# Ball Pythons > BP Husbandry >  HELP!  My Ball Python hasn't eaten in months

## BPNewb

I posted a similar thread almost a month ago on the same topic .. all of you concurred that this might be a normal cycle that my BP is going through right now .. but I just want to ask again, and see what my next steps should be.

My BP hasn't eaten since January 25th, so now it's been 4 months - I haven't changed anything in her habitat.  She is approximately 6 years old.  She's only refused food maybe twice in the whole time I've had her, so this is Very out of the norm.  She appears normal in all other senses; she's active when I take her out, she looks normal (mouth, eyes, skin.)  I even tried the last 2 times when offering her food (I keep offering her food every 2-3 weeks), of putting the rat in her cage (I have always fed her live rats - I usually feed her in a separate container.)  She just does nothing.

At what point/how long should I be concerned, and what action do I take?  Take her to a veterinarian to gain a professional opinion?

Thank you for taking the time to read this and offer feedback, much appreciated!

~BPNewb

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## Kaorte

If you aren't already, start weighing her. This will at least give you an idea of how much weight she is loosing or maintaining.

4 months, while a long time to go without food for us, is not all that detrimental to a well established adult ball python. A hatchling or yearling should not be going off feed for this long though. 

I missed the thread from before, so sorry if I ask you things you have answered before. 

What is her enclosure like? Temps? hides? Size of the enclosure? 
Knowing the snakes age and weight would also be helpful. 

What different feeding methods have you tried so far? Other than feeding live in a separate tub and live in the home enclosure.  

Perhaps you could try mice, a smaller rat, or ASFs if they are available to you. I would agree that feeding her in her home enclosure is a better idea.

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mackynz (05-31-2012)

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## Annarose15

For anyone who doesn't remember your first thread, here it is:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...81#post1810381

It's a shame that no one thought to suggest you get a scale and monitor her weight. I still wouldn't be concerned after only four months, especially at that age. I do recommend that you get a scale and start watching her weight now, so you can know if she's losing too much. In the meantime, you could post pics here and we can offer our thoughts on whether she looks overly thin. She knows how to eat, so she will start again when she's ready as long as your husbandry is straight. Since I know others will ask, what are your temps & humidity, how are you measuring them, and what is your cage setup (hides, etc.)?

Add: Ha! Steffe was faster than me!  :Smile:

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## Slim

> Take her to a veterinarian to gain a professional opinion?


Unless you have an experienced Herp Vet, a veterinarian is the last place you'll get a professional opinion on a ball python hunger strike.

Keep the husbandry optimal and keep offering.  She will start to eat again when she's ready.

I know 4 months feels like a lifetime, but we have several members here who have been through fasts that lasted over a year.

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## el8ch

To be honest I wouldn't worry too much after 4 months if she is not showing any sign of illness or change in behaviour.

What I can suggest is to triple check your husbandry and make sure everything is good.  I have had success with boosting the ambient air temp in my reptile room for some of my females that have gone off food.

What size prey item are you feeding?  You might just intice her to eat if you give her a smaller prey item, something smaller then what she normally eats.

Keep an eye on her weight and feed her on her normal feeding schedule and when she is ready she will start feeding again.

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## Kaorte

> Add: Ha! Steffe was faster than me!


I'm a ninja  :Ninja:

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## BPNewb

I'm not sure how much she weighs, I'll have to find that out ... she is between 6 and 7 years old now, I've had her since she was about 1 year old.

She is in a 40 gallon terrarium, hide on each side; warm side has a heat lamp and heat pad, set to about 80 degrees, give or take a few degrees.

I've always fed in a tub, but after my post a month ago, the last 2 times, I've tried feeding in her cage.  She's been on rats for about 2 years now, but yesterday I actually tried a large mouse ... still no interest.




> If you aren't already, start weighing her. This will at least give you an idea of how much weight she is loosing or maintaining.
> 
> 4 months, while a long time to go without food for us, is not all that detrimental to a well established adult ball python. A hatchling or yearling should not be going off feed for this long though. 
> 
> I missed the thread from before, so sorry if I ask you things you have answered before. 
> 
> What is her enclosure like? Temps? hides? Size of the enclosure? 
> Knowing the snakes age and weight would also be helpful. 
> 
> ...

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## BPNewb

WOW, a year -- ok I don't feel so bad now.  I'll for sure get a scale and start keeping track of weight.

Thank you!!





> Unless you have an experienced Herp Vet, a veterinarian is the last place you'll get a professional opinion on a ball python hunger strike.
> 
> Keep the husbandry optimal and keep offering.  She will start to eat again when she's ready.
> 
> I know 4 months feels like a lifetime, but we have several members here who have been through fasts that lasted over a year.

