Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a cali king that i got at the beginning of this year, he's about 22" now so i assume he's an '04. ever since i got him i've been reading this forum and he was nothing but perfect. about 2 months ago i fed him a large hopper and then he went into shed for a week or two. after shedding, he ate another large hopper immediately and then a small hopper a week later. that was nearly a month ago, and he has had no interest in food since. i've tried everything... from live and frozen hoppers to live and frozen fuzzies. he seems in perfect health but his personallity has changed completely... he used to hide and sleep most of the day but now he is constantly active trying to get out of his tank and sleeps on the top of his substrate. i've been keeping his temp regulated perfectly and i give him fresh water almost every day. im just hoping those of you with more experience can help me out..

-Mike

Whenever any animal changes behavior suddenly, especially if it becomes more active, something is usually up. (Yours is too young to have a breeding response, when they often go off feed.)

Are there strong odors near the cage? You sure? Good ventilation & such?

To go off feed, even for a few weeks, is very common for adults, not common for 1st-year juveniles. (I have one, also). And most snakes, especially juveniles, sleep in a concealed location. Rare is the snake that feels comfortable sleeping exposed in the open. They survive in the wild by being concealed.

If yours suddenly sleeps on the substrate, and is much more active, I'd investigate the possibility that something in its environment is agitating it.

Or, maybe just keep handling and the snake will resume feeding and do just fine within days. Either is quite possible.

Best wishes.

1st ... i'm no expert,

Bout two yr. ago i had this problem with an adult male cali king (round this time of yr.)... he eventually starting eating rat pinks (i just tried one day)... and after the winter was over he got back to his normal feeding regimen....

i'm having a similar situation this season with three male Brooksi...

the first male (adult) fed on f/t all his life... he stopped eating for about two months before i tried a live mouse and he took it perfectly... when i tried the f/t later... "nothin" ... tried another live with the following feeding ate that without a problem.

the 2nd male (adult) when i got him he took f/t ADULT mice with no problem... "loved them to death" ... after he bred this season... he stopped taking f/t adult mice, but strangely he'll take a f/t hopper, fuzzie, pinkie, etc...

the last male a yearling... never really been as strong of a feeder as my other Brooksi but never missed at least one meal a week... he hasn't eaten in about 3-4 months now...the strange thing is, he's become strangely aggressive towards me... i've had him from a hatchling and he's never even striked at me till now! i keep him hydrated (all i can really do)... last week i force fed him a pinkie (with hope that I stimulate his appetite) he took it and defecated (normal color, no unusually strong odor)... but this week he refused his meal again.

My conclusion.... it's the time of yr. It's breeding season so males go "wakko"

For your male i'd try feeding him a smaller f/t meal initially... if that doesn't work, try a live meal (smaller)

leave some time in btwn feeding if your try too often you may just stress the snake, and he mostly will take longer to feed

try leaving him in with a live pinkie over night (in a sealed deli cup)

if nothing works, cool him down for the winter... he should be "ready to go" after that

sorry for the ramble (hopefully the pix softened "the blow" a lil bit)... but i hope that helped in some way.

~ZF