New member from NY. Hello all

Datbigdude · 05-15-12, 02:33 PM

Whats up guys, new to the forum and to snakes. Picked up a banded California King at a recent reptile expo after reading they were a great starter snake. Ive have random other pets sucks as a bunch of frogs as a kid but never a snake or anything of that nature.

When i bought the snake the man who sold it to me told me it didnt even require a heat source so i kept it in a 30" tank with aspen and a big water bowl, later added a box for it to hide in.. It has refused food since i bought it which is right around a month ago so i recently put a walgreens bought heat pad underneath one end as i read that was sufficient but im not exactly comfortable with how i cant tell how hot it is. Pad has been in there for about a week..

Earlier today i went to hold him as i havent taken him out in over a week and i noticed his entire underbelly is pink. Read online that it could be rdy to shed but it could also be burn?

Basically any insight on its not eating and its pink underbelly would be great. Also if anyone would like to point me in the right direction on what im doing wrong and exactly what my setup is missing that would be really great as i only want the best for the little guy and want to make sure hes comfortable in hus new home.. Thanks all!

Snake is about 4'9" btw and i was told hes about 4 years old. He was very docile when he got here but has become a little twitchy when i try to touch him now. He also just Pooped for the first time 2 days ago

infernalis · 05-15-12, 04:22 PM

sSnakeSs.com - Rules

KSTAR · 05-15-12, 04:24 PM

WELCOME! And I'm in Brooklyn NY

Lankyrob · 05-15-12, 04:32 PM

Welcome,

The snake needs a hide at both ends of the tank and a warm end and cool end. The under tank heater should cover about a third of the floor space. You need a thermostat to control the heater and best bet for measuring the temps is to get a laser thermometer. Not sure what the temps should be for a king snake but am sure someone else can tell you

If the temps arent right then this could be a reason why it wont eat as it needs correct temperatures to digest its food, also snakes sometimes take a couple of weeks to settle into a new home.

The pink belly could be a burn or it could be about to shed (which could be another reason it isnt eating

) - can you show us some pictures?

Personally i wouldnt handle the snake at all until it is settled in and has eaten a couple of times for you.

alessia55 · 05-15-12, 09:52 PM

Welcome to the forum

I hope your snake sheds soon so he'll start eating for ya. Good luck!

shaunyboy · 05-16-12, 06:43 AM

hello and welcome

you need to get a thermometer and a thermostat,to measure and control the heat to your tank (i'm not being cheeky)

if its a burn,then the some of the pink areas,will turn brown and eventually scab

once we know if the pink tinge is due to a shed coming up or a burn,we will be able to advise you better

cheers shaun

Trent · 05-16-12, 07:38 AM

hi and welcome!!

UwabamiReptiles · 05-16-12, 09:04 AM

Welcome to the forum!

marvelfreak · 05-16-12, 09:33 AM

Hello and welcome to our zoo. If the pink on its belly goes the whole length of its body it in shed. If it's just in a few spots then it would be a burn.

Datbigdude · 05-17-12, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

Welcome,

The snake needs a hide at both ends of the tank and a warm end and cool end. The under tank heater should cover about a third of the floor space. You need a thermostat to control the heater and best bet for measuring the temps is to get a laser thermometer. Not sure what the temps should be for a king snake but am sure someone else can tell you

If the temps arent right then this could be a reason why it wont eat as it needs correct temperatures to digest its food, also snakes sometimes take a couple of weeks to settle into a new home.

The pink belly could be a burn or it could be about to shed (which could be another reason it isnt eating

) - can you show us some pictures?

Personally i wouldnt handle the snake at all until it is settled in and has eaten a couple of times for you.

Hey thanks for the reply, im going to look into the thermostat and heating pad, not sure what brand or exactlt what i should be buying.

I do have an update on him that doesnt look good, he spent all of yesterday in his box and did not come out once, he was still in there till today in the exact same spot so i feared the worst. I tried moving him and he wouldnt budge so i moved the boxed sideways to get it out of the tank and his entire body plopped over upside down : ( i was opening the box until i noticed his head peak out to see what was going on. After a sigh of relief i took him out of the box and set him down in the tank and hes moving very slowly.. Its def not his normal self. Also his body is still very pink, its not only his underbelly its any part of him that was white.. Im nervous and not sure if i should rush him to the vet or if any of this is normal...

Quote:

Originally Posted by alessia55

Welcome to the forum

I hope your snake sheds soon so he'll start eating for ya. Good luck!

Thank you, i hope so too..

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

hello and welcome

you need to get a thermometer and a thermostat,to measure and control the heat to your tank (i'm not being cheeky)

if its a burn,then the some of the pink areas,will turn brown and eventually scab

once we know if the pink tinge is due to a shed coming up or a burn,we will be able to advise you better

cheers shaun

Thanks Shaun, the pink is everywhere on his body where he was white.. Im going to order the thermostat and head pad online, i assume Amazon. Any specific brand or model i should look for? Maybe a site other than Amazon?

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvelfreak

Hello and welcome to our zoo. If the pink on its belly goes the whole length of its body it in shed. If it's just in a few spots then it would be a burn.

Not spots def all over his body, and thanks for the welcome. Would he be less energetic b4 a shed?