Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey there, quick back ground. I’ve had my California king snake, Biscuit, for a little over 8 months now. His previous owner could no longer keep him and all I know for certain about him is that he is about 4 years old and had the same enclosure all his life, a heat lamp, a plastic tree branch/root, a rock, water bowl and shredded paper as bedding. None of this changed when I got him except for the location of his tank. For the first 6 months he was eating well (once a week a small mouse). He consistently ate and all was well. About 2 months ago he quit eating. I would buy him a mouse every week and kept it alive as long as I could before it died or got too big for him. I would offer it twice a day and he seemed scared of it. He would turn away from it and burrow to hide. He is still active and agreeable. I do work at a vets office with an exotic veterinarian. The doctor said Biscuit was simply bruminating due to the drop in temperatures recently in my area and that he would come out if it in a few weeks time. From my understanding though, brumation was a dormant period. Inferring that my snake wouldn’t be nearly as active. This is what is concerning me. I was thinking about taking him to another vet to get another opinion but didn’t want to have to spend the money is I just need to wait a little longer. I’ve had several snakes in the past but never had one go through brumation so I don’t know what to expect or if that is even what is happening. Any and all advice is appreciated!

Your temps are likely too cool for the snake to feed (very normal from Sep - Feb range) but too high for a more dormant brumation. So your vet was right.

If using a screen top, cover it with styrene foam sheet or outdoor carpet to stop all of the humidity from escaping. Lamps are not good for heating most snakes. Use a ceramic heat emitter or a heat pad plus a thermostat.