Reptile & Amphibian Forums

When you get a new snake, how long does it normally take before they'll accept food? I have a banded cal king(first snake), 14", male. He ate the day I got him, which was about 1 1/2 weeks ago. I offered him a live pinky this past monday, exactly one week after I got him, and he refused it. Not even any interest in it. The other day, his eyes looked opaque, so I thought maybe he is shedding, but today his eyes look clear. I'm not sure what's wrong. Please advise.

I am a newbie around these parts but I might be able to help you out with one part of the question.

As you said your snakes eyes had turned cloudy which led you to believe he was about to shed but are now clear. Chances are he is, in fact, getting ready to shed and simply has already shed the area around his eyes. Wait a couple of more days, make sure he has enough moister and I would bet he will shed in a couple of days times.

The problem was the shedding, but even after that, I had a hard time getting him to feed. It was suggested to me to put him into a brown paper bag with the pinky. On the next feeding, I tried it and it worked, it took several hours. Just yesterday I tried it again, but this time I put the bag inside a dark cupboard and he ate within less than 30 min.

some snakes will only eat in a dark enviroment until they're more used to it, some also like privacy, this could maybe be the issue with your snake