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My friend just gave me a snake... she didnt know what kind of snake it was. She was told it was a milksnake, but I havent found a matching picture to what mine looks like on any site. I dont know much about snakes, or how to care for them. So I could REALLY use the help. Anyway, back to the problems. My friend couldnt tell me when it last ate (but it did defecate about 7 days ago if that helps?). I bought him a pinky to eat, to no avail. It sat in their for days quivering and was a terrible ordeal. What should I do to get him to eat? Also... I didnt have a wire mesh vivarium cover. So I have been using cardboard. But to keep heat in, I placed the light to shine horizontally into it. Today I noticed a blue coating over my snake's eyes. I was wondering what his meant? Could it possibly be cataracts from the angle of light? Also, I never notice it using the water dish, how do I know if its dehydrated? HELP PLEASE
This is a picture of him as whole. Hes about 10-11 inches long.

This is the best picture of his eye that I could take without it getting all fuzzy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Umm... the picture links didnt work... so let me try that again.
Fullfigure

Then the picture of just his eye

Lets hope this works this time...

I think the name is also Thayeri. You'll do fine.
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sue

You appear to have a milksnake phase thayeri kingsnake. It is called milksnake phase because of the perfect triads in it's pattern. Thayeri make great pets. I personally have Nuevo Leonis phase and Melanistic phase thayeri. They are by far my favorite kingsnake. Unlike Cal kings, they don't have the "I'm going to eat you" attitude when you get them out, and rarely musk or defecate on you. I would be sure that it is provided with a hide and a heat source. I use a human heating pad placed under 1/3 rd of the tank kept on low. As for light, kings don't need any direct light source. As long as they are kept in a room that gets varying degrees of light thru the day, they should be fine.

Mike

Thank you ...but what do the different phases mean?

The different *phases* are color and pattern types for a particular snake. A good page to look at that has pictures of thayeri color/pattern phases is at http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/thayeri.htm

This page shows the 3 basic phases of thayeri. A milksnake phase would be the one in the middle. The melanistic phase is the one on the left and the Nuevo Leonis phase is the one on the right. Milksnake phase tend to have much thicker saddles then the Nuevo Leonis phase.

Mike

Hey thats really cool of you, thanks Mike.
-Aaron

Ok...first off, don't panic! This is easier than you think.

He's probably drinking at night, when you're not seeing him. Snakes can be sneaky like that.

About not eating, don't worry about that yet. Snakes usually refuse to eat when they move to a new home. It can take them anywhere from a few days to several weeks before they get settled in enough to eat. Eating makes them defenseless and they know it. Also, if there isn't a proper heat source, most snakes will refuse to eat knowing that they wont be able to digest their food properly.

Screen lids are very inexpensive at the pet store...15 dollars or so for one that fits a 10 gallon tank. You should get one to make sure your snake does not escape. If he does, he'll be dead more than likely.

Also, depending on how warm it is there, you may not need a heat source for him until fall. I rarely see any of mine on their heating pads anymore. But, I would get an under tank heating pad for him...most lights wont put off enough heat, especially through glass.

About the blue eyes, that just means he is going to shed. The eyes will stay blue/dull like that for a few days, then go clear again. Several days to a week later, he will shed. It's good to have some humidity in the cage and a block of wood to facilitate proper shedding. Getting ready to shed is another good reason for refusing food.

Don't worry...you'll do fine!!

Also, you can tell if a snake is dehydrated by gently pinching their skin behind their neck...if it stays upright, they need more fluids. Giving them a gatorade soak will help. But, your snake looks perfectly hydrated from the picture.

Thank you so much It was a bit overwhelming... but it doesnt seem so hard now... and seriously, thank you!

Your snake probably didn't eat because it's getting ready to shed. Try again once it's finished shedding. I'm not the best at identifying snakes (at least ones that I don't own myself) but I believe your snake is a Thayeri (aka variable) kingsnake. Try to find a caresheet for Thayeri kingsnakes. I'd definately try to find a top that's more secure than cardboard. Snakes are very good at getting out of things and you don't want to wake up one morning and find it not in it's cage. Take care, Scott.

Thanks a bunch

the thayeri postocular stripe appears to be greatly reduced or missing in this specimen...could it be an intergradient with maybe mexicana or greeri?

Or...well...they ain't called "Variable Kingsnakes" for nuttin'....