KIngsnake not eating and nose discoloration

Question
Hi Paul,

We have had our king for almost two years, she is beautiful, recently she has stopped eating, we have taken her to a snake expert who got her eating again however once she was returned she hasnt eaten (been about a month). She has the correct heating and everything. She is now in Blue but i noticed a pinkish tinge on the top of her nose. Have you heard of this before, would it be normal. She has no mites, and no swelling or anything else!

Oh PS she is living in south africa with us :)

Answer
Snakes can develop a pink patch if they are kept in too wet of an environment. For example, if they frequently spill their water bowl contents and are left in the damp environment. If that has not occurred, then the only thing I can think of regarding it's nose would be nose rub. If the temp is too warm especially, the snake will try to escape the environment constantly, resulting in a rubbed nose. You mentioned that your temp is correct. By that you mean a warm end in the low to mid 80s F, and also a cool end of about 70 degrees F, correct?

Regarding the loss of appetite, you didn't mention what your friend did differently that got it eating. Some things I would suggest are:
- make sure the tank size isn't overly large for the snake
- try feeding a live (stunned) mouse
- try a fish-scented mouse (catfish, herring, etc)
- try a "brained" mouse

Lastly, I don't know what the seasons are like on South Africa, but kingsnakes have a natural biological clock that tells them when "winter" is coming, during which time they will go off of food so that they can prepare to hibernate. I know that you don't really have a winter season there, but it may be possible that the snake thinks it's time to hibernate (??)....just a guess. You also mentioned the snake being a female. Are you certain of this fact? Adult male snakes will go off food during mating season.

In any event, I doubt that the pink spot on it's nose is the issue with it's feeding, unless the snake has a case of mouth rot.