Help, ball python not striking at food

[Nephil]

Hello everyone today i tried to feed my BP after 2 weeks of him not eating. I decided to try again to feed him today cause he seemed hungry, since his head was out of his hide facing a bit upwards. I thawed the mice in water, warmed them up and took one out to dry in a towel a bit, then offered to my BP. He didn't seem very interested, he looked a bit confused.. He just stared at the mouse, sniffing it bit by bit but refused to strike. I warmed up the mouse in hot water again, but he still didn't strike on the second attempt even if he seemed more interested. His tongue flicks were crazy fast, he was just reaching the mouse making his neck longer and longer,VERY slow but refused to strike. I left the mouse in his tub but he just didn't seem to notice it, he didn't even care to look where i put the mouse and track my movements like he would long ago as a regular eater.. He just now tries to escape like crazy again, with very fast tongue flicks. What should i do? Also.. Is it normal that mice look grey inside when thawed? They don't smell rotten, they all have and had an unpleasant smell.. Guess it just smells like rodents..

[303_enfield]

Wait two weeks an feed at night. With BP's that don't eat it's a waiting game. Hunger wins but it can take a long time.

Grey inside? You cut it open an it was grey as in no blood? Are the mice mussy? With red meat if it's grey it's blood less an freezer burnt. With prey I've only seen that with old refrozen prey. Shops freezer had failed an they just refroze everything an sold it like nothing happened, That's why I raise my own.

Tons of "tricks" to make prey tasty to snakes. Thaw in the snake room or on top of the cage. Hit the hair dryer of a bit then offer to the snake. Zombie mouse dance. You don't just hold it by the tail. Move the mouse across the snakes view. Braining prey. Drop feeding, just drop the prey in the cage an if it's still there in the morning, toss it out. Smaller prey, it works an that's what matters. Others will add more like scenting prey an 100 others things.


Good luck!

[Nephil]

Wait two weeks an feed at night. With BP's that don't eat it's a waiting game. Hunger wins but it can take a long time.

Grey inside? You cut it open an it was grey as in no blood? Are the mice mussy? With red meat if it's grey it's blood less an freezer burnt. With prey I've only seen that with old refrozen prey. Shops freezer had failed an they just refroze everything an sold it like nothing happened, That's why I raise my own.

Tons of "tricks" to make prey tasty to snakes. Thaw in the snake room or on top of the cage. Hit the hair dryer of a bit then offer to the snake. Zombie mouse dance. You don't just hold it by the tail. Move the mouse across the snakes view. Braining prey. Drop feeding, just drop the prey in the cage an if it's still there in the morning, toss it out. Smaller prey, it works an that's what matters. Others will add more like scenting prey an 100 others things.


Good luck!

I waited somere and my BP finally noticed and ate the mouse, he was so desperate to eat that he successfully ate it back first. By grey inside i mean like.. What the mouse looks internally. To explain better, i got a mouse that was furless on a big part of its belly, it was squishy and had that funky smell like all the other mice did, but since the skin was so thin i could see right through it and saw a dark grey color. I often times saw that with the other mice too though, just not that clearly,i just wanted to know if it was normal.

[303_enfield]

"Funky" smell isn't what you want. If he is eating them, fine. But you might want to find another source for pray when those are gone. Plenty of bulk frozen dealers that have a great rep here. Buying frozen in bulk saves money. Find some snake keepers near you for group buys. Then you save more an can mix sizes.

Glad he ate!

Good luck!

[Bogertophis]

I waited somere and my BP finally noticed and ate the mouse, he was so desperate to eat that he successfully ate it back first. By grey inside i mean like.. What the mouse looks internally. To explain better, i got a mouse that was furless on a big part of its belly, it was squishy and had that funky smell like all the other mice did, but since the skin was so thin i could see right through it and saw a dark grey color. I often times saw that with the other mice too though, just not that clearly,i just wanted to know if it was normal.

