Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I picked up a zonata (Coastal Mtn. King) hatchling at a show here in October. It hadn't fed yet, and after several unsuccsessful attempts to feed it, I decided to let the snake brumate. I checked in on her a few weeks back and she was emaciated. I warmed her up over about a week and, started force feeding pinkie parts, then switched over to mouse tails. She will now voluntarily eat mouse tails placed in her mouth, but will not eat totally on her own. She's tiny, I don't know if she could eat an entire newborn pinkie, and she has rejected them so far. Anyone have experience with fussy zonata hatchlings?

Once I get her eating, I would be interested in finding her a boyfriend. Who breeds Coastal Mtn. Kings? Mine is Santa Cruz Mtns. locale.

Greg

hey greg. i breed multifasciata and they can sometimes be difficult to start. i had a holdback female refuse to voluntarily feed for almost 6 months.shes slamming live pinks now. i'll start with the last resort,"ground skinks", if you can get them. i've never had a zonata refuse one. also some of them prefer to start on live. lizard scenting with a small washed pink or pinky head works sometime as well. i'm fortunate enough to have a couple of breeding colonies of deer mice as well as african pygmy mice and they work great because the pinks are tiny and smell different to them. drop me a line and let me know how she's doing.
take care
Russ

Thanks Russ,
I'll see if I can find some ground skinks. I have tried f/t pinkies, live pinkies, brained pinkies, lizard scented (anole) to no avail, but I'm encouraged by her now voluntary eating of tails placed in her mouth. Once I get her eating on her own, I'd be interested in talking to you about a male. Greg