Kingsnake keepers-- a little help please???

[Lori P]

Ohhhh... (brain is going) So now when the garters are bad I can threaten them by waving the king snake in front of them... lol!!! :-)

[KITKAT]

Check your local herp show or your pet expo next time it is in town, or look online. What you are looking for is African Pygmy mice... specifically, you want a pinkie or two.

Scent them with garter and try feeding them live. You will be amazed at their small size, and sometimes this helps... but they are durned hard to find!

[Sid]

Ohhhh... (brain is going) So now when the garters are bad I can threaten them by waving the king snake in front of them... lol!!! :-)

Lori, I believe that James' point was, a king snake will readily eat another snake when it won't it anything else. It's their nature. And....congrat's on both purchases. They were a real bargin ( even if not Garters).

[RZL36]

Got this from the kingsnake forums from a reputable guy:

As most of you know sometimes we have kingsnake hatchlings that refuse to eat. Most of the time they get over this problem in a month or so, other times it takes significantly longer. After trying the old standby of cooling a non-feeding hatchling for 2-4 weeks they still won't eat. They're thin and must eat or they will die.

That's where force feeding comes into play. I choose rat tails because they are much more substantial than a mouse tail but smaller hatchlings will need smaller tails.

I start by going to the freezer to to pick a meal





The tail is cut from the frozen rat on an angle to facilitate feeding.



I thaw the tail in warm water for a few minutes.



The now thawed tail.



The non-feeder "Bad Snake" he says in a stern tone of voice.
Notice the sexing probe to the right of the box.

[sschind]

Nice snakes Lori but I' have one problem.

Unless that is a very bad picture, that does not look like an apricot Pueblan to me. Apricots have orange highlights and an overall orangish look to the white bands and and orange cast to the red areas.

apricotpueblan1.jpg

this is not a good picture and the animal is getting ready to shed but I think you can see the orange tint to the white areas. It is possible that the photograph you posted doesn't show the true colors of the snake and if so I retract my statement. I do notice that the area that would be white in an exceptional normal specimen does have sort of a yellowish tinge this does not make it an apricot however. Just a low quality normal I have two of them that look a lot more yellow than that and they are considered normals, at least by me. Anyway, that is my take on Pueblans. If anyone cares to post different pictures or to enlighten me on the characteristics of apricots I welcome the information.

[sschind]

OK, a little clarification is needed. I made the post about the apricot Pueblan and I stand by that. The part that I edited (completely removed actually) was a little rant about selling non feeders but I failed to see in the picture the N/E which I assume to mean non eating so my rant was uncalled for. The editing had nothing to do with the Apricot Pueblan and the picture I was referring to in my reason for editing was the picture of the kingsnake in the deli.

Sorry if this causes any confusion, and my explanation will probably be even more confusing.

[MoJo]

I agree about the Pueblan. It is a beautiful snake but I am not sure it should be called an apricot. Here is a photo of my new 07 Apricot Pueblan in shed! He is not the best specimen but I love his oranges.



As to the kingsnake, I would leave her be for a few days and then try a live pinky. She might like the movement. If not I think the garter scenting should work well.

Good Luck

Joanna

[Lori P]

OK, a little clarification is needed. I made the post about the apricot Pueblan and I stand by that. The part that I edited (completely removed actually) was a little rant about selling non feeders but I failed to see in the picture the N/E which I assume to mean non eating so my rant was uncalled for. The editing had nothing to do with the Apricot Pueblan and the picture I was referring to in my reason for editing was the picture of the kingsnake in the deli.

Sorry if this causes any confusion, and my explanation will probably be even more confusing.

No confusion... Brant was VERY open about the fact that she was not feeding. And he gave me a lot of tips to try, it's just that... well, he told me to "brain" a live pinky and try that for a while. Guys, I can't do it!!!!!!! If that's what it takes to get her feeding, I will HAVE to find someone else to do it... I don't want the snake to die, but omg, the thought of stabbing a baby mouse in the brain makes me sick and teary. He said you don't kill the baby, you stick it and let it squirm... I just can't, what if that causes horrid pain to that baby?????

There were several people at the expo who had tubs of "non-feeders" for very cheap prices. If they are all as open as Brant, and offering lots of tips (he also told me to call/email him anytime for advice) do you think it's still a bad idea to sell them? I'm just curious as to your opinion, so rant away. :-) :-)

[garterking]

No confusion... Brant was VERY open about the fact that she was not feeding. And he gave me a lot of tips to try, it's just that... well, he told me to "brain" a live pinky and try that for a while. Guys, I can't do it!!!!!!! If that's what it takes to get her feeding, I will HAVE to find someone else to do it... I don't want the snake to die, but omg, the thought of stabbing a baby mouse in the brain makes me sick and teary. He said you don't kill the baby, you stick it and let it squirm... I just can't, what if that causes horrid pain to that baby?????

Lori, Try braining a f/t pinky first if you haven't already. That might get you past that situation, or a live pink. I had a 50/50 Cali king that would only eat live pinks at first. I did eventually switch to f/t, but it took some time and patience. In my opinion, you're at a stage that with a baby going this long, you might have to force. I hate the thought of it as it stresses the snake out (and me too) but after his first meal, hopefully it would just come natural after. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[Lori P]

Nice snakes Lori but I' have one problem.

Unless that is a very bad picture, that does not look like an apricot Pueblan to me. Apricots have orange highlights and an overall orangish look to the white bands and and orange cast to the red areas.

Thanks for the info! I *think* what I may have is kind of a low quality apricot, lol, and I only say this because the man who had them--Brant was his name-- had a couple of apricots he was showing me, who had much more orangy color to them. However, for some reason, I kept going back and picking up this one, who was off to the side. I just liked her! :-) And she is def. a lot less orangy. I will try to get more pics once she settles in. But if it turns out she's not an apricot at all, I'm happy with her-- she is not for breeding. :-)