Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Please don't reply to advise that I should brumate. Only interested in replies from persons whose snakes are active year-round. This is quite natural for reptiles & amphibians having environments which allow this - like the frogs & turtle that I saw basking last Christmas Day near Las Vegas. I've seen many small lizards active in December when daytime temperatures are over 60 degrees.

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My Cal King has been *extra* active this autumn since a new under-tank heater was installed. (My Heat Wave by Exxo Terra is MUCH better than ZooMed's; less expensive, too.) He eats regularly, at least every 5-7 days. Never any worries until now.

He's a male, 36 inches long, hatched in July of 2003.

The 2nd to last time he fed, he struck & missed, possibly hurting his mouth against a hard surface. He was quite intimidated after that, as snakes often are when they don't get the prey the 1st time. I "intervened" and he ate the dead mouse after all.

Last time, however, each time he struck he over-arched, missing each time. Seemed very hungry and eager to pursue his prey, but only half-hearted attempts when he struck. Like he either was not seeing well, or did not really plan to hold on once he grabbed the prey.

He struck & missed several times. At one point he grabbed the tail & bloodied it, but the mouse easily yanked free. I was embarrassed for my King of Snakes predator!

Do you think it's a hormonal thing happening in winter? Other reason? His stalking behavior seemed quite odd the last 2 times.

I don't really have any good answers for you, but I wonder if you could help me with something. My California Kingsnake is just a little longer than yours is, and I think he's underweight at around 310 to 330 grams. Can you tell me the weight of your snake?

I feed my snake f/t mice, so I don't have any worry about the snake striking wrongly. I also feed him in a paper sack, so if he strikes and misses, he hits the back of a paper sack which is not resting against anything solid.

I wish I could help.

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

Sorry.

I have a king who has missed quite often. It happened in the spring/summer, so I don't think you have to worry about hormones. However, this snake is overweight, and that is probably a factor. When he missed, he's struck himself and the glass of his tank. He has never hurt himself. Hopefully other people can tell you a bit more.

First throw out any effects of brumating or not.

About the snake, there can be hundreds of reasons for what its doing, but its not normal. A normal healthy snake does not become extra active. They normally have a set pattern of feeding and hiding, seeking temps. If a captive snake has its needs met, it does not wander or crawl for extented periods. Constant crawling is a sign something is missing, or the snake is sick.

So when you say, you added a heat source, and then it became extra active, you may have eliminated the temps that individual snake was seeking and caused it to keep looking for the right choices. So went you add something and it changes the captives behaviors and you do not like what its doing, then simply change it back.

On the otherhand, it could be sick and this wandering(overly active) and poor feeding abilty could be a sign there is something wrong with the snake and adding a heat source or not, has nothing to do with it. In this case, find out if something is wrong with the snake.

Sometimes male kings do that excessive wandering or feeding poorly when they smell a female or better yet, a cycled female.

The truth is, only a vet or a very experienced keeper can help you, but both must see the snake and its conditions to have a possibility to help.

Of it were me, I would add lots and lots of possible hiding places and make sure their is a range of temps, from 55-65F cool areas, to a hot area of 85-100F with the ambient or air temps not to exceed 75-80F. oh and have some clean water. If that doesn't help, seek a vet, good luck, I hope its minor. FR