Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I have a wild-caught cal king that has stopped eating. He fed almost immediately after capture. The last three feeding attempts were unsuccessful. The first unsuccessful attempt resulted in the snake killing the mouse (I feed live feeder mice), swallowing and then regurgitating the mouse. The second unsuccessful attempt, the snake struck repeatedly at the mouse in what I took to be an aggressive/defensive manner, with no attempt to grab and constrict the mouse. The third attempt was today, with the same result - the snake would strike at the mouse when it came near him, but I don't think he was attempting to feed. The snake shed 2 days ago, in between the second and third attempts.

Any advice/suggestions?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sounds like your snake is wanting/expecting to brumate. I've had 2 wild collected desert kings that started behaving the same way (save the regurge) this time of year. I suggest keeping the snake in a somewhat cool (60-70) and keeping it out of very bright light until the end of Feb. Don't try to feed it and don't bother it more than neccesary when changing water and doing a quick wellness check every 14 days or so.

once feb/ march rolls around, start providing some warmth and a good hot spot and after about 2 weeks offer a mouse. i'm fairly certain that it will take the mouse then.

also, i don't mean to preach, but do try and get the snake eating frozen/thawed mice. I as well as several other here have seen the damage a mouse can cause to a snake and it isn't pretty.