Florida Brookes King Snake Will not eat (may have swallowed sand) what can I do?? Tried pinkie already.?

Question

A friend of mine has a snake that has not eaten since Dec 10th and has been very weak and is starting to lose color. The snake originally had sand in his cage until we discovered that this was unsafe and now we have wood chips but we suspect that it swallowed some sand. It will not eat anything we tried live and dead food, we also took it to a vet and they force fed it with some high calorie substance but the snake is now losing color and is hiding under the water bowl contantly and is very cold all the time. Is there anything we can do???

Thanks

Answer 1

King snakes usually aren't problem feeders...if you are trying to feed it pinkies, I assume it is a baby? Make sure you have the tank temperatures right, the warm end should have an ambient temp around 82-84 degrees ferenheit, the cool end around 75. If your tank is too hot, the snake may not eat. If your tank is too cold, your snake may not eat. There are alot of variables you didn't mention. What kind of woodchips are you using? Cedar is poisonous to snakes. I use aspen, works excellent. I have 28 snakes, have bred kingsnakes, so I am not just pulling your chain. If you can put in more details, we can probably solve this for you.

Answer 2

Your snake sounds like it's trying to hibernate (brumate) & you're disturbing it which can cause the creature to become weak & even possibly die. You keep waking it & you will stress it to the point that it will not survive. Swallowing sand will not harm your snake. They swallow bits of debris all the time when feeding in nature. Leave the snake alone, just make sure to have fresh water available & a good, secure , hiding spot for the snake to go to to sleep. It may be too late to save this snake.

Answer 3

its probably the change in weather. snakes can feel the environment change. but change the sand/chips to newspaper, thats how I keep my snake. Try holding it often making sure its warm....and they seriously can feel people's energies so be postiive, and show it love....but it could just be the winter change...and try either a live or dead mice next time. Take it to a vet that specilizes in reptile saftey or contact a herp society that will help you. I am a member of the chicago herp society so you can find information there.