SnaKE not EATING PLEASE HELP

[OrientalSpade]

So here's the thing, im babysitting a banana ball python or my friend until august. Unfortunately, she is from petsmart, sucks i know, but thats not importnt right now.
According to the friend, she hasnt eaten since they got her at the store, which is about 3 months. I cant give an accurate size in grams, but here's a few pictures for reference: http://imgur.com/a/YazjU

Shes got one hide in her tank, and ill be adding another tonight, since i recently got the materials to make one. She had no heat lamp unfortunatey, as i have no way to regulate one at this moment, but shes got a heat pad running at a steady 90 degrees. she has paper towels for substrate, a nice big wate dish, and lots of fake plants to snoot around in

Now, ive tried to feed her twice since i got her a few weeks ago. once last week, and once this week. shes refused both times, and she always seems to shy away from the mouse when i try to do the whole 'dangle it in front of her' thing. now, i know its only been two attempts, but i have TERRIBLE anxiety and if she dies, it'll be my fault and i cannot handle that emotionally
on top of that, im going out o state this weekend, and staying there for two weeks and honestly im terrified
tonight we're going to try a medium or large live mouse, and if she doesnt take it..i dont know what to do.
id really love some reassurance, if there is any to give, along with advice, that, maybe she'd be okay if i left her in my room while im gone?

[melcvt00]

My ball python just went 8 months without eating. She should be fine.

[Nitewolfie]

One: Do you have a thermostat for the heat mat?
Two: She looks in a healthy weight from what I can see, so she should be fine, although in my opinion still not good. One of my male BPs, Orochi, about a month ago got out of a six month fast. A lady told me to increase the humidity and(?) the temperature, a light would DEFINITELY help. What I did to get Orochi out of his fast was get a f/t, he is scared as the one you're watching is if it(even live rats too) gets too near, so I set it down where he could see(I also did the hairdrier trick, which is to put a hair drier on the rats head for 30-60 seconds, and if she;s like Orochi, which sounds like it, you'll need to heat the head up for a bit longer but then again our drier sucks. Also, aim it so the smell gets into the tank and that will help her her into a feeding mode) and I turned to grab something really quick, next thing I know as i'm turning back around he struck it.
BUT, not all of them strike a f/t rat/mouse as I have learned, another one of mine that I have to set it down on the bottom of the enclosure, checks it out first, then takes it closer to his body and.. eventually.. eats it(he's slow and will think he can eat it from the midsection..)
Also, NEVER leave a live rat unattended with the snake. Not sure about the okay part while you're gone.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, you can only thaw a frozen rat so many times before it goes bad, so this may also be your problem.

[OrientalSpade]

thank you, i will definitly do the hairdryer trick! and yes, i have a tstat for the mat, but currently not one for a light and id rather be safe than sorry with that, although i am actively trying to aquire one currently. And i havent used the same mouse both times, ive used different ones and threw out the one she didnt eat.

[Slim]

My ball python just went 8 months without eating. She should be fine.

For older established snakes this is true. Not so much for a juvenile....

[Nitewolfie]

thank you, i will definitly do the hairdryer trick! and yes, i have a tstat for the mat, but currently not one for a light and id rather be safe than sorry with that, although i am actively trying to aquire one currently. And i havent used the same mouse both times, ive used different ones and threw out the one she didnt eat.

Alright, sounds good Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[DennisM]

That sure looks like an adult to me. A weight would be real helpful. Judging from the pic, I'd say that snake should be feeding on small and possibly med rats. Give that a try if she's the size I think she is.

[Willowy]

Yeah that's a fair-sized snake, not a baby. She doesn't look skinny.

Have you tried leaving the rodent in her tank overnight? One of mine is shy and sometimes won't eat until everything is dark and quiet.

And, yeah, she looks like she should be on weanling rats at least, depending how big your hand is .

[chrid16371]

When you thaw the rat or mouse make sure there is no frozen or cold spots left and do the hair dryer thing while blowing sent into enclosure, if you have a temp gun get the head up around 100 if no temp gun give it a minute or 2. You can heat the body a little too but concentrate on the head more. Also thaw rodent in a leak proof bag so the rodent doesn't get wet.

If you have a scale then weigh the snake and then take the scale to get a rodent and get one that is 10%-15% of the snakes body weight. If you don't have a scale then take a string and put it around the biggest part of the snake and hold it where they meet, take off the string and cut it where they met and bring it with you to get a rodent and wrap the string around the rodents until you find one that is the closest to the string size, a tiny bit bigger would be better then a tiny bit smaller. She definitely looks like she should be taking way more then a large mouse. If you can't get a rodent that is close to the size of the string you can get 2 large mice and if she takes one then offer the other after she has the first down. Also if she refuses make sure to wait at least 5 days before trying to feed again, offering every day or every other day could cause stress.

Good luck!!

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[Coluber42]

Hard to tell from the picture, but a snake that size will take a long time to actually starve. Be patient, and just try to give her the most calm, secure environment you can. You've only had a couple of refusals so far, so I wouldn't worry yet.

Everything should be fine while you're gone, provided that the snake has water the whole time. If the normal water dish would evaporate in that time, you should either find someone to come in just to check on her and give her water, or at least find a deeper water dish (that she still can't knock over).

One thing that might help getting her to eat is to watch for what time she usually wakes up or becomes active in the evening, and try to feed her then. If she's sitting with her head poking out of her hide and seems alert to movement outside the cage, it's probably a good time to try. Also try letting the rodent thaw by sitting out in the room where the snake lives, so she hopefully smells it and gets excited.

Good luck, but if she doesn't eat before you go away, don't sweat it and try again when you get back.