My Thayeri King Snake won't eat

[Slagathor]

I recently bought a thayeri king snake, he is about 1 year old. I fed him 2 frozen pinkie mice the first week I had him. I then tried feeding him again, and he bit the mouse and spit it out. Every attempt to feed him after that has failed. I then noticed that the snake had shed his skin, and tried feeding him again, but he refused. It has been a little over 3 weeks since he has eaten and I am starting to worry. The front of his eyes are starting to get a little grey and sunken in. Is my snake just stubborn and won't eat frozen food? Should I try a live mouse? Or could he be sick? I have tried heating up the mice with warm water, putting them in a different space other than the enclosure, and leaving the mice in overnight.

I don't have a scale to weigh my snake or a thermometer to gauge the temperature. I know that isn' t the issue because I bought a heating pad and installed it correctly, and the snake doesn't spend all of his time near the pad.

[Sunnieskys]

weird. Kings normally will keep eating. does he burrow? is he still on pinkies? try getting some used bedding from the pet store. warm the mouse. throw it into the used bedding to get that fresh mouse smell and then try to give him the meal. I have to do that sometimes at work for picky eaters. also if you have a screen top you can put some used mouse bedding on the screen to get his hunting going.

[Prognathodon]

A year-old king that's otherwise healthy will be fine not eating for a few weeks. The eyes looking strange may be retained eyecaps (which will interfere with vision), or something worse. Pictures will help.

If you don't have a thermometer you do *NOT* know that the temperatures are ok, especially if you don't have it regulated by a thermostat, which you didn't mention.

First thing to do is get your husbandry correct - If you don't have a thermostat controlling your heat mat, unplug it *right* *now* and leave it unplugged until you get one. Then go look at the care sheet section for information on kings and/or milk snakes. And get a digital remote temperature "gun" thermometer so you can check temps, plus whatever else you need to add/change.


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[Craiga 01453]

Ok, first of all, your setup needs help to get your husbandry right.

You NEED a thermometer and a hygrometer. Also, I'm guessing your UTH is not regulated by a thermostat. You NEED a thermostat and should unplug your UTH IMMEDIATELY if it's not regulated. Leaving a UTH unregulated could lead to burns or DEATH of your snake.

So you DON'T know that isn't the issue. UTH's are for a hot spot ONLY and not for ambient temps.

For the health of your snake, which sounds like it is struggling, do some research FAST and fix your issues.

You have no idea what any temps are (surface temps, ambient temps) what your humidity is (could be the reason for the incomplete shed). Get all of your husbandry right, leave the snake alone for a week and offer appropriate sized prey. I'm not sure because you have no scale, but I'm guessing pinkies are too small as well. A Kingsnake a year old should be on fuzzies or hoppers.

So, PLEASE do some homework, fix your setup and give this snake a fighting chance.

We are here if you need help. Good luck.