BP Not eating, afraid of food?

[RiverDragon459]

Hi, I am a new ball python owner and while I've already read up on everything I need to know to care for her, there's still some things I need help with immediately. I've talked to the reptile manager at the pet store where I bought her from and he told me what I should be doing to feed her. We've put her in a big enough container to feed (separate from her living container) and let her get adjusted to it and she's doing all the typical signs of feeding but she won't eat. She acts almost as if she's afraid of her food? I've had the reptile manager select a live rat that he would feed her to make sure it's not too big or too small for her and she still refuses to eat it. We left her in the container with the rat for about 20 minutes now and she followed the rat around the container visually for a bit and coiled up in preparation to strike but soon as the rat turned and smelled her nose in curiosity, that was it, she was done. She won't touch it anymore and she does her best to escape. The RM says he's fed her live, fresh killed, and frozen so she wouldn't develop a sort of preference when it comes to feeding. This is the second week she's done this (exact same way) and the second week we've had her and my boyfriend is starting to believe there is something wrong with her and is tempted to take her back to the pet store. I'm tempted to kill the rat and see if she has indeed developed a preference for feeding. Is there anything anyone would recommend I do for her? As I said before she's definitely hungry, she's not gravid, and it's not mating season just yet so I'm not sure what else is wrong with her. Would she still dance around her cage and do all the other hunger signs if she were fasting?

[Eric Alan]

Hi, I am a new ball python owner and while I've already read up on everything I need to know to care for her, there's still some things I need help with immediately. I've talked to the reptile manager at the pet store where I bought her from and he told me what I should be doing to feed her. We've put her in a big enough container to feed (separate from her living container) and let her get adjusted to it and she's doing all the typical signs of feeding but she won't eat. She acts almost as if she's afraid of her food? I've had the reptile manager select a live rat that he would feed her to make sure it's not too big or too small for her and she still refuses to eat it. We left her in the container with the rat for about 20 minutes now and she followed the rat around the container visually for a bit and coiled up in preparation to strike but soon as the rat turned and smelled her nose in curiosity, that was it, she was done. She won't touch it anymore and she does her best to escape. The RM says he's fed her live, fresh killed, and frozen so she wouldn't develop a sort of preference when it comes to feeding. This is the second week she's done this (exact same way) and the second week we've had her and my boyfriend is starting to believe there is something wrong with her and is tempted to take her back to the pet store. I'm tempted to kill the rat and see if she has indeed developed a preference for feeding. Is there anything anyone would recommend I do for her? As I said before she's definitely hungry, she's not gravid, and it's not mating season just yet so I'm not sure what else is wrong with her. Would she still dance around her cage and do all the other hunger signs if she were fasting?

1. Try feeding her in her home enclosure. There is no reason to pull her out of her home, likely making her feel uncomfortable and stressed, in order to feed her.
2. Try a smaller rat than the guy at the store recommended.
3. How do you know she's hungry? When's the last time she ate? They can go for quite some time (many months) without eating - especially after moving to a new environment.
4. "Dancing around her cage" could also be a sign of stress. A comfortable ball python is pretty much a pet rock. I'd deep dive into your setup if I were you and make sure you've got it dialed in for her. Ask if you need help with this.
5. How big is she? I'm going to assume that she's adult size since you mentioned not being gravid and it not being mating season (which it actually is for most breeders).

[Albert Clark]

Hi, and thanks to the BP.net community for welcoming me as a new member! As far as the thread is concerned in RiverDragon459, Eric Alan has everything on point. I would just add that you should pay special attention to the article " the enigmatic ball python appetite' by Colin Weaver of East coast reptiles. He talks about the importance of your choice of substrates being very crucial to the feeding response in ball pythons. He recommends cypress mulch as the best choice but he takes several of his experiences with customers and their non feeding animals and how he resolved the issues. Great article for every bp owner with feeding problems. Always monitor your pythons enclosure for the proper temps and humidity! And of course monitor your bp for any suspected or apparent health issues. Good Luck and enjoy those articles.

[RiverDragon459]

1. Try feeding her in her home enclosure. There is no reason to pull her out of her home, likely making her feel uncomfortable and stressed, in order to feed her.
2. Try a smaller rat than the guy at the store recommended.
3. How do you know she's hungry? When's the last time she ate? They can go for quite some time (many months) without eating - especially after moving to a new environment.
4. "Dancing around her cage" could also be a sign of stress. A comfortable ball python is pretty much a pet rock. I'd deep dive into your setup if I were you and make sure you've got it dialed in for her. Ask if you need help with this.
5. How big is she? I'm going to assume that she's adult size since you mentioned not being gravid and it not being mating season (which it actually is for most breeders).

