What's wrong with my King?

[trailblazer295]

So as some of you know I recently scored a great deal on cali king and cage. I posted before about her slow moving open mouthed strikes during feeding. Having never owned a king or seen one feed I didn't know if this was normal. Today during feeding while holding the food inches away from her head to the right she struck at fake log in front of her then proceeded to go the wrong direction quickly, then reversed went under my arm and the wrong way away from the prey. It wasn't until I re positioned my arm and the prey infront of her that she locked on looking at it and struck. She is eager to feed as I only have it there seconds before she is ready starts moving and ready to go but she seems to have trouble finding it. It seemed like she was blind and searching frantically for it. I'm beginning to think she has something wrong in her brain possibly from poor care growing up. If the previous owner had her from a baby snake the lack of heat might have damaged development. Should I be worried she is sick or this just might be how she is? She eats every week, pooped a few times, no sheds yet but only been a month and she is an adult king. She is fairly cage active, moves around, sleeps in the open sometimes, seen her climb decor and use the various hides I have. Other than difficulty feeding she seems like a normal snake. She even appears curious sometimes when I'm in my room and will stare at my and even move forward slightly.

[Andy_G]

Some kings are very clumsy feeders. I doubt that there's much more to it than that. Also, any developmental issues would have happened in the egg before hatching, anything after that could be an onset neurological issue. These neurological problems/quirks are often genetic OR triggered by excessive heat rather than lack of, or possibly exposure to toxins (usually vapona exposure or wood sealant/silicone vapours from improperly cured DIY builds). I wouldn't be too concerned from the sounds of things. Do her eyes appear to be normal visually? If you shine a light in them (indirectly), do the pupils constrict?

[trailblazer295]

I haven't held her to check her eyes. Been busy working and let her settle but I'll check next time I pick her up.

[EL Ziggy]

It's tough to say what could be wrong with your girl Blaze. As long as she's getting her food down and keeping it down I wouldn't be too worried just yet. Maybe she just has bad eyesight :). My Cal King has missed his prey a few times and taken a while to find and eat ot too.

[Andy_G]

Don't rush to do it, honestly. I really do think that she's fine.

Also just a heads up...most kings can and will try to eat your fingers from time to time...as soon as they start to push their snout or the side of their mouth against your fingers they'll usually start chewing! I had many calis that would do this, and I recently had a friend's MBK try to do this while I was placing her back into her rack. As this was happening I told him that she's going to try to bite me...so immediately after I said that she tried to and ended up nipping herself instead of me because I knew it was coming and I put her tail in just the right spot. ;)

You have to remember that most snakes have very poor eyesight, and these guys don't have heat pits to sense with like the boids you are used to.

[trailblazer295]

It's tough to say what could be wrong with your girl Blaze. As long as she's getting her food down and keeping it down I wouldn't be too worried just yet. Maybe she just has bad eyesight :). My Cal King has missed his prey a few times and taken a while to find and eat ot too.

First 3 meals went down and stayed down, she stays coiled up a long time. I left the room to leave her alone. It would explain her occasional sudden head jerk flinch. She was calm when I held her and she was very stressed then due to moving. Try holding her in a few days and see.

[Andy_G]

First 3 meals went down and stayed down, she stays coiled up a long time. I left the room to leave her alone. It would explain her occasional sudden head jerk flinch. She was calm when I held her and she was very stressed then due to moving. Try holding her in a few days and see.

The head jerk flinch that I believe you are describing is a classic lampropeltis response. All of them do this either occasionally or frequently when handled or approached. It's one of the quirks of the milks/kings. Some outgrow it, but some will still do a random flinch or jump with the first third of their body when handled.

[trailblazer295]

Okay after feeding she was out cruising the tank, I used a flashlight to check her eyes. They don't look right, they are crusty and whitish, she keeps moving and won't stay still but appears that her eye is normal below that layer. I'm wondering if it's stuck shed obscuring her vision. She has a blue iridescence on her body now. I've added wet moss to a moist hide tonight. I'm hoping a shed will clear up this issue. When I was reaching into the cage to grab the hide she flinched away.

[Andy_G]

Sounds like retained eyecaps. Just be sure to keep using that humid hide during the next shed and that should take care of the problem. If not, we are here to help. Perhaps once she's digested, snap a couple good pics of this and put them up here?

[trailblazer295]

Sounds like retained eyecaps. Just be sure to keep using that humid hide during the next shed and that should take care of the problem. If not, we are here to help. Perhaps once she's digested, snap a couple good pics of this and put them up here?

Thanks, how often do adult kings usually shed? I'll make sure the moss stays moist over the next week or two. I'm hoping proper heat, clean substrate and regular feedings will boost metabolism. Previous owner fed her bi weekly. You can see in my other post on her the poor care she has received to date.

I'll try and take a picture in a few days. She barely kept still in her cage for my own eyes to get a good look so a picture would be hopeless.

[Andy_G]

It will vary but i would say once every 6 to 8 weeks.

[trailblazer295]

Okay I haven't had her that long so we'll see how it goes.

[chairman]

I used to have an adult eastern chain kingsnake that had difficulties catching mice. This was back in the day when it was "cruel" to deny snakes the opportunity to hunt live prey. I had to dangle his live mice by their tails so he could grab them. I don't know why he had the issue but looking back I wonder if he had a bad breeding experience that damaged him. My current king doesn't miss frequently but she's more accurate when the mice are warmer.

[trailblazer295]

Good news update SHE SHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and her eyes look glossy and clear. I reached into her cage to pull the skin out which got her attention and she was locked on to me through the glass. I didn't have a flashlight on hand but looking at her eyes with the light in the room the looked clear and glossy like a normal snakes eyes. I think she shed okay. I'll give her a day and check her out in hand tomorrow. I'm so happy right now that she is getting better.

[EL Ziggy]

That's great news Blaze! Looking forward to pictures soon!

[trailblazer295]

Her shed was one piece and the last time I was upstairs maybe 2-3hours ago it wasn't there so it's very recent. She was on her way back into the humid hide when I got her attention so leave her be tonight. And take her out tomorrow.

[trailblazer295]

Well I didn't end up taking her out, when I checked in on her she was curled up in her hide and didn't really want to disturb her. I usually only do that when I'm doing overhaul of their cage. Offered her food today and there was a distinct difference. She was staring right at it, then my cats motion outside her cage caught her attention and stared at her. My cat was being nosy and looked inside. She went back to staring at the food. Her strikes are still slow but she hit first time and coiled up for a long time. Before eating she was staring right at me while I sat on my couch near the cage. Her vision seems okay now. She'll get a full physical inspection on the weekend.

[trailblazer295]

She ate dinner and is just out roaming. She climbed and stared at me for awhile and went back to roaming around her cage. I'm sure she will utilize more space so I'll be getting more branches to maximize the cage height.