The snake looks like a baby, or just a very young snake. It shouldn’t be having any hormones of those kind yet.
Another reason for wondering is stress. How much do you handle him/where do you have him located in your house? And he isn’t aggressive when striking, he is defensive. Try offering the food in a small container with it covered up while he eats.
He’s in a reptile room. He gets to look at a pond and plants all day long and me. Definitely no stress. I haven’t been handling him at all since he refused food other then to check on him. He was only getting handled in between feedings before. Was active and always came out to watch me in the room. The joke is “boo is always watching” he’s been in the same 40 gallon since the day I brought him home.
1 Like
Like I said it’s probably a juvenile, but there is no way to tell without knowing it’s hatch date.
I find cal kings in the wild regularly. Very few of them are anywhere near the size of our captive kings. A couple years ago I collected a gravid female that was only twice this size or a little more. She only laid two viable eggs but the fact remains, she was both too small and too young to exhibit breeding behavior if you go off care sheets.
3 Likes
My reptile room isn’t in my house. It’s a room built out in our shop. It has AC and heater but runs cooler in winter and warmer in summer. It affects my goldfish in the pond differently then my goldfish in my house. Just something I wanted to state for anyone further reading.
2 Likes
Just an update on Boo. Eating strong again. Trying to get some weight back on him. Definitely think he thought it was winter. Super aggressive now from no handling so I’ll need to work with him. Just giving an update 
5 Likes
Not eating from December to March is typical for NA colubrids. could be triggered by temperature, natural light, or just a sense of time. My guess is that it’ll keep doing it every year. My king still doesn’t want to leave his burrows…
P!
2 Likes
Yes, he’s just tiny and everyone I asked said their kings are strong feeders and never had an issue so it made me worry a lot… and he would still come out like he was hungry and not eat. Just glad it’s over lol
2 Likes
Can this happen with a female?
Is your female off feed?
This time of year if a female is in a position where she can see the sunlight/darkness and her tank is cool it could be affecting her circadian rhythm, telling her it’s close to time to brumate.
1 Like