Help with King Snake and loss of appetite

[endless]

Hello,
I have a 2 year old California King snake, captive bred and always fed dead (frozen) mice. I have had him for about 3 months now, and he started out eating every 5-10 days, on a fairly regular basis. Lately he is reluctant to eat, and at the moment has gone 19 days without feeding. I am getting worried! How long is too long?

He has water, temp gradient of 75-85, and I offer him a warmed mouse every day. He retreats, and acts almost scared of it, when at first he attacked them with no hesitation.

Any advice appreciated!

[moddlasnake]

first don't offer him one every single day. do it in intervals of 4-5 days
he is retreating because he is probably very stressed. make sure he has plenty of hide boxes for security and clean water every day.

_moddy hope i helped

[rrrrr]

Kingsnakes are usually pretty good feeders, but even for a kingsnake, 19 days is nothing to worry about. Ife he's a healthy weight going into a fast, he can fast for several months, and come out perfectly healthy. Make sure your temps are good. Check for mites, and cut back on the feeding attempts. Offer smaller food items about once per week. As long as his weight looks okay, dont start worrying until he's been off food for 10 weeks or so. Even at 10 weeks you likely have nothing to worry about, but putting a post up here would probably be a good idea. If the snake is getting emaciated, you should obviously take it seriously right away.

It could be the seasonal changes putting him in winter mode. Even with constant temps, the shorter photo-period could cause a lower feeding drive.

Oh, and the defensive behavior is pretty normal. Snakes are largely driven by instinct. If feeding response doesn't kick in, then any animal in it's space is a threat rather than a meal. Any snake not interested in eating generally behaves defensively when pestered by a rat or mouse.

[endless]

Thanks for the replies!