Non feeding black king snake

[Sphinxx]

Hey to all!!
I have a black king snake who is 5 this year (ive had her for two.)
Last summer/autum she stopped eating for 4-5 months, i was told this was due to breeding season, while this was going on she was more than happy to be handled.
However she has stopped eating AGAIN, this time for the past 3-4 months, again this has been put down to breeding season! (i thought they only had one a year)!
She stopped moving around and was really still for a while then she just went crazy moving non-stop wanting to get away not interested in being handled at all moves away when ever i go near.
she is eating pinkies at the moment 3 a week, gets moody if i take the food quantity down, i have tried moving the mice around the tank, was advised that helped also tried warming up the mice, no joy at all, she dosent even notice they're there!!
Anybody got any helpful hints or tips (PLEASE) im just about to try braining but want to avoid that really
thanks
Sphinxx

[VoodooChile]

HOLY COW Another Sphynx!

First things first..Have you been feeding her 3 pinkies a week this whole time?
The best rule of thumb is prey the size of the girth of the snake at the snakes widest point of its body. For juveniles feed approx 7-10 days, For adults feed 12-14days. They need this time to digest and replenish their gut flora.
Its possible the snake is not hungry.
Are you feeding live or frozen/thawed?
What are the temps in her cage? What is the humidity?
Got any pics of her or her set up?

Welcome to the site

[wreckwriter]

Had a fecal done lately?

[Sphinxx]

hey to ya, yeah been feeding her 3 the whole time was gonna change her food to rat pups but the guy i got her off said i would only upset her routine, took her to a bloke who owns a pet shop and he said she was fine on what she was eating!!
I feed her thawed mice, and the tanks temp is around 85ish, how do i tell the humidity? and what is this fecal that your talking about?
Im totally new to this, the guy i got her off basically chucked her at me and wished me luck said if i needed help to give him a ring...he changed his number!!
took her to that guy who owns the shop i was talking about when she wasnt eating last time and he said she was in good health and condition

[VoodooChile]

EESh...sounds familiar.

First thing, wreckwriter is right..next time the snake poos take the poo and bag it in a plastic baggie and take it to your vet to put it under a microscope and look for worms..That is a "fecal exam"
You can do them yourself if you have a microscope and slides, Im sure someone can help you look for worm eggs.

Changing her food to something more appropriately sized will not upset her routine. That guy is an idiot..Sorry, LOL Be GLAD he changed his #, no telling what other crappy info he would have passed on.

Can you measure her length with some string and give us an idea of what length and girth she is? A pic would be best if you can get one of her.

Im thinking based on age, a rat pup would be appropriate, but Id have to have more info on size.

You can purchase a humidity gage at a pet store or garden center..
I dont think humidity is a problem, has she been shedding well? In one piece?

[nomadbean]

Toss in a live pink if she is not eating and see if she is interested. The pinky cannot hurt her, and if she eats it, then your thawing process is just removing too much of the rat smell or getting the wrong temperature. Pictures would help, definitely get a fecal done just in case. Snakes not eating is not a problem unless they start to lose weight or have other symptoms, it just freaks us out, lol. By the way Amercnwmn is right, that guy you bought the snake from.. not bright, snakes don't have routines they just have environments to get used to. Good luck with her and by the way Welcome to RTB.net, these guys are pretty smart.
Trina
OMNIherp, LLC

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

Originally Posted by nomadbean

Welcome to RTB.net, these guys are pretty smart.
Trina
OMNIherp, LLC

We are? lol

[nomadbean]

Maybe not on the street, but in the snake room.. heck ya!!! Lol
Trina
OMNIherp, LLC

[wreckwriter]

Hmmm... how big is the snake? We have one about the same age, he's close to 5 feet long. He eats 2 extra large mice every 2 weeks. Yours should be close to that size but I bet its not.

You definately need to up the prey size. I'd get the fecal rather than trying live. That would be a good plan if it was a new arrival that had never fed but its been feeding for 2 years then stopped. Sounds like worms to me.

[Sphinxx]

Hey, shes about 4-4 and a half ft in lengh, and shes as round as as a large chicken egg, thats at the biggest part of her. (not able to upload pics at the mo)
Dont really want to feed her live..... if i really have to then i will, but if that can be avoided....id like to avoid!!
So you guys think its nothing to do with it being breeding season or coming outta hibernation?
As i said before she stopped eating last summer for 5ish months, thats when i got her checked out and she was fine, that was put down to breeding season.

sphinxx

[scarlettrose2006]

oh wow, that snake needs a FAR bigger size food item then mice pinkies. Food item should be about as big around as the snake.

I have found that snakes almost have MORE problems eating far to small food items, then they have eating to large ones.

Of course, a appropriate sized one is always the best.

I would say she is more then ready for a small rat.

[wreckwriter]

Yep, Lucy is right. You need to increase the prey size.

Breeding season? I don't think so. Hibernation? Captive snakes rarely hibernate although some will brumate (sort of a hibernation lite). Yes, that could be a cause for low appetite, or not.

In my experience most snakes that go off feed (unless they're ball pythons who just go off for no reason) have an internal parasite issue. If I have a snake skip more than 2 feedings I get a fecal done. Its not expensive, nor is a worming if needed.

Increase the prey size first. Continue F/T though, don't go to live, especially with a large mouse or small rat.

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.