Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I picked up a 6yr old Banana Cal this year for breeding purposes.It is a proven breeder and a very well mannered snake accept for when it started getting hungry! several days before he was put down, he was very tempermental and wanted to bite anything that reached into his cage. Clearly this was hunger related as he is a very sweet guy normally.

I have had him down now for over a week now, but find that he has remained VERY alert and active. All the other snakes are sleeping well and burrowed in to rest. The room is averaging 50-55 degrees and is lit some during the day. What I consider optimum brumating conditions!

Any ideas why this fella is so active and what I can do to settle him for a better brumation time? Also since I have not dealt with one this active before, any feedback is welcome.

Take care All and thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Dawn

I have a female (cal king) that had same problem a few weeks ago. Just wait it out or drop temps a few dgrees - he'll get the message! My female eventually settled down and hasn't moved around since.
Another reason: His stomach contents may not be empty and he's looking for a place to defecate or even regurge (if there's anything left in the stomach) If you suspect this, move him indoors for about a week, and then cool him off again. Cooling snakes off before their stomachs are completely empty is not good for the snake and has been known to even kill a few of them. (You should not feed snakes anymore two - three weeks prior to cooling off/brumation)

Zee

thanks for your thoughts. I do hope he settles in soon. His stomach is definitely empty. His last meal was on the 6th of November and he was acting out from hunger before we put him down.

6 Nov...Yeah, you're good to go. You probably just got a regular "pig" of a kingsnake (like my female is) that wants to eat & eat & eat and forgets about other biological events such as annual brumations, LOL! It just means you have an overly healthy animal that should be around for you, for many years to come!

Zee
-----
"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-