Nom! Nom! Nom!

[Rogue628]

I got a couple of pics of Nom Nom when I was feeding. She's a typical little king...sweet if not a bit bi polar at times. She loves to lay under her water bowl but she's also quite fond of a plastic cup that's in her tub too. I've tried different types of 'hides' for her but the cup is the only thing I've found she'll actually go in. Everything else I've offered her she disliked and stayed under her bowl.

I usually feed her rat pinks but the store didn't have any so I got her a little something bigger and she took it like a champ. It's been day 3 after feeding and she's just now moving around (I can see her as I type).

Anyway, here's my little Nom Nom. :D
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/SVRogue/IMG_20120720_190908.jpg

All cuddled up with her food! Nom! Nom! Nom!
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/SVRogue/IMG_20120720_191034.jpg

The reason why we named her Nom Nom :D
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/SVRogue/1337571675804.jpg

[marvelfreak]

Love the last picture. She cute btw.

[alessia55]

Awesome shots :D

[Rogue628]

Love the last picture. She cute btw.

She does love to Nom on fingers and she's hard as hell to get off. Good thing her bite doesn't hurt lol We've tried every trick in the book to get her off. Nothing works except waiting her out.

Last time she bit him was when he was cleaning her cage. He cleaned it with her still attached (careful with her of course), then he sat down and watched some stuff before she eventually decided to let go. Then had the nerve to look at him like "what did I do?" :wacky:

She's definitely fun to watch eat. She thinks she's so ferocious lol

[vendettaseve]

Great shots :)


Have you tried Vodka to get her off? I hear that works pretty well.

[Jlassiter]

How often is your king snake fed?

[Rogue628]

I usually feed her every week, but since she ate a bigger meal this time, I'm thinking about feeding her 10 days after.

She's the only one in my collection that eats weekly and has smaller food items, whereas everyone else is eating large prey bi-weekly.

[Jlassiter]

Try feeding more often.....not less....
If you want it to stop latching onto you....

A growing snake will want to eat 2 to 3 times a week if provided a good thermal gradient...

[MoreliAddict]

Try feeding more often.....not less....
If you want it to stop latching onto you....

A growing snake will want to eat 2 to 3 times a week if provided a good thermal gradient...
I've heard 3 times a week could be considered power feeding. That's like every other day, I give my snakes 48 hours to digest before bothering them with anything...

[Jlassiter]

There is no such thing as power feeding a GROWING kngsnake....
These aren't ball pythons or boas.....those CAN be powerfed!

But.....it all depends on optimal husbandry........and learning from your snakes instead of online caresheets that talk about power feeding and stunted growth and life expectancy.......all wives tales......IMHO.....

A growing snake uses all caloric intake for growing and thriving.....

An adult only uses it for living.......so, yes an adult snake may be able to be powerfed and get obese if not cycled and bred yearly.......

I have 20 plus year old kings all over my snake room that still breed......no power feeding issues, but I provide the best husbandry possible in my eyes...

[GarterPython]

My corn snake is about 3 quarters the size of my pinky and is about 14 inches. I feed him one pinky each monday. Should I feed him more often? He is still a baby (I thin but not sure of his age.

[Jlassiter]

My corn snake is about 3 quarters the size of my pinky and is about 14 inches. I feed him one pinky each monday. Should I feed him more often? He is still a baby (I thin but not sure of his age.

What is your cool side temps? Hot side?
I'd feed whenever it's on the cool side....that could be 1, 2, or 3 times a week....more than likely 2........it does depend on the set up though......

Regurgesoccur when the set up is incorrect or the snake is ill.......

[Rogue628]

I'll try feeding her more often. But should I feed her normal rat or the size I fed her this last time since she can take it?

All my king snake experience is from my last king....but when I got him, he was already an adult so once a week feedings were fine.

Honestly, I'm not well versed with kings and use my past experience as well as a care sheet I found online for this one. It's recommended as hatchlings and young juveniles to feed every 5 days. When I got her I did feed every 5 days but she regurged the second feeding. Her husbandry was fine so I thought maybe it was stress of a new environment and perhaps feeding too much too soon. So after I waited a couple of weeks as recommended with regurge, I fed her a slightly larger prey and fed again on the 7th day. She regurged that. Again, I waited 7 days and fed her what I gave her first and waited 7 days and she was fine, so I've left on that schedule. He prey size was about the width she was (fuzzies at the time, I think) and I moved her to hoppers/small adults. Recently I switched her to rats.

She's only bitten him 3 times. Once when we first got her, again about 2 months later, and the time was about 2 weeks ago. Since he never feeds (that's my job and I don't allow anyone else to do it because I love to feed my animals) I know he didn't smell like food. And when she does bite, she latches on, but doesn't even attempt to wrap like she does her real food. He's always careful with her when he does hold her since she's so much smaller than our other animals...he seems to think she's more delicate so I'm not sure why she bites him.

