Help! Problem with speckled king

Cheykenzie · 09-27-13, 09:56 PM

Hi, i'm new here. I am having a problem with a wild caught speckled king. He/she is about 12-15 inches long. I am trying to feed thawed pinkies because I live in the middle of nowhere, and the nearest pet store that sells live is over an hour away. I have had him/her for almost 2 weeks, and have not been able to get him to eat! I am thawing the pinkies correctly, using feeding tongs, and wiggling to make it seem alive (exact method I used with my store bought banded king). I even tried rubbing an anole i caught on my porch all over the mouse so it would have it's scent....A friend suggested this, and the thinking was that there are not many mice running around here, but there are LOADS of anoles, and I know kings will eat other snakes, so maybe other reptiles? Still a no go....any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

marvelfreak · 09-28-13, 01:38 AM

She probably just stressed home. I would not handle her until you get her eating.What's your set up look like and what are your temps?

Terranaut · 09-28-13, 08:45 AM

My advice is to release it and buy a captive bred replacement.
But.... if you insist on keeping it...
Make sure the prey is warm almost hot. Put it in the enclosure and leave the room for a couple hours. I have not seen a king that will fast yet. (I'm sute they are out there but not very common) . He is just shy and not used to being in a viv.
But again I would let it go where I found it.

Mikoh4792 · 09-28-13, 08:52 AM

As mentioned before I would let it go and buy a cbb. It's probably having a hard time adjusting to captivity. Plus you never know what it is carrying.

Cheykenzie · 09-28-13, 09:27 AM

I will let him/her go if i cant get him to eat in the next couple of days. Temps vary between 84-87 on warm side and 69-75 on cool side.

Mikoh4792 · 09-28-13, 11:30 AM

Could you post a picture of it's enclosure? What are you using to control the temps?

StudentoReptile · 09-28-13, 06:59 PM

Lizards actually make up a good portion of a young kingsnake's diet in the wild. So if you could procur a few, I would not doubt he would eat them. Could also try mediterranean geckos if they're common in your area. All I've had to do in the past is turn on my porch light and within 20 mins, I had a handful crawling on the walls to choose from.

Not many people out there breed speckles, so finding a CBB one is difficult. I'm not going to get into the WC vs CBB debate, so do what you feel is right in this situation. Of course, I do suggest releasing it if it doesn't take anything in the next week or so.

snakeman879 · 09-29-13, 04:43 AM

Hi I can not give eny advice sorry but I do hav a question. What are the laws regarding keeping a wild snake that you find in your area?? Im only asking because I was going to go for a walk in the erly spring to catch and keep a grass snake (natrix natrix) but found out that in the uk it is illegal to catch and keep eny reptile species that we have. Just wondering if it was the same for you or are you alloud to do it??