Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so I just got my first king snake. She is albino striped California King. The young woman I got her from had about 40 snakes of varying species, so I listened intently as she discussed why she was giving up the snake on Craigslist (which is where I found her for $40).

The woman said that she decided to let her go, because she had originally purchased her for breeding purposes, but that at the age of 1.6 years she didn't thing the snake was growing fast enough to be a breeder. The snake is 23 inches long and 58 grams. I was told that she is 1.6 years old.

She went on to tell me that she was feeding the snake 2 rat pinkies/once a week and that she alternated every other week with "Reptilinks" (which are made of deer meat?!?)

SO.....I thought to myself it might be the a case of the snake being a "slow-grower" due to the diet she had been fed.

As I said, this is my first California King, but I have a good deal of experience with rat snakes, and I just didn't think that the snake was being fed anywhere near enough.

When I got her home, and after she had settled in a few days, feeding day rolled around. I was still waiting for my shipment from RodentPro and fuzzier were all I had in the freezer. So I gave her 3 fuzzies and she sucked them down in less than 4 minutes and still didn't have much of a lump! It left me feeling really positive that I could help this snake grow!

Until my RodentPro order came in. Seven days after the first feeding I offered her a defrosted and warm hopper.....absolutely NO interest...even after I brained it. So, just to see, I offered a fuzzie, yep! She snapped it right up begging for more! Offered her another mouse.....nothing....

Is there such a thing as a fur-phobic snake? Does anyone have any suggestions? I am baffled!

Thanks in advance!
Beau

I have only had one or two like that in all the THOUSANDS of snakes I have owned and/or produced over the years. It seems extremely odd for sure, but certain snakes can have weird quirks about them. But anyway, you could try scenting with lizard or snake on that particular batch, or even shave a frozen one smooth with clippers and see if that promotes a feeding response. I have also had shipments of frozen rodents that weren't very appealing to the snakes too, so it's hard to say for sure exactly what it is without further trials. You can also purchase hairless mice from most rodent suppliers as well, so you are bound to get one of these things to work with correctly-sized prey items. Best of luck. Let us know how things go.
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"hybrids = junk"