Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got an adult male Knoblocki mountain king at Daytona for my son this summer on Aug 15th. He has refused dead and live mice pinks, mice fuzzies, dead adult mice, and dead rat pinks. He has been offered food every 7-10 days.

Finally on Sep 28 I put a live anole in the cage, which he immediately chased down and ate.

Since then he has refused mice scented with an anole, refused a dead anole, and yesterday he refused a mice scented with a liquid call "lizard maker".

We are not experienced with Kingsnakes but I have read here that Kings will sometimes go off feed in the fall. I thought this may be what ours is doing but he wasted no time eating that anole.

Unfortunately I didn't inquire as to what the snake was eating when I bought it, just assuming that it was feeding on mice. I really don't want to have to feed him live anoles or snakes to keep him alive.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Jody Schaaf
Savannah, GA

Hi,
Most all adult mtn.kings will go off feed anywhere from aug.-oct., to prepare for hibernation. Your best bet will be to cool him for a couple months. If you have a place where he can be kept dark and at about 50-60 degrees for about 3 months, he'll probably come out with an appetite to eat. Good luck,
jeff teel

I can't be certain, as each individual snake can have individual traits quite separate from those common to their subspecies, but there are subspecies of Kingsnakes which prefer reptile meals to rodent meals.

Many owners & breeders have shared your frustration.

Generally, these types are not as well suited for mice:

Gray Banded
Mountains

Most other subspecies prefer variety (just like us!) including reptiles. Many individuals would eat only lizards and snakes if they had the choice. (It's for OUR convenience that we feed House Mice.)

It sounds like, especially after trying scenting, yours is a critter that really should be fed reptiles. I recommend exchanging it with someone who can provide a reptile diet for a specimen whose diet choices are better suited to your choices.