Hello All!,
I am new here, and am really excited to have access to such a information rich environment. I am relatively new to snake ownership. I inherited a 9-year-old Ball Python about a year ago. The snake was originally owned by my best friend of 27 years. My friend passed last year, and his parents decided to give him to me. I couldn't have been more honored, and I love having him. In other words, he means the world to me, and I have been spoiling him. I want to provide the best care possible. For the last year, things have gone pretty smoothly. My friend never upgraded his diet to rats. When I got him, he was by no means emaciated; however, he was small and undersized. He was on a diet consisting of mice for 8 years. After I got him, I started feeding him rats. He exploded in size. He has shed like 7 times in the past year, and his belly is actually pink right now. Has anybody ever seen a situation like this? Is it unhealthy for a snake to grow that fast? I sure hope not, I am just feeding him I originally fed him one small...then medium rat every three weeks. Now that he has grown so large, I feed him one large rat a month. He has never hesitated to eat...ever...quite the opposite actually. However, I just tried to feed him and he refused. He is now well fed; therefore, I am not worried about him not eating. I was just hoping to get some insight on adults not eating. I live in Chicago and it is cold. Could it be the season? As I stated earlier, he is about to shed...his belly is pink right now. Could that be the reason? He has taken food a couple times with a pink belly, so that is why my curiosity is up. Will an adult snake eat voraciously, and all of a sudden stop, while still displaying healthy behavior, and no obvious signs of illness? How long should it be before I am concerned? A preemptive thanks to all those that respond. Oh and side note: I now have a pet adult rat. The pet store I get them from is 45 mins away. How long can I keep this thing? (I do not feed my snake in his regular cage, and the rat is chilling in his feeding cage, and can stay there as far as I'm concerned.) What can I give the rat to gut load him for a healthier meal? Any and all insight would be greatly appreciated.