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## BPNewb

I downsized just this last time (yesterday) -- have been on small to med sized rats this past year or so, but yesterday just went with a large mouse, but still no interest.  So I'll just keep at a regular schedule, making sure all settings are ideal.

Does it make a difference whether or not I take her out and hold her for a bit first, kind of get her moving before I put her back in to feed her?  Or should I just plop in the food, and not touch her right before?





> To be honest I wouldn't worry too much after 4 months if she is not showing any sign of illness or change in behaviour.
> 
> What I can suggest is to triple check your husbandry and make sure everything is good.  I have had success with boosting the ambient air temp in my reptile room for some of my females that have gone off food.
> 
> What size prey item are you feeding?  You might just intice her to eat if you give her a smaller prey item, something smaller then what she normally eats.
> 
> Keep an eye on her weight and feed her on her normal feeding schedule and when she is ready she will start feeding again.

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## el8ch

> She is in a 40 gallon terrarium, hide on each side; warm side has a heat lamp and heat pad, set to about 80 degrees, give or take a few degrees.


You should boost your temps.  Cools side should be right around 80 with your hot side at 90!

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## el8ch

> Does it make a difference whether or not I take her out and hold her for a bit first, kind of get her moving before I put her back in to feed her?  Or should I just plop in the food, and not touch her right before?


I wouldn't do any handling before feeding.  Keep handling to a minimum until she is feeding good for you again, you may be unknowingly stressing her out. I have found that I have much more success feeding in their enclosure where they feel comfortable instead of feeding in a seperate container.

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BPNewb (05-31-2012)

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## BPNewb

Ok, I'll boost them to that, see how that goes ... the temps I posted earlier were measured from the middle of the cage.




> You should boost your temps.  Cools side should be right around 80 with your hot side at 90!

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## Kaorte

I agree, I don't handle my snakes when they aren't eating, other than to clean the tub and take weights. Wether we like it or not, snakes can get stressed from handling. 

Do you happen to have a picture of your setup? Also, are you using a thermostat with your heat sources? What kind of thermometers are you using? 

Sorry for being so nit picky, but these details could mean the difference between your snake eating and not. 

Is your snake fairly active? What kind of hides do you have? Is the snake in the hides more often than not?

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## BPNewb

No problem for being nit picky, if I'm doing something less than optimal, I want to know so I can fix it!

I don't have any pictures off hand of the set up in it's entirety, I'll have to take a picture when I get home - at which point I can tel you the kind of thermometer I have (it's a digital one, that is linked up to a thermostat.)

Her activity level has been on and off, but usually only at night; then she's in the hides all day.  She'll come out and crawl around at night.





> I agree, I don't handle my snakes when they aren't eating, other than to clean the tub and take weights. Wether we like it or not, snakes can get stressed from handling. 
> 
> Do you happen to have a picture of your setup? Also, are you using a thermostat with your heat sources? What kind of thermometers are you using? 
> 
> Sorry for being so nit picky, but these details could mean the difference between your snake eating and not. 
> 
> Is your snake fairly active? What kind of hides do you have? Is the snake in the hides more often than not?

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## satomi325

Have you tried other types of prey?
I had to jump start a rat feeder w/ a mouse because he was looking awful. He lost 30+% of his body weight.
He has never had a mouse ever in his life. But he took it like candy. I offered a rat w/ the mouse just in case he wanted that instead, but he ended up taking both. (Mouse first, then the rat)

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## Kaorte

> No problem for being nit picky, if I'm doing something less than optimal, I want to know so I can fix it!
> 
> I don't have any pictures off hand of the set up in it's entirety, I'll have to take a picture when I get home - at which point I can tel you the kind of thermometer I have (it's a digital one, that is linked up to a thermostat.)
> 
> Her activity level has been on and off, but usually only at night; then she's in the hides all day.  She'll come out and crawl around at night.


Do you know the kind of thermostat? I'm just wondering if maybe your temps are off. Does the thermometer have a probe that you can measure the hot side with? 

If the temps aren't it, it might be a security issue in which case moving her to a tub or a smaller tank might help. Alternatively you could throw a bunch of crumpled up paper in the tank to provide some cover. 

I had an adult ball python go on a hunger strike for more than 6 months. Before that, she was only eating sporadically. Since I got her she was a great feeder, it was just recently she decided she wasn't hungry anymore! I brought home a trio of ASF rats and the next day she took a f/t from me. This was about 4 weeks ago.

