BP accepted but won't eat...

[Nin]

Hey guys. I'm a little confused about what to do next and maybe you could help me out.
Today was feeding day for my 5-month-old female ball python. This was supposed to be her 3rd meal with me and she has never refused to eat. This time, she bit and constricted the rat as usual but she dropped it and hasn't tried to eat until now. She crawled a little bit, got inside her hiding, and came out again and now she's inside the hiding with her head out by the rats side.

I noticed she was acting differently after her second meal. She used to be active at night and come out of her hiding to roam for a while. She did this when I first got her and after digesting her first meal (3 days after she ate). I was assuming this was hunting behaviour and that she was hungry. Now after the second meal she hid for a week, only taking her head out for a while at times. With the movement, she moved her hiding to be facing the wall and not the room, which was before and she would see us walking around. So, today I was expecting her to come out to eat and only after she was outside her hiding, I would grab the hiding and put it back in place, where she could see us walking by and don’t get unused to us. I did this after she released the rat from her grip and I guess she didn’t like it. Also, just when she released the rat she stroke at me (in my direction) and hit the glass. I was just standing there motionless and the room had very little light, just enough for me to see what was going on. I have always fed her after darkening the room.

I've also noticed that during this past week, I once looked closely at the side of the terrarium as I always did to see if she had her head out, and she hid her head immediately as if she was scared. Now, this is rather weird since I always came close with my face to check her out and she never expressed any sign of distress or being scared. She is very calm, even on her first day here, she was always very calm and I have handled her twice. This past week I haven’t handled her because she didn’t come out and I didn’t want to scare her, afraid she wouldn’t eat, especially after what I mentioned above. And now she’s not eating…

So I would like to hear your opinion on the subject since I’m new to this and I would also like to ask what do I do now? Leave the rat overnight? Take it out, freeze it again and try tomorrow (since she didn’t actually refuse it)?

Temperature is 78(it’s night-time) and humidity is now 80 (when I gave her the rat was 65).

[aldebono]

Personally, I would refreeze and feed in a few days. I would also leave her in complete quiet with no activity for a few hours post feeding. She will be more likely to eat without seeing someone walk past, even if it takes putting a towel over her tank. And no peaking!

You don't have to move the hide, I would just wiggle the feeder in the hide entrance and let her strike however she wants.

Let us know how it goes!

[Nin]

Personally, I would refreeze and feed in a few days. I would also leave her in complete quiet with no activity for a few hours post feeding. She will be more likely to eat without seeing someone walk past, even if it takes putting a towel over her tank. And no peaking!

You don't have to move the hide, I would just wiggle the feeder in the hide entrance and let her strike however she wants.

Let us know how it goes!

I thought about doing the wiggling thing in front of the hide so she would put it in place herself, but the problem is that she was inside the hide... So I had to move it myself, which was obviously not a good idea...
Thank you for the quick reply!

[Borgy76]

Maybe set it by the entrance of the hide overnite. If she doesn't take it by morning, try again next week.

[wienkeg]

I have a new bp that won't take f/t from the forceps. But I set the mouse down, go watch tv, and it's gone two hours later...

Try giving her some privacy, and don't worry if she misses a couple meals. Good luck

[aldebono]

Maybe set it by the entrance of the hide overnite. If she doesn't take it by morning, try again next week.

Just to be clear, I wouldn't retry with the same feeder if you leave it overnight. I would toss and get a new one. Also, I only refreeze once, and if its still not eaten, it goes to the king snake. They are handy as disposals.

[Shera]

If that happened I would honestly just grab it back out with tongs, give it a quick hit with the hair drier and try again (not being too pushy, but just offering it again). If that doesn't work I would try again in 3 days or so. Some people say it's fine to refreeze once, some don't do it. It might be more likely to rupture if you freeze twice though. It's kinda your call, whatever you're comfortable with. If you leave it overnight though, then definitely pitch it.

Something that someone suggested once was to tug the tail a little when they are constricting, and it makes them constrict harder which drives them more into feeding mode. Not sure if it's all true but I've tried it and they definitely hug tighter when they feel the pulling, so maybe give that a shot next time.

[Nin]

Thank you all for your answers. I wiggled it a little in front of her before refreezing it again. Her head was out and when i did this she hid so I let her be alone and in peace.
So just to be clear, next time I try, I shouldn't be offering the same feeder?

[Shera]

Thank you all for your answers. I wiggled it a little in front of her before refreezing it again. Her head was out and when i did this she hid so I let her be alone and in peace.
So just to be clear, next time I try, I shouldn't be offering the same feeder?

How long was it sitting out? It will be fine if it wasn't out a very long time. Was it the same colour feeder you usually offer? Some people have said that their BPs expect a certain colour feeder (like light or white ones vs dark), mine aren't picky though, so I have no first hand experience with that.

[Nin]

How long was it sitting out? It will be fine if it wasn't out a very long time. Was it the same colour feeder you usually offer? Some people have said that their BPs expect a certain colour feeder (like light or white ones vs dark), mine aren't picky though, so I have no first hand experience with that.

Now that you mention it, the first two rats where dark and this one was lighter. But I don't know, she still constricted it... The rat was there for two hours maximum.