getting nervous baby stopped eating

[blue roses]

My baby girl has stopped eating, she just drinks, strikes and ignores the food. This is the forth week of refusals. When i got her, i let her accluemate for a week, then fed her live which was what she was used to. I then started to switch her to FT, and she ate fine for about 5 weeks, then nothing for the past 4 weeks. her temps are 88-90 hot side, 77-80 cool side, 75-80 ambient, 40-50 humidity. She strikes at the ft but its like shes pushing it away, she doesn't even try to grab it. sometimes she will strike the glass if shes out of her hide, but shes not out much. I gave her a live pup and she totally ignores it, The rat pup is actually sleeping right up against her, so far nothing. Is it vet time. I would hate to forse feed her but she is only 223g . When she's out she drinks and roams in her tank. no discharges and no mites. Any help will be appreciated.

[highqualityballz]

Leave the rodent with her overnight and cover her enclosure to ensure its dark and private. She may feel more comfortable and eat.

[blue roses]

No luck, I left the rat pup in with her all night and covered her, but this morning when i got up there it was sleeping in the hot side hide, while my snake was sleeping in the cool hide. The pup was still alive so i left it in there and covered her back up. Any suggestions, Is it time to assist feed.

[Willowy]

You need to do something with the rodent. It's cruel to allow it to die of starvation/dehydration. Kill it humanely or feed it with a dropper or take it back to the pet store, something.

Anyway, if it's only been 4 weeks it's not time to force feed yet. Force feeding is very stressful so you want to avoid it if possible. Do you know if she's lost weight? If so, how much?

Keep trying all the usual tricks. How big are her hides? If they're spacious, try stuffing them with paper towels. BPs like a nice tight hide. And don't attempt a feeding too often, that's stressful too. No more than once every 3 days. Try upping the humidity too, it's a little bit low.

[blue roses]

Her hides are not big for her, she is 223g and fills them pretty well, at least she touches the sides when in them. I was thinking of getting of feeding the pup with an eye droper. The reptile store where i got it won't take back feeder rodents. I can always feed it to my BP boy, who never refuses. That doesn't help with my problem, how long can i wait till i must assist feed.

[pariahdog]

I would not force feed a 200g snake. 4 weeks is really not a long time to go without feeding for a bp. Try to feed every 2 weeks instead and let her "miss" food a little bit.

And please don't leave live rats in the enclosure in the future, for both of their sakes. If you want to leave overnight, c/d the rat first so it can't cause harm to your snake. In the morning if it's still there, feed it to your other bp.

[Hammertime1977]

Classic over reaction 223 grams and no food for a month is only a problem if you're power feeding it to breed.

If it didn't eat for another month, you'd be perfectly fine.

I keep saying Ball Python's aren't picky eaters, they just don't eat on your schedule...they eat on theirs. They hunt when they're hungry, if they're not that hungry...they tend to give up and go to their hide. If they're roaming around the tank for 3-4-5 hours, odds are they want food.

[blue roses]

I guess i am just spoiled by my boy, he is a cross between a BP and a pig, he never misses a meal, and is all over the tank on feeding day. What concerned me is she did eat well for 5 weeks then just turned off. She cruises her tank at night and sleeps during the day, sometimes with her nose sticking out of the hide opening. She ignores everyone in the house except my husband, she actually strikes at him, but i think he just fusses around her tooo much. i will hold her a bit and shes fine. Its just the eating thing thats got me baffled. No, i am not trying to powerfeed her, i will possibly breed her in time, but thats not why i got her, she is just a really pretty girl. So if it takes her forever to grow up thats fine as long as shes healthy and content. My daughter took the little rat, she is out buying a tiny eye dropper, and going to set up a nice warm tank in her bedroom for it, i told her if she can keep it alive , she can keep it.

[blue roses]

The little rat is doing great, he is eating milk, and soft mashed up food. I was thinking that one of the problems is too much activity by her tank, so i bought a rock wall and cut it to size for the back and one side to close her in a little more and give her more isolation. When we moved her i found her skin dull and loose, and now i'm thinking she is not eating because she is in shed. Is this possible? I did raise the humidity to over 60% in hopes this will solve the problem. I never thought of her being in shed, but i've had her for just shy 3 mos, and this will be her first shed with me. Like i said my boy is a pig and has never refused a meal even in shed, but hes 1000g now and still eats like a champ. I think i just have to learn not to panic.

[Eavlynn]

Our girl Zoe likes to go off feed from time to time, and always refuses when she's in shed. Our two boys eat like clockwork (typical boys )No reason to worry. Just keep offering meals and eventually she'll take it when she's ready.

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