On the other hand, my old king was a male and was known to bite other male humans. He never bit me or any other female who handled him, but give him a minute with a guy and he'd bite. I thought maybe she's doing the same thing so I don't allow any guys to handle her with the exception of the boyfriend.

Her day temps are around 82-85 and her night temps drop to about 75. I don't measure her humidity since not care sheet I've read say they need humidity, nor does she have a warm and cool side, which I'm going by a couple of care sheets.

If there's something I can be doing better, please let me know and I'll fix it.

[Gungirl]

My corn snake is about 3 quarters the size of my pinky and is about 14 inches. I feed him one pinky each monday. Should I feed him more often? He is still a baby (I thin but not sure of his age.

No feed once a week.. do not over feed your snake. I never fed my baby corn more than 1 appropriate sized meal every 7 days and he is an incredible adult now.

[Lankyrob]

I fed my corns every 7 days for first year then put them on the same cycle as my other snakes, every 14/21 days. I always feed them prey about twice their girth.

[Jlassiter]

I feed my 150 kings when they are hungry....not my schedule and some are pushing 25 years of age and still breeding.........One is 30 years old this year.......

But......as you can see, others have "success" with a once a week feeding.......

I was just trying to let you know why the snake was latching onto you......It is hungry.....

[Jlassiter]

If there's something I can be doing better, please let me know and I'll fix it.


Maybe this will help.....It is part of of a caresheet I wrote and is on my website...

Providing Choices:

Kingsnakes are constantly seeking out the correct humidity and temperature to perform and thrive. There is a difference in thriving and just living in captivity. Kingsnakes need a true temperature gradient. I cool my snake room to around 70F. Each of my snake enclosures have a hot spot of 90F. Your snake will tell you what it wants. You just need to be able to identify what the snake is trying to tell you. When you as a snake keeper provides all the necessary options you can learn from the snakes. The snakes themselves have been around longer than us humans and have adapted to live in many diverse conditions. Providing humid, dry, hot, cool, light, dark and combination of each is the correct way to keep a kingsnake thriving. Placing a piece of Newspaper or a plastic plate or lid on top of the substrate serves two different purposes. Placing prey items on top of the newspaper, plate or plastic lid allows the snake to feed without swallowing substrate. It also allows for thermal regulation from the bottom to the top of the enclosure, not just from the back to the front of the enclosure.

Many people ask me how I let my snakes tell me what they need.......
Here are some examples:
If your snake is hiding under the water bowl or in very tight places it is protecting itself. It is not protecting itself from would be predators or from you. It is protecting itself from the air itself. A kingsnake can dehydrate very fast. When they are doing this they are telling us that it is too dry in their enclosure or that there is not a suitable moist area for them. Soaking in the water bowl all the time is a sure sign of a very low humidity level as well. A box of damp sphagnum moss set lengthwise in the enclosure will fix this. The snake will have a warm/wet area and a cool/wet area....See pictures above.....

If your snake is pressed up against the glass on the cool side (the front) of its enclosure it is seeking cooler temps. It is seeking these cooler temps to conserve energy. This is when they are telling us they want food. This brings us to the next topic "Feeding" below.

Feeding:

You may hear me complain about folks that have a schedule they feed their snakes on. Once a week or once every 4 days or 10 days. I am not going to tell you that a this is wrong but I will say that this is YOUR schedule and not the snake's. If you learn to let your snakes tell you when they are hungry you will find yourself having to feed growing snakes two and three times a week. You will also see an adult snake only wanting to eat once or twice a week....sometimes less.

With all that being said prey size should be about the diameter of the snake's girth. Many think offering many smaller prey items is better than offering one large prey item. I offer my snakes multiple prey items usually around 2 or 3 when they are hungry. These prey items are the same size or larger than the girth of the snake. If they eat all of them and the husbandry is correct they will not regurge.....When a kingsnake regurges there is something wrong with your husbandry or the snake is ill.

There are times you will see your snakes wanting to eat more than usual.
Females out of brumation will need to be fed multiple prey items very often......High caloric intake yields egg follicles. After a female has laid eggs many meals as soon as possible will result in a second clutch....Some female will even triple clutch with this feeding regimen.

Prior to brumation the males should be fed enough so that they can go an entire 3 months of brumation plus two months of breeding season without eating. Many males will go off feed when they are in breeding "mode." Don't let this alarm you. If the male snake has good weight prior to brumation he will be fine. After breeding you will see him want to eat lots and often to gear up for another cold season. Remember all this can be achieved successfully if husbandry is correct.

[Toronto1977]

There is no such thing as power feeding a GROWING kngsnake....
These aren't ball pythons or boas.....those CAN be powerfed!

But.....it all depends on optimal husbandry........and learning from your snakes instead of online caresheets that talk about power feeding and stunted growth and life expectancy.......all wives tales......IMHO.....

A growing snake uses all caloric intake for growing and thriving.....