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BPNewb (05-31-2012)

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## BPNewb

Yea, I just tried a mouse yesterday (she hasn't had mice in a few years) -- I think I'll try a mouse again the next few times, just to take a step back - especially since she hasn't eaten in forever.





> Have you tried other types of prey?
> I had to jump start a rat feeder w/ a mouse because he was looking awful. He lost 30+% of his body weight.
> He has never had a mouse ever in his life. But he took it like candy. I offered a rat w/ the mouse just in case he wanted that instead, but he ended up taking both. (Mouse first, then the rat)

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## MrLang

I'm going for it...!

MAYBE it would like a F/T or pre-killed meal instead. Have you tried either of those?

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Kaorte (05-31-2012)

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## BPNewb

I haven't ... but I guess that would be the next step if she doesn't take this mouse again.




> I'm going for it...!
> 
> MAYBE it would like a F/T or pre-killed meal instead. Have you tried either of those?

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## BPNewb

This is my set up .. heat lamp on top right, with heating pad underneath .. both hooked up to a thermostat.  Then for good measure, 2 temperature strips on both cold and hot sides of the tank (I measure temp with an infrared temp gun.  Also a humidity gauge on the mid/left side.  Top 3/4 of the cage lid (from the left), is covered in foil/duct tape to help retain heat. 2 hides on either side.







> I agree, I don't handle my snakes when they aren't eating, other than to clean the tub and take weights. Wether we like it or not, snakes can get stressed from handling. 
> 
> Do you happen to have a picture of your setup? Also, are you using a thermostat with your heat sources? What kind of thermometers are you using? 
> 
> Sorry for being so nit picky, but these details could mean the difference between your snake eating and not. 
> 
> Is your snake fairly active? What kind of hides do you have? Is the snake in the hides more often than not?

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## BPNewb

SweetPea finally ate on Friday ... so relieved!!!!  Thank you all for your support and guidance through this 5 month fast, I was getting worried!

 :Very Happy:

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## SRMD

just curious, did you do anything differently to get the feed or?
 :Smile:

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## TiffanyZ

I have a similar issue, my ball python (about 8 yrs old) won't eat, can't? He hasn't eaten in about a month and a half, he didn't eat, tried the next week he had a bad experience with a rat that bit his face pretty good, wouldn't eat it, tried the next week with a new one, nothing, gave it two weeks, nothing, so switched back to try a mouse, been a few weeks, still nothing. He strikes and shows interest, but won't (can't?) hold on and kill the lil bastard and eat it. I've checked his mouth, apart from a missing front tooth, it seems normal, bites on face are much better, but he's still not eating.

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## SRMD

> I have a similar issue, my ball python (about 8 yrs old) won't eat, can't? He hasn't eaten in about a month and a half, he didn't eat, tried the next week he had a bad experience with a rat that bit his face pretty good, wouldn't eat it, tried the next week with a new one, nothing, gave it two weeks, nothing, so switched back to try a mouse, been a few weeks, still nothing. He strikes and shows interest, but won't (can't?) hold on and kill the lil bastard and eat it. I've checked his mouth, apart from a missing front tooth, it seems normal, bites on face are much better, but he's still not eating.


I just got so confused this thread is 3 years old.

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## DVirginiana

> I have a similar issue, my ball python (about 8 yrs old) won't eat, can't? He hasn't eaten in about a month and a half, he didn't eat, tried the next week he had a bad experience with a rat that bit his face pretty good, wouldn't eat it, tried the next week with a new one, nothing, gave it two weeks, nothing, so switched back to try a mouse, been a few weeks, still nothing. He strikes and shows interest, but won't (can't?) hold on and kill the lil bastard and eat it. I've checked his mouth, apart from a missing front tooth, it seems normal, bites on face are much better, but he's still not eating.


You should start your own thread so people will see and and be able to give you advice w/o getting confused by the old thread popping up again.

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Stewart_Reptiles (01-28-2015)

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## TiffanyZ

I would, but I don't know how, I'm a computer idiot.  :Sad:

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## DVirginiana

> I would, but I don't know how, I'm a computer idiot.


If you're logged in and go here, there's a blue oval that says "+ Post New Thread".  Just click on that and write up your post.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/forum...1-General-BP-s

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## dopeballs

Hello everyone  I was wondering what is a good weight for a 1 and a half year old male and female.

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## CALM Pythons

> Hello everyone  I was wondering what is a good weight for a 1 and a half year old male and female.


You just commented under someone elses Post from 2012?
If your new go to Introductions, then start your own thread under the proper Sub Topic so people can answer question for you.

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