Okay, now what??

[hughman 125]

Okay so after i had my BP for almost 4 months and her not eating or showing ANY interest in anything i offered her, i decided with the help of some folks on here to force feed her. The first time i forcefed her i gave her 3 pinkie mice (keep in mind she is a 550 gram snake and looking skinny!). That was a little over a week ago and i tried feeding her a frozen/thawed hopper mouse again today but again she showed no interest in it so i forcefed her again, successfuly. Now, my question is what do i do now? Should i feed her another because it was only a little hopper mouse, or should i wait another week or so and try getting her too eat normally? thanks in advance!

[Kaorte]

What have you tried so far to get her to eat? How are you measuring temps? hides? Where do you try to feed her?

Pinky mice are not worth feeding to a ball python. they are far too small and have almost no nutritional content. If this snake has eaten on its own, you shouldn't need to force feed. Are you sure you aren't assist feeding?

[hughman 125]

What have you tried so far to get her to eat? How are you measuring temps? hides? Where do you try to feed her?

Pinky mice are not worth feeding to a ball python. they are far too small and have almost no nutritional content. If this snake has eaten on its own, you shouldn't need to force feed. Are you sure you aren't assist feeding?

yes i am definitely forcefeeding. Ive tried both live and frozen/thawed, ive tried feeding her in just a cardboard box, i once tried feeding her a live mouse in her own cage(before i heard not too) im measuring temp with a digital thermometer and i have two different hides in her tank as well as a large water bowl. She has never eaten on her own for me, though the guy i bought her from said that she ate live mice for him.

[Kaorte]

I think your best bet at this point is to go out and buy a 16qt plastic tub and two small cereal bowls from the dollar store to use as hides.

Wait one week from the day you put her in the tub and offer her a live mouse in her home enclosure. If your snake is not eating consistently and you feed in a separate enclosure, that may very well be the reason for not eating.

Force feeding is a LAST RESORT. You have many other options to try before force feeding. Force feeding pinky mice will just cause more stress then it will give her energy.

[Vypyrz]

It may also have something to do with the way you are thawing and presenting the F/T. After thawing, I use a blow dryer to heat the prey up for a minute or 2 and I blow the air into the enclosure to pre-scent and let the snake know a meal is coming. Grab the prey with feed tongs by the skin on the back of the neck and wiggle it around about 3 inches in front of the snake so it looks more natural, and let the snake come to it. You also might need to try a live hopper mouse or rat pup next time. Something that weighs 10%-15% of your snakes weight...

[hughman 125]

Okay ill give this a shot. The mouse i fed her today though was not a pinkie mouse though, it was just a regular small mouse

[hughman 125]

It may also have something to do with the way you are thawing and presenting the F/T. After thawing, I use a blow dryer to heat the prey up for a minute or 2 and I blow the air into the enclosure to pre-scent and let the snake know a meal is coming. Grab the prey with feed tongs by the skin on the back of the neck and wiggle it around about 3 inches in front of the snake so it looks more natural, and let the snake come to it. You also might need to try a live hopper mouse or rat pup next time. Something that weighs 10%-15% of your snakes weight...

okay cool! i think the next time i try to feed her im gunna try and give her a live hopper.. havnt tried a rat pup yet thought. Thanks!

[Kaorte]

okay cool! i think the next time i try to feed her im gunna try and give her a live hopper.. havnt tried a rat pup yet thought. Thanks!

a hopper is also too small for a snake of her size. Try the rat pup.

[hughman 125]

a hopper is also too small for a snake of her size. Try the rat pup.

okay, will do!

[BuckeyeBalls]

Ask they asked before what are your temps in the cage?

I see u said u are measuring them but what are they?

Ambient temp?
Hot spot?
Humidity?
How big is the enclosure?