An adult only uses it for living.......so, yes an adult snake may be able to be powerfed and get obese if not cycled and bred yearly.......

I have 20 plus year old kings all over my snake room that still breed......no power feeding issues, but I provide the best husbandry possible in my eyes...

I totally agree with you on this one. If I feed my King on the standard (every 5 days or more) I can guarantee she'll try to bite my hand off WHENEVER I open her enclosure. As you said a growing King will need more food. In my experience, she is more placid, calm, and happy when fed more regularly.

[Toronto1977]

Maybe this will help.....It is part of of a caresheet I wrote and is on my website...

Providing Choices:

Kingsnakes are constantly seeking out the correct humidity and temperature to perform and thrive. There is a difference in thriving and just living in captivity. Kingsnakes need a true temperature gradient. I cool my snake room to around 70F. Each of my snake enclosures have a hot spot of 90F. Your snake will tell you what it wants. You just need to be able to identify what the snake is trying to tell you. When you as a snake keeper provides all the necessary options you can learn from the snakes. The snakes themselves have been around longer than us humans and have adapted to live in many diverse conditions. Providing humid, dry, hot, cool, light, dark and combination of each is the correct way to keep a kingsnake thriving. Placing a piece of Newspaper or a plastic plate or lid on top of the substrate serves two different purposes. Placing prey items on top of the newspaper, plate or plastic lid allows the snake to feed without swallowing substrate. It also allows for thermal regulation from the bottom to the top of the enclosure, not just from the back to the front of the enclosure.

Many people ask me how I let my snakes tell me what they need.......
Here are some examples:
If your snake is hiding under the water bowl or in very tight places it is protecting itself. It is not protecting itself from would be predators or from you. It is protecting itself from the air itself. A kingsnake can dehydrate very fast. When they are doing this they are telling us that it is too dry in their enclosure or that there is not a suitable moist area for them. Soaking in the water bowl all the time is a sure sign of a very low humidity level as well. A box of damp sphagnum moss set lengthwise in the enclosure will fix this. The snake will have a warm/wet area and a cool/wet area....See pictures above.....

If your snake is pressed up against the glass on the cool side (the front) of its enclosure it is seeking cooler temps. It is seeking these cooler temps to conserve energy. This is when they are telling us they want food. This brings us to the next topic "Feeding" below.

Feeding:

You may hear me complain about folks that have a schedule they feed their snakes on. Once a week or once every 4 days or 10 days. I am not going to tell you that a this is wrong but I will say that this is YOUR schedule and not the snake's. If you learn to let your snakes tell you when they are hungry you will find yourself having to feed growing snakes two and three times a week. You will also see an adult snake only wanting to eat once or twice a week....sometimes less.

With all that being said prey size should be about the diameter of the snake's girth. Many think offering many smaller prey items is better than offering one large prey item. I offer my snakes multiple prey items usually around 2 or 3 when they are hungry. These prey items are the same size or larger than the girth of the snake. If they eat all of them and the husbandry is correct they will not regurge.....When a kingsnake regurges there is something wrong with your husbandry or the snake is ill.

There are times you will see your snakes wanting to eat more than usual.
Females out of brumation will need to be fed multiple prey items very often......High caloric intake yields egg follicles. After a female has laid eggs many meals as soon as possible will result in a second clutch....Some female will even triple clutch with this feeding regimen.

Prior to brumation the males should be fed enough so that they can go an entire 3 months of brumation plus two months of breeding season without eating. Many males will go off feed when they are in breeding "mode." Don't let this alarm you. If the male snake has good weight prior to brumation he will be fine. After breeding you will see him want to eat lots and often to gear up for another cold season. Remember all this can be achieved successfully if husbandry is correct.

Great info Jlassiter, thanks for sharing :)

[Jlassiter]

Thanks Allan......
Most of the information provided is for king snake breeders.....not just keepers, but the overall message should prove beneficial for keepers too......
I have some kings that I do not breed and they are thriving with these techniques.......
Just my experiences though....Others may have different experiences/opinions......

In this "online" day and age one must learn what works for them in their geographical location, compile all the data provided, learn from their snakes, learn from their mistakes and apply different things, see how they work and adjust continually to achieve optimal husbandry....

I have adjusted different things over the last 20 years....and plan on making some changes this coming brumation/breeding season.....it's never ending....there is no set way everyone should keep their animals......but their is a difference between just living from week to week and thriving in captivity......I honestly have seen the difference.......

[Rogue628]

Thanks John! :)

[Toronto1977]

I'm followin' ya John. It's great to learn and get knowledgeable information from someone with over 20 years experience with Kings :D

[GarterPython]

Well my hot side is 85 and my cold side stays from round 70-76. He is on his cold side usually around once per week sometimes twice per week.

[Jlassiter]

Cool......that's when you feed him....when he's on the cool side.
Then he'll go to the hot side to digest, move to the cool side and want a meal again.....

[GarterPython]

Ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!