No, not normal. Sounds like your rodents are spoiled, & that's likely why your snake hasn't wanted to eat them. Please find a better source for rodents, that's totally unacceptable. Ugh!

[Nephil]

No, not normal. Sounds like your rodents are spoiled, & that's likely why your snake hasn't wanted to eat them. Please find a better source for rodents, that's totally unacceptable. Ugh!

Oh? Thought it was normal.. I did read a similar thread on the smell, but the smell isn't really that bad, just unpleasant. It isn't strong unless i put my nose near them, and i noticed it being a bit more strong if i would throw them in hot water right from the freezer, they then would be very very squishy like the organs would just pop out any second. I have a towel i dry them in, and it has that smell left. Each one of the mice were a bit stinky only when thawed, some a bit grey, but my BP always would eat them with a big appetite (except that time when he was stressed cause i took out his fave log, but now he seems to have calmed down a bit and he was most likely just searching for food the last few days). I gave him the first mouse that was just kinda thin, squishy but looking more edible, while the other one looked internally dehydrated (bloodless) and i left it in the enclosure for a pretty long time without my snake noticing it, so i didn't want to warm up and try to offer him again a dehydrated, not very fresh mouse. I ordered the mice from one of the best sites of my country, there are no nearby breeders, and big pet shops that sell those things are far away and give everything overpriced. The site i ordered from had hundreds of prey options for a good price, got the package in time and everything was very well sealed, and i cant say the mice are bad.. They are just not all the same, like physically, but it's not very obvious until you soften them up. I'll try to get the best looking mice from the sealed bag in my freezer next time, also they often get a nosebleed when thawed so.. Guess that's how i know they have some juice in them, haha. Should thawed mice be smell less? The best description i can give of the smell is.. Wet dog, my thawed mice smell like wet dogs.

[303_enfield]

Don't thaw in hot water. Your cooking the prey that way an helping the bacteria break down (rot) the prey.

Sounds like you got a bad batch. Thawed prey "should" fell like live or fresh killed. An after being in a water bath shouldn't stink. (Poor quality prey might smell like pee.)

What size is the prey your feeding. I ask because pinks an fuzzies will be mussy. They are more water then protein.

Good luck!

[Bogertophis]

As 303_enfield said, you're making these rodents WORSE by thawing incorrectly.

Thaw in COLD-COOL water only*- and only then, when they're soft & squishy throughout (feel by hand!), you can put them briefly in very warm (not hot or boiling!) water for a few minutes just to warm them up so your snake thinks they're alive. Many ppl also use a blow-dryer to quickly warm especially the head right before offering to the snake. (*you can also thaw in the refrigerator, but that can take a much longer time- it's much faster thawing in water)

For your information, there have been plenty of instances where spoiled rodents* actually HAVE spilled their guts all over when the snake grabbed them to eat, making for a big mess & a very unhappy & confused snake. (*whether they came that way from the source or were thawed improperly) Not something you ought to replicate...

How do I know your rodents are spoiled? To quote some of your descriptions:
"mice look grey inside"..."a mouse that was furless on a big part of its belly, it was squishy and had that funky smell like all the other mice did, but since the skin was so thin i could see right through it and saw a dark grey color."

Or better yet, take your snake's "word" (reactions) for it- he knows. BPs don't want carrion- they don't want funky spoiled dead stuff to eat.

Please understand, thawing snake food is NOT like thawing meat for your dinner. For one thing, we cook our food, so bacteria is destroyed, & for another thing, we don't eat whole animals.

The rodents our snakes eat are whole animals- their entire gastrointestinal tract is filled with bacteria that LOVES to grow once it gets warm enough- freezing doesn't kill it, it just keeps it from growing while it's frozen. It's hard to say if the rodents you got are good quality. There have been cases where sources haven't frozen prey quickly once killed, allowing them to spoil prior to freezing. But your method has been making them much worse. I think your BP will be more than happy to strike once you get your thawing method corrected. It sounds as if he's hungry, he just doesn't want rotten prey. Can't say I blame him. (gag)

[Nephil]

Don't thaw in hot water. Your cooking the prey that way an helping the bacteria break down (rot) the prey.

