Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My ~8 year old Cal King has recently began biting himself. He clamps on and then twists and squeezes like he's killing prey. I feed him f/thawed only. I did a little research online and it said it could either be mites or he is starving.

I figured I would try feeding him first to see if that worked. This worked but for a couple days but then he began to bite himself again...I fed him again and it lasted another couple days. Tonight he began biting himself AGAIN so I fed him AGAIN.
Some of the stuff I read online said when this happens you need to keep feeding them until they are satisfied but that seems like a never ending process. Obviously I can't keep feeding him every 3 days...a vet trip is next.

Has anyone seen this? What is it? Any solutions or ideas? How do you check for mites?

I don't think its mites. I've heard of it and it only seems to happen with Cal kings. I really have no idea how you can fix the problem. You could try treating him for mites just to get that out of the way. You should post this in the kingsnake section because very few people visit this forum any more. Not trying to scare you, but....

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I have seen different genera of snakes biting themselves in extreme conditions.
Bothrops alternatus found dead and biting itself on a burned field, Liophis poecilogyrus biting itself, dying next day, also in Epicrates.
In the cases I observed, it was regretfully associated with death.
Looked like a neurological condition
However your case seems to be different since the snakes does feed and obviously is alive.

Best of lucks and I do hope to hear how this develops,
David