Kings not eating.....help!!

[bubblesd1234]

I have 3 cali kings; all their set ups are the same, nothing different other than 2 are in one room and 1 is in another. The 1 in the room by hisself is eating perfectly without any problems. The other 2 I am having trouble with. 1 has refused the last 3 feedings and the other the last 2. I have tried their regular f/t and offered live as well with no luck. The 2 that aren't eating also have not shed since I have had them (which we got them in early to mid November) and show no signs of sheding. All 3 are less than a year old. Not sure what else to do......can anyone suggest anything to me??

 

[evilcowboy420]

check temps in the room and make sure the ambient temps are ok. Could be they are simply in brumation and won't be up to eating until after the season. That is probably more likely since most snakes that are native to north america have a brumation period.

 

[jlassiter]

check temps in the room and make sure the ambient temps are ok. Could be they are simply in brumation and won't be up to eating until after the season. That is probably more likely since most snakes that are native to north america have a brumation period.

AND....if the snakes are in brumation they will continue to deteriorate if not cooled.....Their metabolism is still running at ambient temps....they must "shut down" for winter.....So place them in a dark, cool (55 or 60F) until the middle of next month and warm them back up....They should want to devour food.....
When you do warm them up make sure there is a temperature gradient not just one temp across the enclosure.......85F or so on the hot side and 70F or so on the cool side........Also provide options other than temperature such as light, dark, moist, dry and combinations of temps....This is easily achieved with deep Aspen, a water bowl and moist spaghnum moss in a clay or plastic container.....

 

[Greatballzofire]

AND....if the snakes are in brumation they will continue to deteriorate if not cooled.....Their metabolism is still running at ambient temps....they must "shut down" for winter.....So place them in a dark, cool (55 or 60F) until the middle of next month and warm them back up....They should want to devour food.....
When you do warm them up make sure there is a temperature gradient not just one temp across the enclosure.......85F or so on the hot side and 70F or so on the cool side........Also provide options other than temperature such as light, dark, moist, dry and combinations of temps....This is easily achieved with deep Aspen, a water bowl and moist spaghnum moss in a clay or plastic container.....

I was going to say exactly the same advice. My kings (4 08 pyros and 1 07 Cali) stopped eating over the winter, except for one big pyro female, who is still eating. I weighed them last fall and have weighed them occasionally since, and nobody has lost any weight, so I didn't brumate them. My cabin tends to be on the cool side, though, so they were pretty much able to choose cool enough temps to brumate themselves. Weight loss became a concern for some of my pituophis, so I brumated them and have brought them back up with vigorous feeding responses. Next year I am going to brumate all my snakes and simplify my life as keeper.

Be sure your snakes have not eaten for at least two weeks before cooling them, or the undigested food will rot in their guts and kill them.

 

[JETZEN]

it happens...

I have 3 cali kings; all their set ups are the same, nothing different other than 2 are in one room and 1 is in another. The 1 in the room by hisself is eating perfectly without any problems. The other 2 I am having trouble with. 1 has refused the last 3 feedings and the other the last 2. I have tried their regular f/t and offered live as well with no luck. The 2 that aren't eating also have not shed since I have had them (which we got them in early to mid November) and show no signs of sheding. All 3 are less than a year old. Not sure what else to do......can anyone suggest anything to me??

i have quite a few cali kings..and over the years i have had many cali of all sizes and ages go on hunger strikes...for no obvious reason except to their pea brains.

i have had them do it at anytime of the year also.

i even had an adult male go for over 5 months w/o eating then all of a sudden snap out of it.

its no big deal...i never had any starve to death from it.

don't worry unless they start to get real skinny and unhealthy looking...then maybe a visit to a qualified vet or even replacement of them for more co-operative specimens.

i suggest you be patient and wait it out.