Kingsnake Oddity

BWSmith · 02-10-03, 09:09 AM

I generally try to keep as many complete sheds as possible to give away at my educational programs and such. While doing some massive rearranging, I had to take the sheds off the wall. So I had a pile of copperhead, cottonmouth, EDB, Canebrake, Timber, and coral sheds. Didnt think too much about it. Jump forward a few days. I find that I have an AWOL Speckled Kingsnake. OK, that is not too odd. But he ATE EVERY SHED!!! I found one little 2 inch peice of Canebrake shed the looked like it went through a weed wacker!

Now I have used sheds in the past to scent prey items for other ophidiophages. But I have never seen one just eat the shed before.

J_Riley · 02-10-03, 09:43 AM

Mmmm, that'd be like me eating a pound of steak scented cardboard...

Smelled like a snake, guess he figured it'd be good to eat...

**Andy_G** · 02-10-03, 06:50 PM

Sometimes they do that. Some people think it is because of malnourishment but I think it would be very hard to malnourish a snake that gets everything it needs from mice/rats. I would think that he possibly did not recognize it as his own and it smelt good enough to eat.

BWSmith · 02-10-03, 09:54 PM

It was not his own shed, he only ate venomous sheds

stormyva · 02-11-03, 07:33 AM

That little knig snake still hasn't turned back up!

BW do you have cats, and if so did the cats have access to the sheds. Our cats used to get a hold of the sheds and play with them and somehow they always ended up disappearing completely after they got a hold of them.

BWSmith · 02-11-03, 08:22 AM

Herp Rooms are int he basement, cats are upstairs. Cats never get to go into the basement.