King Snake

[blacktara]

Another follow up

A couple weeks ago I got nipped - Had her out and she was happily winding around my fingers. After a few minutes I draped her around my neck like I sometimes do. She was chillied, pkoed her head into my shirt pocket and so on. Then she crawled up the nape of my neck and kinda stuck her head in my ear and kept it there for a minute. Just as I got wondering - bip - she nipped the top of my ear - let go - I took her down and she was winding around my arms happy and cool again

I guess the top of my ear might kinda resemble a pinky

Now a question - I've had her going on 6 months and she is looking like she's getting ready for another shed - so about one every six weeks. This has been with feedings about 3 every 2 weeks, first a pinkie, then 2 pinkies, now one adult mouse per feed.

I've heard that shed rates vary based on environmental conditions including how often they feed, and that a snake basically has so many sheds in it and then it dies (so many cell divisions if you wanna look at it that way)

Is this a typical rate? Should I slow down the feeds? Speed up the feeds?
Last month or so, every mouse I throw in she is on it in ten seconds flat. No more of them lasting til the next day

Robert

 

[Wade]

The shed rate sounds pretty typical to me. For a growing snake, however, feedings could be a bit more frequent.

I've never heard this about a snake "having so many sheds in it and then it dies". If someone has some documentaion on this I'd be interested in reading it, but on the surface it sounds like so much "internet lore" to me.

Wade

 

[Beardo]

Snakes continually grow their entire lives...once they reach a certain age their growth slows down, but they are always growing. So the above myth is definitely false.

 

[nics]

doeas anybody breed kingsnakes?

 

[fluffy]

nice one on getting a kingsnake they are very cool snakes
i have californians(striped,banded,albino lavender) mexican black and a 04 desert kingsnakes(bred californian kingsnakes 3 times in past 5 years)
with regards to heating it would depend entirely on whats best for you,i use thermostatically controlled heatmats and have done for many years but a red heatlamp is a good idea too
i think its better to keep your snake on rodents as they are easier to get hold of and is much better but if you want to add variety to its food try a chick occassionally but use these sparingly as they lack very little nutrition and make sure the chicks are debeaked and declawed to prevent injuries,kingsnakes like many snakes are oppurtunist feeders in the wild which means theyll eat whats there but in captivity a exclusively rodent diet is the best way to go( i come from the uk and green anoles,house geckoes and other lizards cost £5-15 a lizard wheras a mouse/rat average about 25p-£2 unless you breed your own rodents i know what option id go for) and it has been done for many years
lee