It's not a garter but I really need some advice

[lokai99]

I have a 4 year old male cali king.He went off feed for two weeks back in february as I do not brumate. He has been off feed now for two weeks now and I'm just thinking this is the time of year he should eat most readily. He won't eat frozen, thawed, adult, pinkie,hoppers, baby chicken chicks...nothing and these are all food items he has eaten readily in the past. He still seems to have good weight but I am really concerned. He has a gradient of 74 degrees cool to 86 degrees on the warm side. He has a hide so he should feel safe. The only out of the ordinary situation is that he was housed with another cali king for about a week. That snake has continued to feed. I fed seperately and I am very very observant...no signs of any violence between the two snakes. I have him back in his on tank now just in case he felt intimidated although he was the bigger snake. Is this no big deal yet? I also have a WC white oak phase ratsnake. She has been a great feeder until about a week and a half ago. Both she and the king have shed during this feeding strike and i thought their appetites would come back after the shed as they usually do, but they have not. it's sweltering here in AL...would the outside temps lead to this sort of summer food strike? I have 5 other snakes and they are all eating like usual. The ratsnake is a smaller snake probably 14 inches, but she is in good weight. Please help me I want ot give my snakes the best the best life possible. Should I be driving to a reptile vet in the immediate future. I know I am coming off as in a panic, but I am. I turned to you all because you have giving me such sound advice before and I appreciate the input of my more experienced fellow snake lovers. I thank you for your help although I'm not a garter owner yet.

[drache]

two weeks is less than no big deal
he may just not be hungry
being a great feeder means he's probably sufficiently well fed to last over six months without food
not that this may not be a sign for something, but I'd give it a couple more weeks before the vet, unless you see some other reason for concern
I hope this helps

[infernalis]

two weeks is less than no big deal
he may just not be hungry
being a great feeder means he's probably sufficiently well fed to last over six months without food
not that this may not be a sign for something, but I'd give it a couple more weeks before the vet, unless you see some other reason for concern
I hope this helps


Exactly what she just said....

Kings, Corns and milks can go what seems insane long times between meals, other times they pound mice like no tomorrow.

[GarterGeek]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. Two weeks is actually a healthy period of time between feedings (depending on the size of the snake and the amount of food.) I feed my kingsnake, who is about 2-3yrs old, every 10-14 days. How often do you normally feed your snake? :)

[lokai99]

Thanks for the feedback. I normally feed every 7 to 9 days for the big guy and every 5 days for the little ratsnake because she is a smaller and younger snake. It does seem insanely long and during the winter he went off food for two weeks...I'll try not to freak out in the mean time. As always he has a hide and a big bowl of fresh water he can fully submerge in. I'll try to be patient with him in the mean time.

[drache]

I got my big king obese when I first got him, and at one point he just quit eating - for 11 months! Yeah, I was worried then, but the vet told me we'd do something once he'd start looking skinny, if he wasn't eating by then
then one day he ate - nothing special
now I feed him about every other week

[The Snake Whisperer]

Both my black ratsnake and my cali king have periods where they won't eat even for as long as a month at a time. So far, in the two years I've had these snakes , they have shown two periods of time when they go off feed for a long time. Last year the ratsnake really scared me, at the end of August last year she went off feed for over two months and this year she's doing it again. The cali king went off feed for over a month a bit earlier, throughout most of July. All the snakes I have had long enough to observe them through all the seasons, go off feed for up to a month or several weeks in the wintertime, even though they are kept indoors and all but the garters have supplementary heat under one side of their cages, none were brumated. None showed any noticeable loss of condition during these times either. Incidentally I've also found out that snakes of many different species, kept in different homes under different conditions, all still tend to follow a cycle of being hungry and shedding, they all get hungry at about the same time and all go through shed at about the same time. It would be interesting to find out if other people in different parts of the country also notice this phenomenon, the more information there is and the more sources the info comes from, the more it becomes possible to assess the consistency of this sync among snakes.
The above only applies to snakes other than very young babies however. Baby garters for a reason I have yet to figure out, tend to be difficult to get started feeding. A few will start feeding easily when they get hungry, others will lose condition before showing interest in food, and some will die without ever having eaten anything. Perhaps those who die have some sort of internal birth defects, they often are the babies who from birth on, are the weaker less vigorous babies in a group.

[ConcinusMan]

Not at all unusual for a king snake of healthy weight to refuse food for months and lose quite a bit of weight in the process. Isn't necessarily cause for alarm. When your cali king has been off of food for 3 or 4 months and is visibly underweight, then worry. 2 weeks to me, is just the standard time between meals for an adult king. In the wild they will gorge themselves on as much food as they can eat, way more than they need at the time, and then fast for months when food is not available. You've probably been feeding more than enough for some time and now he's taking a break. I wouldn't worry too much about it. A well fed king snake can easily go 5 or 6 months before it begins to starve.

Pics would be nice. That would also let us see if it appears to be a healthy weight.