A feeding issue...

[Powerspythons]

Usually I get annoyed by people who get freaked out about when their snake misses one meal so threads like this sometimes bother me because the fact is that ball pythons go off feed for a while and sometimes there is no stopping them from doing that...That being said, here's my story...I picked up an '04 female normal from a person(who will remain nameless) in the first week of November, Originally I had gotten an '09 'female' normal from said person at the 2010 NARBC Tinley which I later found out to be a male, so really this '04 female normal was just what they gave me for their screw up..Anyways..when I got this '04 girl I was told that she had just eaten and was a regular F/T rat eater, however I became suspicious when I weighed her and she was only 1245grams, so she seemed a little underweight for being 6yrs old. Now here's the real kicker, this girl has NEVER eaten for me!!(it's been almost 3 months now) I've offered F/T every way I know how..I've offered Live of every species I can think of..and i check my husbandry every week and its right on point..I even tried to assist-feed once... and she just always seems oblivious to anything I give her. Now I wasnt really worried about it because she was maintaining her weight and I know that BPs can go off feed during the breeding season. And then last week she shed. Now this is where I start to worry, during my monthly weigh-in(the 22nd of every month) I weighed her and she had lost nearly 45grams in one month..I'm not sure if it was due to the shed or what, but she definately lost some weight. So here's my question...what do I do now? cause I just feel lost..

[ShortStack]

Sorry I don't have any help to give, but I'm sure someone does.. I hope that you get it figured out soon Keep us updated!

[Jeo123]

Well, here are my suggestions since it's what got my girl to go back on feed:


1) Make sure she feels safe. If something's off about her hides or whatever, then she could be refusing because of that. My girl used to eat in a separate enclosure before she went off feed, now she'll only eat in her tank.

2) When it comes to thawing, how are you warming the prey? I found I'm more likely to get her to eat i the mouse is kept dry during the reheating process. I was originally buying F/T mice from petsmart and they came in individual bags. When I ordered online, that wasn't the case, so I was thawing the mice out directly in hot water. I've switched back and now put the mice in little bags which are placed in the hot water. This keeps the scent on the mice more(at least I believe that to be the case)

3) Leave her alone with it(F/T only). My snake will now only eat when I'm not around. I haven't actually seen her eat in 2 month. What I do is I place the mouse in one of her hides(sometimes while she's in there). She'll poke her head out to make sure I'm not around, and I'll leave her alone, but eventually when I come back, the mouse is gone.

Hope this helps.

[SlitherinSisters]

I personally wouldn't even bother with f/t. If they are off fed it usually takes live to get them back on track, at least in my experience. I'm not sure what you are housing her in, but I've had luck with moving my tough feeder to a smaller tub when he stops eating. You could do that or put a couple snug hides in there for her. Have you been breeding her at all? Many females stop eating mide-late breeding season. I've never had girls quit that weren't breeding, but I'm sure it happens. After you have done those things I would give her another month or so, and then consider assist feeding. There are older females out there that are really small for their age that are being bred. The person you got her from could have been pairing her before you got her.

Just from my experience, a live mouse has always been the trick for me. Even the ones that have never eaten mice in their lives will take a mouse after they have been fasting.

[MitsuMike]

Have you been pairing?

I really wouldn't worry over 45 grams. That is a poop for my animals.
BUT if you really are worried, I agree with the above about feeding a live prey. As well as has she been fecal tested. Not a single animal enters my rack without a fecal being done, so I can rule out parasites off the bat if the snake isn't eating.

[Monster Dodge]

The OP has already stated he has offered live from every species under the son. I dunno if you tried gerbils, but I hear that there like crack to BP's. There expensive to buy as a food source but just to get your snake eating again you could give it a shot if you havent already tried that.
Other wise it sounds like your doing everything right so just stay persistent and keep doing what your doing and hopefully it will work out.

[Powerspythons]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. The only thing I havnt tried that you all suggested is gerbils and having a fecal test done. I want to have a fecal test done but the problem with that is that she hasnt pooped since I got her either.. I guess all I can do is keep my chin up and hope she comes around soon. Thanks again.

[MitsuMike]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. The only thing I havnt tried that you all suggested is gerbils and having a fecal test done. I want to have a fecal test done but the problem with that is that she hasnt pooped since I got her either.. I guess all I can do is keep my chin up and hope she comes around soon. Thanks again.

You don't really have to use gerbils themselves as the prey. You can go to the local pet shop and ask for gerbil bedding and scent your prey item with it.
And I am guessing you have tired ASF's?
If a show is coming up in your area they normally sell for 3-4 bucks a piece.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

At that size and weight while frustrating there is nothing to worry about I had a 1000 grams female going of feed for 9 months (to give you an idea) probably the longest fast I had not the only one though.

Assisting a large adult is useless if she is that weight she obviously knows how to eat.

If your husbandry is on spot (enclosure, temps etc) there is not much you can do except wait it out, that might delay your plan but it happens.

Offering another prey type is not the best solution especially with something that can be hard to come across or is expensive, stay with what is readily available and have work in the past.

Be patient keep monitoring her and make sure she is well hydrated.

Remember that she can be fasting because of the winter but also because she wants to breed.