Baby ball not eating?

[littlebp]

Little bit long, but please read!

I brought home my first ball python about 3 weeks ago. She's about 6 months old. I brought her home on a Thursday and the breeder I bought her from was feeding on Sundays so I left her alone for the weekend and fed her on Sunday (seemingly without a problem). She didn't strike at the rat, she just smelled it and kind of ignored it at first, but when I put it in her tank and left it there she bit into it and ate without a hitch. I checked her tank regularly when I was changing her water and such to see if she regurgitated but everything was always fine. I keep her temperature at about 86-89 in the day on the warm side, and bring it down to 75-78 at night. I use a UTH on a thermostat and no heat lamp in a 15 gallon tank, the pad covers about a third of the tank. I always keep a damp towel over half the screen cover and the humidity usually stays at around 50-60%. As far as I know, she is warm enough, and it's humid enough, but the last two Sundays when I tried feeding her she wouldn't eat. When I prepare the rat, (I'm feeding f/t) I put it in a bowl with boiled water for about an hour, and if the water is cool enough I usually put new hot water in the bowl to warm up the rat. It's always soft all the way through when I feel it, and I dry it off before I try giving it to my BP, but she still wont take it. She doesn't even seem interested anymore, she wont smell it or come near it, and even when I put it in the tank and leave it, when I come back an hour later to check the rat is still there and she's off climbing her branch. I have only handled her twice in the 3 weeks that she's been with me, and that was only to move her to a container while I changed her tank. I have no idea why she wont eat, and the last thing I can think of is that maybe the rats are too big, she's eating pups but they're still only about the same width as the thickest part of her body. Please if anybody has any ideas why she isn't eating, tips or tricks I can try, let me know! I need help!

I've heard that sometimes snakes wont eat for months, especially in the winter, and it has only been two weeks.

[SaintTawny]

How much does she weigh? Is her enclosure in a high-traffic area of your house? How many hides does she have to choose from, and are they secure dark hides or are they the half-log ones?

Realistically, 2 weeks isn't a big deal for a ball python, though it can be really nerve-wracking the longer they go. Double-checking your husbandry never hurts, make any improvements you can find, and try to be patient. I understand that they'll usually eat when they're ready. Dependent on her size and age after some time (much more than 2 weeks) if she started losing weight you could attempt to feed a live mouse as long as you helicopter over her to make sure she doesn't get chewed on. Intermediate steps would be fresh-killed or even braining a F/T pup if you have the heart for it.

My pastel girl was feeding strong on F/T when I first got her, then she went off feed about 6 months ago and the only thing that got her eating again was live prey. She got up to about 1200 grams and I was getting excited about breeding her soon, then about 6 weeks ago she went off feed again. Jerk. But it happens, it's all part of owning Ball Pythons.

[Medusa<3]

This may just be me, but an hour in boiling water seems like a really long time. Couldnt this take some of the nutrients out of the food?

[craigj1187]

do you use a baggy when you put it in water, so it stills smell fresh?

[Inarikins]

A night drop isn't necessary. And when you say 86-89, do you mean the whole enclosure is that temp, or just the hot spot, or...?

[SaintTawny]

Whether or not nutrients are degraded by "cooking" a food is up for debate, but my preference for thawing a rat is water as hot as it comes out of the tap. By the time the rat thaws, the water will feel a little cool, then you can drain it and refill with hot tap water again and let it get up to temperature for a couple minutes. Ideally, a rat should feel maaaaaybe a little warm to you, as their normal body temperature is only slightly higher than ours. Theoretically, replicating the normal temperature of the prey SHOULD produce a better feeding response, but I can't say it hurts to go a little higher, I just wouldn't use boiling water. I'd think that rat meat could start to cook at 100 celsius, and snakes aren't really meant to digest cooked meat. I have low tolerances for hot water, so my rule of thumb is not to use water hotter than I can stand to heat F/T.

[littlebp]

Yes I put the rat in a baggie when I thaw it. And the tank stays around 86-89 on the warmer side of the tank, it's a little cooler on the other end so she does have a temperature gradient.

And I think this week I will try with the hot tap water instead of boiling water, maybe the rat is a little to hot for her? I'm just confused mostly as to why she ate the first week but she hasn't eaten since.

[itchmynipple]

recently my baby ball python just ate a f/t mouse the first time, n then a f/t rat, an then back to a f/t mouse.

i tried feeding him a f/t rat but he wouldnt take it, i tried again with another f/t rat, until finally i got a live one and he ate it pretty quick, as soon as he heard the noises and saw it move..

i felt so bad for the cute baby rat though, and it was a slow death - im guessing because my snake hasn't had a challenge in awhile//

ACTUALLY, my ball ate that rat while it was alive and still making noises n moving his head! so sad really but ima keep doing it.

[Inarikins]

Your ambient temps should be 78-82 and your hot spot should be 88-92. 86-89 is too hot for an ambient and is in the low range for a hot spot. It's amazing how picky they can be about feeding when things aren't right. If your ambients are even 86, it's too high and that could be causing the refusals.

[norwegn113]

I had something similar happen with me. I was using water that was way too hot( even tap water above 100 degree can cause the surface flesh to "cook" which prompts refusals .recently I have been thawing the the rats at a slower, lower temps and have gotten much better. Results. Try it, it can not hurt!