1. Won't she get cage-aggressive? People have told me they can get that way if you feed them in their home enclosure.
2. I did actually go back and get a smaller rat and she still wouldn't eat it live so we killed it as the RM instructed (to see if she is indeed picky about her food) and she still hasn't touched it so far
3. She ate last about 3 weeks ago before we bought her from the pet store and she's doing all the signs people say are typical for hunger? She's yawning constantly, she's roaming and flicking her tongue. Plus the RM said she should be ready to feed about now.
4. If you are right and she is stressed and uncomfortable, what would you recommend we do?
5. She's about 3.5 feet. I thought snakes bred throughout the summer into early/late fall? Could this be why she's not eating?

[Kris Mclaughlin]

Dont stress too much. Stress from a move, new smells and sights, it may be a full month or two before your baby eats.

[RiverDragon459]

Dont stress too much. Stress from a move, new smells and sights, it may be a full month or two before your baby eats.

Is there anything I can do for her to help her settle down? I'm kinda freaking more cause Eric mentioned it's mating season and the RM said she was eating until we bought her so I'm hoping it is indeed because she's moved and its a new place for her.

[Eric Alan]

1. Won't she get cage-aggressive? People have told me they can get that way if you feed them in their home enclosure.

Cage aggression, in regards to feeding in a separate enclosure, is an old-wives tale. Here's a nice, long, thread that goes into detail if you want to read it for yourself.

2. I did actually go back and get a smaller rat and she still wouldn't eat it live so we killed it as the RM instructed (to see if she is indeed picky about her food) and she still hasn't touched it so far.

How often are you offereing food? It sounds like it may be more often than necessary, because you're concerned about her not eating, and that may actually be adding to the stress.

3. She ate last about 3 weeks ago before we bought her from the pet store and she's doing all the signs people say are typical for hunger? She's yawning constantly, she's roaming and flicking her tongue. Plus the RM said she should be ready to feed about now.

In general, roaming and restless behavior are signs of stress. Here's a thread on some of the other signs. Yawning constantly isn't a sign of hunger, at least not in my experience, and could actually be a sign of respiratory illness. These things point towards needing a comfortable environment with the proper husbandry (set-up).

4. If you are right and she is stressed and uncomfortable, what would you recommend we do?

Check out a few of the links in my signature. The Care Guide and Glass Tank Setup Guide are good places to start. Another good idea would be to post pictures of and describe your current enclosure for us.

5. She's about 3.5 feet. I thought snakes bred throughout the summer into early/late fall? Could this be why she's not eating?

Most ball python breeders tend to start breeding pretty late in the year and don't finish until late spring/early summer. Cooler temperatures also tend to correlate with hunger strikes. A combination of these two things could be impacting her eating habits right now, but it's really tough to tell as it could really be any number of factors.

[Eric Alan]

Is there anything I can do for her to help her settle down? I'm kinda freaking more cause Erik mentioned it's mating season and the RM said she was eating until we bought her so I'm hoping it is indeed because she's moved and its a new place for her.

I know it doesn't help much, but try and relax. Honestly, as long as they aren't losing weight, they can go many months without eating and do just fine. My current longest active hunger-strike has been going on since November 8th (~3.5 months), which isn't really all that concerning since she's maintaining her weight well. I've heard stories of hunger strikes from adult imports lasting upwards of 2+ years with minimal weight loss.

Just try and focus on making sure you're giving her a good home and the rest will fall in line for you.

[RiverDragon459]

Eric Allan

I've had her for about two and a half weeks now and I've offered her food twice so far on Sundays so about once a week as recommended, is this too often?

Okay so after reading all the information you've given me I'm going to hope her situation is a cross between being stressed from the new home and possibly because of breeding season. After looking at more of the signs of stress I can see now that she displays more of them than for the basic hunger signs that I was told to watch for. So for now, I will treat her as if she's stressed and let her be and hopefully she'll settle down and return to eating normally. After she stops roaming so often do you think it would be a good idea to try to feed her again?

Also should she be in a darkened environment more often than she is in the daylight? And would being around cigarette smoke be harmful or stressful to her?

[Eric Alan]

Eric Allan

I've had her for about two and a half weeks now and I've offered her food twice so far on Sundays so about once a week as recommended, is this too often?

Okay so after reading all the information you've given me I'm going to hope her situation is a cross between being stressed from the new home and possibly because of breeding season. After looking at more of the signs of stress I can see now that she displays more of them than for the basic hunger signs that I was told to watch for. So for now, I will treat her as if she's stressed and let her be and hopefully she'll settle down and return to eating normally. After she stops roaming so often do you think it would be a good idea to try to feed her again?

Also should she be in a darkened environment more often than she is in the daylight? And would being around cigarette smoke be harmful or stressful to her?

Once a week is a good schedule, but I'd hold off a couple of weeks and offer her food again at that point. They tend to spend most of their time in a dark environment, so yes, a darker environment would likely do her some good. In regards to the cigarette smoke, is second-hand smoke safe or stress-free for anything?