my cali king has been a very picky feeder since i got him, he wont eat in shed, and he likes to play with his food and push it around, it has been about 2 weeks since he ate last..im not sure of his age, i think 2 years tops, maybe a bit older could this be because he wants to breed? the temperature has changed a bit in the house, so i have a feeling the snakes know the cold is coming.
i also have 2 corn snakes and last night when i put the cali king in the bin to feed, he just roamed around and showed no interest in eating.. so then i handled him for a few minutes and put him back in his tank, i took out the corns and the older of the two got put in the bin with her mouse, the first thing she did was roamed around the bin very fast!..this is a big bin 45 QT so she has alot of space, but she was acting as if she was being chased around the bin, i read in the cornsnake book this is what happens in mating, the male will chase the female...
so for the first bit she also showed no interest in the food and just seemed to be looking for the snake that was in here a few minutes ago, i have introduced these snakes a few times when i had them both out, i know kings will eat other snakes but my cali just doesnt seem to have it in him..he is very shy.. anyway she roamed around looking for another snake, then i finally got her to eat.
my questions are..is the king old enough to breed? should i try to breed them this year? the corn is old enough and large enough.
can the males leave a smell behind that she would pick up on? he is not losing any weight so im not worried yet about his vast..i am just thinking he wants to breed any help is appreciated (i know many people on here dont agree with hybrids but i wanted to make some my self eventually. so i think this would be a good oppertunity as both snakes seem eager and ready (the corn went off feed same time as the king but she ate this week)thank you for your time and sorry this is so long
Snakes
