AWOL Snake was Found!

[B.P.'s 4me]

I'm so pleased you found him!! I've experienced the "escaped snake scenario" and know how stressful it is and how worried you must have been. So glad he's back safe and sound.

[AnnieHeart]

I'M SO GLAD YOU FOUND HIM! Poor baby!

[pretends2bnormal]

Mini update, he did not manage a repeat escape overnight! And it looks (and smells) like he kept his food down so far.

I lifted the hides just a tad to make sure he was there and do a regurge check. I remember he was never much bothered by that before and that still holds true. He kinda turned his head a bit toward where I was for the 2 seconds it was lifted before i set it back down.

Funny enough. We never found any poops in the house after he went missing, but about 10 minutes after eating I caught him taking a very long drink and having already pooped in his new cage...

Any suggestions on how often to feed him to try and bring his weight back to where it should be?
I was thinking every 4 days for a few weeks then up to 5. Or is 5 days better to not stress his digestive system after not eating for so long? I'm pretty sure he didn't find anything small enough to eat while he was gone.

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[pretends2bnormal]

Oh, and since I don't think these guys are very common. I got him from a breeder (Stu's Herps) who specializes in specific localities (down to the mile from a city or road, he caught all of the early generation parents himself and any fresh bloodlines). He said they can be known to he difficult to start on mice as babies (I think they're likely more lizard or toad eaters in the wild), but that he has an easier time with them than hognoses he also breeds. He never sells until they've taken several (iirc 3, maybe more) unscented f/t pinkies in a row.

From what he told me, and has held true when we had Ash, gray banded kings are not like the other types of kingsnake I've heard of. They're very docile as babies. Generally no musking to he heard of. Fairly slow moving for a colubrid, especially when they're not fully accustomed to you/the environment, but as long as they're not super scared. He was about as easy to handle as a ball python when I got him without the BP balling behavior. He was definitely a bit flighty yesterday, but nothing compared to my corn snake at the same age. I suspect that will be gone entirely after another meal or some short handling when he settles in. Our house is probably terrifying to him with the banging around from aquarium maintenance where he was hiding and our 50 lb. red heeler bolting around the house (and somehow never finding him!)

Anyway, thought I'd share some info on these guys. They require a permit to sell in Texas (maybe more places too) and aren't commonly bred, Stu is the only breeder I've seen at DFW shows lately to have them. No permits required to buy or own, only to sell.

Glad everyone else seems to be as excited as I am to have found him. Thanks in advance for any advice about feeding frequency from my last post.

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[pretends2bnormal]

Things are looking good so far. Yesterday was 2 days from his meal and he looks to have digested it completely (and left a little present for me).

I took him out for just a minute to get a benchmark weight for him (post-poop), and he is 13 grams. Not nearly as low weight as I expected. It looks like he's an inch or two longer, so I guess he burned fat to grow in length since he is definitely not a good weight right now.



Added some fake foliage to his tub for some added cover for him, and found him pretending to be a carpet python napping at the top of it this morning.


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[pretends2bnormal]

Anyone have any advice for getting his weight back to normal?

Is my plan of feeding every 4 days sound ok for his next several meals? Or is 4 days too often?

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[Bogertophis]

As long as he has minimal disturbance and is warm enough to digest, I see nothing wrong with feeding him a pinky about every 4-5 days.

Do watch & make sure he's digesting ok though or you risk having him regurge if meals are too close together. Much also depends on the
pinkies themselves: they can range from tiny preemies to those a few days old. Just gradually size up & lengthen the time between & he'll
be fine.

I once took in a starved Western longnose hatchling & just happened to have some super tiny pinks in my freezer. The snake was plenty
warm & I got away with feeding him every couple days at first, on those preemie pinks. It's all relative, trust your instincts, he'll be fine.
Since it's "coming out the other end" you know he's digesting.

[pretends2bnormal]

We have "small pinkies" from 1 to 2g from our young sand boa, who is only now 18 grams, but started at 11 grams. (There may be some <1 gram, my scale isn't able to do less than 1 gram increments, so it's hard to say) Those are what we're going to be using for him. How skinny his neck is made watching him take that first tiny one very comical. But he definitely is digesting it. No lump be end of day 2 and a new poop is a good sign

Going to give him one tomorrow (4 day gap) and do every 4 days for 2 or 3 meals, I think. Just wanted to be sure that there wouldn't be an issue with the frequency.

I'll try to remember to keep posting pics of him as he puts on the weight.

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[Bogertophis]

Yes, please do update us now & then: I think you're doing great with him, he is lucky to have been found in time. And pinkies digest very easily
anyway, it's exactly what he needs for a while..."TLC". Sounds like he's going to be a beautiful & mellow pet when he grows up too.

[pretends2bnormal]

Meal #2 was good on Wednesday and got a weight today at 14 grams. Not sure he's pooped after that one, but it isn't going down, so I'm happy with that for now.

He was definitely calmer when I picked him up to weigh today, too.



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