Reptile & Amphibian Forums

AS it says, long time reader and I've got loads of information from this forum - much obliged. I am an owner of an 11 month old male Cali King. Bit jumpy still but I believe he'll calm down. A very good feeder since day one - He's 3 ft long already!

However the past month his feeding has been very erratic. He didn't eat for about two weeks before a shed, then ate one fuzzy and refused then for another week. I checked with the shop I got him in and they said to adjust the temperature and to make sure it is constant temp at night and during the day. I did this and he started to feed again but he's refusing again. The day temperature is 26C and night I drop it to 22C which he seemed a lot happier with. When I came home last night he was curled up at the cool end of the viv, when I dropped the temp to 22C he got a lot more active and started to climb around .

So should I drop the day temp to something a bit lower approx 23C? Is he preparing for brumating/hibernating?? Not sure if kingsnakes do this. He is still very alert and active and doesn't look like he's losing any weight so is it Winter kicking in?

Any help/advice is much appreciated I'm sure someone will be able to help.

About half of my 1 year olds will respond to seasonal changes. It's possible to continue with the erratic feeding patterns or, if the snake is healthy, cool him/her for a couple of months. Pretty much your choice here.
Yes, kings will certainly brumate and next year, I'd just plan on the snake shutting down in October/November/December.
The pet store advice was not out of line, 80 degrees is a comfortable temp (night time cooling is up to you, I skip it) and for cooling 60/70 is fine, with 60/65 for breeding purposes.
Jeff

If he is already 3ft at 11 months it will do no harm to miss a few meals. Are you sure you are not over feeding?? I got my Cal at 1 year old and it was not much bigger than a hatchling. I got her at a great price at a show from a reputable breeder and he said she was not a big eater but was healthy and robust just small. That was 3 years ago and I have noticed a definate pattern with her. She eats like a starving horse in the spring and early summer, levels off to normal diet in late summer and then completely turns her nose up at all food beginning in Sept and fasts untill mid March. This is without any other changes to temp, housing, handling etc. That is just how she feeds and she is doing fine with it. Lately I have been giving her as much food as she will take in during her ravenous periods (I feed appropriate sized rats) and then however much she wants during her leveling off periods and now I have her cooling in the basement during her fasting time. Most people would consider it power feeding to be feeding her every 2-3 days in the spring but given she will volutarily fast for about 6 months out of the year. The total number of food items over the year would not be alarming. This is the first year I have given her all she would take and while she has put on some girth and length I have not seen any signs of obesity at all. I do not know if I am doing the right thing or not, the snake appears healthy and happy. She is about 31/2-4 ft long and the girth of a little more than a quarter, not a bad size for a 4 year old cal. My point is that some Cals will go off feed for long periods regardless of what you do with temps and such with out any harm. Then there appetites will return with a vengence so don't worry. As far as being jumpy, they usually do start to mellow out a lot at about 1 year old with regular handling. I never thought mine would ever be handlable but she is now quite good although she will still chomp me occasionally out of the blue. I think that is just the nature of the Cal King beast.