Ball Python not eaten once since november

[LiamPatrick]

Hi guys,

So Im not sure how worrying the title is to the guys who have been at this longer than i have.

I have had Terry, 2 y/o Ball Python, we call him male but we dont actually know. since approx November 2015 so about 9 months and he has eaten once and shed 3 times whilst in my care. we got all his kit from his previous owner as he only had the one snake.

Shortly after we got him he had his first shed which didn't go so well, very patchy and found scraps of shed everywhere. since then i have focused more on the humidity and temperatures and he has had 2 great sheds in single pieces! which as i have not had a snake before it is a very impressive sight to see.

His old owner told us that he could be a bit funny with eating but as i believe most can be on and off. but he said that he would strike quite well and take fine. For his size he apparently he was eating a good sized F/T rat (possibly a bit big from alot of the videos that i have seen.) so i have tried numerous times with smaller ones, a bit bigger than my thumb. (it was one this size that he ate.) i have tried them defrosted over a couple of hours in the air and trying him striking, tried them with hot water and drying them off (tried them in hot water and quickly dabbed to try to heep them hotter and a little wet!) i have done a good amount of reading and i do think i am doing well he just will not take!

the rat that he did eat i defrosted and left it in his viv, nose pointed toward his usual hide (a rock looking hide, nice and snug) and came in to see it gone in the morning! i was extatic! so i left it a week and followed the same method, there in the morning. "maybe he isnt hungry..." left it another week, again still not taken. again and again. i try him each week and have tried leaving it two incase i was just bugging him.

we had him see a vet in april and the vet let us know he was healthy seeming, possibly a little weight lost but still quite bulky. the vet said he had 8 snakes and 2 are BP's. said feeding his snakes they are by far his most picky.

I would really appreciate any insight for helping out my wee buddy. the only thing that i have not tried is force feeding and i really am not a fan of the idea.

im comfortable holding him and having him near my face (im also pretty fine with the knowledge that if i pi**ed him off he could give me a wee bite) but i dont want to make him uncomfortable.

but if needs must then is it not worth a try?

Like i said i'd really appreciate any help on this.

Many thanks,
Liam

[BMorrison]

If he's not losing weight and looks and feels healthy he's ok. My male just came off a good 5 month hunger strike at 1300 grams and ate the worlds smallest large adult mouse (live) they're very finicky eaters (some) I'd just keep offering every 5 days or so until he eats.

Also what's your husbandry like? A lot of times they won't eat if temps are off and they're not comfortable.


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[melcvt00]

First questions are going to be warm and hot side temps, humidity, what you are using to measure them, and heat source(s), hide, etc. Pics of your setup? How often do you handle him? Have you tried live?

[LiamPatrick]

Sorry about the delay in response.

warm and hot side temps, So at the moment we only have one thermometer and it is on the back wall in the centre.
i know that this is not ideal especially after watching several setup videos, i am either wanting to get a new viv or make one dependant on cost.

humidity, we have a "humidity reader" (what would the correct term be?) and his humidity sits at about 35-40 but i think it has had better days.

what you are using to measure them, as above but i will just grab model numbers or whatever.
humidity sensor - no luck finding the same one. no labels or anything, i think it may have been part of a bigger case?
Thermometer - Komodo - http://www.internetreptile.com/measurement/5407-komodo-thermometer-digital.html?gclid=CNT5u-nN8M0CFUefGwodYNYHnw this one

and heat source(s),
Heat mat - i cannot take it out without tearing his viv apart so all i know is that it is a direct heat mat? i dont think it is adjustable at all (which again i would like that control

hide - He has two and he has liked both, as i said he prefers the cool side. he has a hollow log and a false rock. at the moment he is using the rock which i swapped places with the log (to test the cool side thought) both are snug and he doesnt pour out of any bits of them.

Pics of your setup? included in my gallery. if these dont clearly show it then let me know what you would like to see?

How often do you handle him? once or twice a week for approximately an hour, he is generally quite mobile and not timid to be touched or moved.

Have you tried live? we were told he was very comfortable eating FT so this is the way we would like to keep it, it may be a bit more fiddly but i am led to believe that its just down to owners preference and partly snake.


If you guys could give any advice on what you guys would think best.

the way i see it at the moment i can either push to get him comfortable in his not so great current home at least till he is in a routine again...

or i can push to get a new setup sooner rather than later but this may make it worse? uncomfortable and such?

[Willowy]

How do you feed him? As in, how do you prepare and offer his rodents?

Sorry, just saw that you adressed that in your first post. Have you tried wiggling it around with tongs? Make it run around like it's alive, wiggle its head near his hide, etc. Also, try a mouse instead of rats. You might not want to get him hooked on mice though. But if feeding multiple mice is OK with you, it's worth a try.

Buy if he hasn't lost a lot of weight and otherwise seems active, try not to worry too much. He'll eat when he wants to eat.

[Morjean]

As has been said, as long as he is healthy looking and not losing too much weight, you shouldn't worry too much about the hunger strike ― However, I would worry about the lack of a thermostat to control the heat source! That's something I would fix as soon as possible.

It also sounds like there are a few things off with your husbandry, humidity for example! If you haven't already, please read this and make adjustments as needed. Perhaps fixing those things is already enough to get him off the hunger strike, though based on what you wrote it might require a new set-up (better to stress him out for a week or two with a new home than not being able to fix husbandry...)

[LiamPatrick]

Hi Everyone!

I just thought i'd update this thread with some good news.

long story short he took a rat from me!!! snatched it right out the tongs.

honestly it is great to see persistence paying off. I took a couple Photos and a little Clip but as much as i wanted to stay and watch i thought it best to leave him to it.

i'm going to try him in a week again but if he doesnt eat then i'll just try again a week again and so on. i think that i have sorted my husbandry a little more, still got to get a couple bits but i am so happy that progress has been made. i literally jumped when he did it because it was not expected at all.

thanks for all the replies.

see how i get on!!!

Liam

[Albert Clark]

Hi Everyone!

I just thought i'd update this thread with some good news.

long story short he took a rat from me!!! snatched it right out the tongs.

honestly it is great to see persistence paying off. I took a couple Photos and a little Clip but as much as i wanted to stay and watch i thought it best to leave him to it.

i'm going to try him in a week again but if he doesnt eat then i'll just try again a week again and so on. i think that i have sorted my husbandry a little more, still got to get a couple bits but i am so happy that progress has been made. i literally jumped when he did it because it was not expected at all.

thanks for all the replies.

see how i get on!!!

Liam

Instead of attempting to feed him weekly you should consider spreading out the offerings to two weeks. That will probably limit the number of refusals and be more of a savings for you.

[LiamPatrick]

Hiya,

Yet another update.

So yesterday and today he has been hunting about his viv like crazy so i decided to try him again as i know he was on rats twice this size according to his old owner and his size.

and he has taken it from me again today!!! i am extatic. i cant wait to feed him week in week out. glad that i can get into a routine that works now.

Thank you all, Liam

[LiamPatrick]

Instead of attempting to feed him weekly you should consider spreading out the offerings to two weeks. That will probably limit the number of refusals and be more of a savings for you.

Thank you for the tip. it is definately something that i will consider once i see how often he will take from me, i need to up the size of rat again but might still hold off a while and just give him a slow stream of smaller ones.

another thing is that im not too bothered about how much i will spend on missed feeds, ive thrown away about 40 weeks worth of rats on his refusing so i think if i can even get him eating half a pack and half get thrown then that will be a win.