that's for 100% certain!

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Ok, great. Thanks for your help. I'll post better pictures tomorrow.

No problem. I am also now leaning towards it being a Shovel Nose as well after looking at it again.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Here's some more pics. I don't think it matters what kind of snake it is as long as the diet is the same.
Link

Yeah, I totally agree with Ross that it is indeed a Shovel Nosed snake (Chionactis occipitalis). Here is a link with a color-coded range map depicting where each subspecies is indigenous to.

~Doug

RANGE MAPS

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com