kingsnake wont feed

[leos one]

i have a young california kingsnake about 14 inches long, it was feeding fine and has shed but it hasnt eaten in a month. i know they tend to go off food at times but its a baby and it ate twice the first week i got it (pinky mice) and now it shows no interest what so ever in food. i attempt to feed it every few days and still have no luck. any suggestions on how to "interest" it in food again?

 

[Nigel4less]

What are your temperatures on the Hot Side and Cool side, how big is the enclosure... If you could give us as much information as possible we can help you out, but since I haven't seen the animal in person I really can't give you any suggestions with such a vague description.

 

[leos one]

currently housed in a 10 gallon tank cool side is 75, hot side is a under tank heater at 85. plenty of hiding areas and its very active when out and about. ive posted a photo,

 

[Nigel4less]

I would bump up the temperatures to 90, and try feeding him a live pinky.

 

[Foreverandever]

If you feed frozen/thawed pinkies you can "brain" them by putting a needle through the head. It will release blood/brain fluid that the snake will smell

Good luck and pretty king

 

[leoman777]

raise the temp like nigel said and watch this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60H1YT5a5pc&feature=channel_page

 

[leoman777]

lol its also a funny vid

 

[leos one]

ok ive raised the temps, ive brained the mice, ive even tried live new born mice. my baby could care less and shows no interest what so ever of wanting to eat. i guess its a trip to a vet..argh!!

 

[brad.a.c]

The temps are fine at 85, it would even e fine at 80, i don't think the temps are the issue. How often do you hold him/her?

 

[leos one]

i try to feed every 5 days just to see if it will eat. i also hold it to make sure its still alive and ok, give it a check over so to say, nothing long or stressful its still to young. but i have to make sure its ok and such. my viper (its name is viper) is being a stuburn little one.

 

[brad.a.c]

Just don't get paranoid. You don't have to wory about him dying as long as your not doing something terribly wrong. He'll feed again evntually so don't constantly try to feed him and bug him. One thing you can try is to leave a pinkie (or whatever size you normally feed him), put it in there b4 you go to bed and leave it in there over-night and sometimes they'll take it that way.

 

[leos one]

Finally my stuburn child has eaten (friday)! and she has shed today, a good sign. hopefully she will continue to feed and quit giving me stress.

 

[WftRight]

Another trick that works with some of them is to put the snake and the pinkie into a little paper bag and leave them in the cage. Being in the bag with the pinkie focuses the snake's attention. The bag also gives the snake a feeling of security. Being able to leave the bag in the cage means that you don't have to wait for the snake to eat. You can secure the cage lid, turn off the lights, and leave the snake with privacy. When the snake finishes eating, she can crawl out of the bag on her own. If she doesn't eat the pinkie, the pinkie stains stay in the bag rather than getting on the substrate. As long as you feed f/t, you can use this technique for much of your snake's life. You just need to keep getting bigger and bigger paper bags.