Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here's my problem eater- I got her Labor Day at an expo and gave her a few days to settle in.

She ate a f/t pinky- struck at it and took it from the tongs, but seemed to have trouble with it and took a half hour or so to completely eat it (not a size issue, she got the head down, then started constricting the body, etc).

For 6 weeks since then she's refused everything, f/t live, brained, parts, even parts of a worm snake that got run over in my driveway. I tried force feeding the worm snake tail, she bit at it when I shoved it in her face but spat it out, even when I tried pushing it down her gullet a bit.

I have left her pretty much alone other than a photo session, moderate to low traffic area,protected from inquisitive felines. I have offered food with various techniques weekly.

She did shed about 3 weeks after I got her, perfect shed... and still appears healthy, although other hatchlings I got at the same time are twice as big now (I have 4 other snakes I keep in pretty much the same conditions, all are eating and congenial to handling.

She has a nice 10 gal tank, mulch substrate, UTH pad, warm end at 88 degrees, cool end at 73 degrees, hides at both ends but she spends a lot of time under her water bowl in the middle or somewhere else in the mulch.

Only other thing I have seen listed here to try is cooling and then trying her appetite... ?maybe some "Lizard Maker"? Anybody have any other ideas?

I sure wish there were a source of mail-order baby lizards!! We do have a few skinks around my house in the suburb here but I laugh when folks say to catch enough babies to keep a snake fed, they are scarce and very wary.

-JAC

There are often feeder lizards available in the classifieds. But I've heard of gray bandeds preferring ground skinks more so than an anole, so if I were you I'd try to feed it a couple ground skinks, then start feeding it skink scented pinks.
Michael
Michael's Place

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www.freewebs.com/mikesnake
Michael_Fedzen@hotmail.com

If she is under the waterbowl a lot try adding a small tupperware box half filled with wet moss. Under the bowl will usually be the highest humidity option available in a cage. Your snake does appear to be either slightly underweight or slightly dehydrated.

Is under the bowl the "tightest squeeze" available to her for a hiding spot? They love close quarters hide spots. My group love piles of corrugated cardboard.

If you can take the 88 degree high temp up several degrees with out heating up the whole cage I would do that also, and make sure she can take heat while hiding under something. Most kingsnakes seem to prefer thermoregulating from a safe sheltered position. Go figure?? LOL... Good luck

Good news-

"Stormy" ate a well-brained f/t pinkie tonight- first meal in ?7 weeks? and only her 2nd since I got her!

No real reason for suddenly eating... I was pretty persistent in presenting the pinkie...

I did bring the hot end a little warmer, but no other difference, I guesss she just got hungry enough... now I wonder how long until the next meal?

Stormy contines to eat brained f/t pinkies, more easily each time, so mark this one down in the "happy endings" column...