Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I have a recently acquired desert king. Its male, a little over three feet long. He was captured early last week, he's been here since friday. I have offered him both live and FT mice, he shows absolutely no interest, even left him alone for quite some time with the FT. I have tried feeding him saturday and today. How long should I give him before I start to worry? Is there something else I should offer him? I tried feeding him in a rubbermaid tub outside the enclosure, both with the live and FT and tried leaving the FT in his enclosure

could be his internal clock tellin him its time to shut down for brumation,kings esp. w/c ones will very often go off feed this time of year,i would suggest you get him to a vet for a fecal exam w/c kings usally have/harbor internal parasites that can overcome them in captivity due to stress,also some w/c's feed exclusively on snakes&lizards in the wild which is another reason cb is always better,,,,,good luck,,,,,,,
thomas davis

In your thinking.

Frozen/thawed are very convenient for you, but snakes don't normally eat dead food in the wild. Remember, he is wild-caught. (Try to imagine a thawed french fry on your plate; that's how your snake probably feels.)

At the very least, you will likely need to feed live house mice. You may also need to feed live reptiles.

He's had a taste of REAL food, not the bland, dead stuff thrown at them by hobbyists who depart from normal snake fare for cost & convenience.

If we keep them captive, we have an obligation to feed them their natural diet - and house them in adequate enclosures. (Not sweater boxes! Can you live in a closet??)

I offered live mice first, the FT was offered when he refused live just to keep my options open. And just so you know, if I can convert him to FT, I will, I'm not obligated to feed my snakes something that can injure them. Maybe you can climb down off of that sweater box and just simply suggest "hey, maybe he'll eat a wild mouse" in which I might likely respond "hey, I'll try that, thank you very much for the suggestion, thats why I like this forum, all the open minded people" And although I couldnt live in a closet, I'm sure my snake can, because thats where it is, in the closet, in a 2x2x6 foot enclosure in the closet. I didnt say that I kept him in a rubbermaid tub, but perhaps your paranoia didnt let you read far enough to see that the tub was used strictly for feeding, but then again, you didnt seem to notice that i originally offered live food, yet that was right at the begining of my post. I can only assume that you are someone from the school of thought that suggests reading between the lines but ignoring the lines themselves.
GOD bless and have a wonderful day