Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is the NutriBAC is good for my cal king?
He is now 3 feets long and nearly 2 years old.
He lacks appetite in this period. Someone recommended Nutribac for him, but I would like to hear from people that already tried giving it to their snakes

Thanks a lot!!

Usually around this time of year kingsnakes and almost all snakes go off feeding for a couple of months. This is called burmateing (hibernateing in simple terms) so dont use any of that fancy stuff just turn off the heat and let him hide till late febuary early march. It is perfectly normal for them to go off feed. When burmating them make sure they have pleny of water.

Thanks for your very interesting reply. And your king is very cute and beautiful. If you can, I would like your further help to answer some questions that I still have:

1. I live in Hong Kong. The temperture here is still around 20-25 degrees. I think that it is not cold enough for him to hibernation. (he is still very lively)

2. What temperature would let the king go to hibernation? What happens if he does not hibernate?

3. last year this month, in the same condition, he ate normally. why the hibernation happens this year?

4. This year, in the period from June to July, he refused food for one month without any disease. someone told me that it is kings' breeding time,
is that true?
Since then, he has sometimes refused food for brief periods. Is that normal for kings?
I also keep some other kings, one is a florida (1 and a half years old) and one is a black king(1 year old). they dont have problems like this, showing a very good appetite.

By the way, someone told me the NutriBAC is good for snake. Is that true? Any side effects to my snakes?

Thanks for your evident expertise

Your king is a nice one. Looks very robust. We know it isn't starving and certainly won't starve if it refuses food for the next few months.

This reluctance to feed by sexually-mature Cal kings is common in captivity. The way most keepers deal with it is to cool the snakes down to a range of 55-65 deg F (12-18 deg C). This way the snake isn't burning as many calories as leaving the heat on. The temp range given has been deemed safe by many. The coolest I ever went was 50 deg F for Cal kings, but only for a few weeks, then it was back to 55-60ish. There were no problems.

I know of a guy who did something out of laziness he will admit but turned out to be interesting. He kept a Cal king on their back porch with no external heat or cooling, only shelter from wind and rain. That is, the snake was subjected to the ambient temps of So Cal. That can mean 100 deg F or low 40s F where he lives. The snake is now 23 years old I think, with I think 12 of those years on that porch. It refuses food at certain times of the year but will eat at other times (like warm temps in Winter sometimes.)

I'm no expert, but from what I've read Kingsnakes ideal brumation temp is about 8 to 15 degrees celsius. As far as I know, they don't have to brumate unless you're trying to breed them next season. I've never heard of NutriBAC, so I can't tell you much on that, but try offering it smaller than usual prey. If it still refuses to feed, you may have to force feed as a last resort. From what I understand this is a delicate procedure and requires some study on the proper way to do it. I would personally take my snake to an experienced person to help me. Again, I'm no expert, I'm just an insomniac who stays up all night reading about snakes, so I may not be the best source.

well i wouldnt freeze the snakes. just turn off the heat pad and put it in one of the coolest places in the house that is above freezing point. And even if you dont breed the snake its still good for them to burmate.(i can restore energy ect.) Burmateing can also make them grow pretty big after you pull them out. Like i said before it's perfectly natural for snakes to go off feed that is how God made them and thier instincs. so i would just try burmateing him.

Thanks for all the replies

But I don't want to breed them, is it still good for them to burmate?? I didn't do it last year winter. He ate very well. I used the warm pad and he showed a very good appetite. I just have no idea what happen in this year...
And also, I feed them on frozen rats. Is there any problem??
But now he still refuse the food. He shows no interest in rats. Should I just leave him alone or try to give him every weeks?? or every month??

I really have no idea what should do. He is unpredictable sometimes...

Thanks for help~