Fat non-Feeder keeps shedding?

Okay, even though I knew it wasn't the best plan, I bought a couple of Outer Banks Kings that hadn't yet fed. In fact they were straight out of the egg, so they weren't non-feeders, they just hadn't been offered food. Both shed before they were shipped to me. One, the male, was SUPER fat from the yolk of the egg. The other was super tiny. The female fed within a couple of weeks of arrival. (They arrived the third week of October, so hatched out at the beginning of October, or late september). I also acquired at the same time a male eastern king hatchling that was in every way perfect except for the most miniscule kink above his vent. He has eaten steadily from the very beginning.

The male Outer Banks king has STILL refused to eat! He's been offered EVERYTHING I could think of and get my hands on. I've offered him pinkies live and dead, brained and gutted. I've offered him a newborn gerbil. f/t lizards both uta and fence and tree lizards. I've offered him live of the same kind, and I've offered him a hatchling mediterranean gecko. He has spurned everything. I tried to get him to take a mouse tail, but didn't want to force him so gave it up. He's five months old and has now shed 4 times like any normal EATING hatchling. He's no longer superfat, but he is also not super skinny. Could he have had that much yolk that he hasn't NEEDED to eat for 5 months?

The female has shed almost as often as the male, and eats whatever I offer her. She's still super tiny, and I am still giving her newborn pinkie mice. The Eastern King with the kink is growing like a weed.

Anyway, any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. This little guy is frustrating me no end!

if he is sheding he is growing, maybe he still had the yolk sac inside his belly? i dont know if this is anything that will help, but i had a baby box turtle not eat after hatching for about 3 months , while his siblings where eating around a week after hatching, i guess some eggs have more yolk then others, if you snake looks heathly and is growing then i wouldnt worry , at least untill he starts looking unheathy , maybe you should save him the stress of force feeding at least for a little while, but you should wait and get some solid info from a snake person.

Thanks Vince... I guess the hardest part of it all is that I ordered some snakes not so long ago (late december). I ordered 1.2 healthy snakes, and 1.0 non-feeders... the shipper misplaced the non-feeder so instead he sent me my original 1.2 healthy snakes and an addition 0.0.6 non-feeders. Sadly, of those nine snakes, I lost ALL of the healthy ones, AND all but one of the non-feeders. All within 8 weeks of each other. The only one that is still alive and eating (crossing fingers) is one I decided to try a mouse tail on. I had him in one hand and was going to feed him a mouse tail, when he took one sniff and downed it, followed by a pinkie. But having had so many deaths in such a short frame of time, I've been afraid every time I look that he's dead. Only of course this latest time the worst to see was just a shed skin!

wow, is it normal to lose so many baby snakes? did you bring them to a vet to see if there where any other factors involved in the deaths?

I was unable to bring them to the vet. The nearest qualified herp vet is quite some distance away from me. I count it a lesson learned. When he sold me the snakes he said that some were non feeders and not expected to live.