Sounds like you got a bad batch. Thawed prey "should" fell like live or fresh killed. An after being in a water bath shouldn't stink. (Poor quality prey might smell like pee.)

What size is the prey your feeding. I ask because pinks an fuzzies will be mussy. They are more water then protein.

Good luck!

Sorry for the late reply. I feed my BP 2 hopper mice, thinking they were the right size for him cause my past total newbie reptile keeper self underestimated the stretching power of a snake, so i decided to feed my BP the right food quantity until the hoppers finish. I will have to reorder pretty soon, and i'll think if i should switch to rats since he is still young with a big appetite, and so it's maybe time to get him to taste a rat before he just gets stuck with mice as an adult. I'll be careful with choosing the right size prey this time, i'll weigh him and then post a thread about it so i don't do any more major mistakes.

[Nephil]

As 303_enfield said, you're making these rodents WORSE by thawing incorrectly.

Thaw in COLD-COOL water only*- and only then, when they're soft & squishy throughout (feel by hand!), you can put them briefly in very warm (not hot or boiling!) water for a few minutes just to warm them up so your snake thinks they're alive. Many ppl also use a blow-dryer to quickly warm especially the head right before offering to the snake. (*you can also thaw in the refrigerator, but that can take a much longer time- it's much faster thawing in water)

For your information, there have been plenty of instances where spoiled rodents* actually HAVE spilled their guts all over when the snake grabbed them to eat, making for a big mess & a very unhappy & confused snake. (*whether they came that way from the source or were thawed improperly) Not something you ought to replicate...

How do I know your rodents are spoiled? To quote some of your descriptions:
"mice look grey inside"..."a mouse that was furless on a big part of its belly, it was squishy and had that funky smell like all the other mice did, but since the skin was so thin i could see right through it and saw a dark grey color."

Or better yet, take your snake's "word" (reactions) for it- he knows. BPs don't want carrion- they don't want funky spoiled dead stuff to eat.

Please understand, thawing snake food is NOT like thawing meat for your dinner. For one thing, we cook our food, so bacteria is destroyed, & for another thing, we don't eat whole animals.

The rodents our snakes eat are whole animals- their entire gastrointestinal tract is filled with bacteria that LOVES to grow once it gets warm enough- freezing doesn't kill it, it just keeps it from growing while it's frozen. It's hard to say if the rodents you got are good quality. There have been cases where sources haven't frozen prey quickly once killed, allowing them to spoil prior to freezing. But your method has been making them much worse. I think your BP will be more than happy to strike once you get your thawing method corrected. It sounds as if he's hungry, he just doesn't want rotten prey. Can't say I blame him. (gag)

OHHH well that makes sense, thought it's better to thaw in warm water, feeling kinda dumb now. I mean i did thaw in hot water right away just a few times, so the mice did look weirder afterwards so i stopped doing that. I have been thawing mice in warm water for a long time now, then i'd put them in hot (not boiling) water and after some minutes i'd let them dry in the towel. I'd choose hot water so it wouldn't become cold in one second, but i'll try to be more careful with the temps now, maybe my mistakes are the ones making them stinky.. They don't stink when still frozen in the bag. All the other times my BP would jump with a perfect aim to the mouse, only when it would become cool to the touch he'd look kinda confused, but after rewarming he'd strike right away. He rarely looked hesitant like the last feeding day, but he did eat the mouse alone in the enclosure after noticing it. As i said, the mice don't smell rotten, but they do smell like wet dogs especially if i warmed them up too fast. No matter how squishy they were there never was a messy organ leak out surprisingly, but i must admit that some would feel less yucky than others.. Maybe it was cause of the difference in water temp i'd warm them up at times. Thank you for warning me about this, and i am sorry for doing such mistake, i'll make sure to fix my thawing method next feeding day.