hes not eating!!!!

[white]

well it has been about three days since image has eatin. this is his first time doing this. i thought he was a good eater. he swithed from mice to rats in like nothin. anything i can do?

[JLC]

?????? Who/what is "image?" I'm assuming you mean a snake, and probably a ball python....in which case this thread needs to be moved to a ball python forum. But I'll wait until you confirm what you're talking about first.


If you're talking about a snake....and you're worried because it hasn't eaten in THREE days??? Just tell me if I've got that right before I type out some long reply that may be totally off the mark.

[white]

yes "image" is my bp

[JLC]

Aaaannnd? You're worried that he hasn't eaten for three whole days?


(I'm gonna move this to the ball python husbandry forum)

[recycling goddess]

ball pythons eat once a week... so you wouldn't be feeding them daily

[white]

yes i know they eat weekly. i i feed him everythursday, sorry i put that wrong , 9days sorry all. was not awake

[Spaniard]

How old is this bp? check your temps, are they 92-94 on the warm and 80-82 on the cool. Are you measuring your temps with a digital thermometer, if not you should invest in an accurite which goes for 10 bucks at walmart. More often than not a bp not eating is reflective of poor husbandry requirements. I would check these and make sure if there are any problems that they are corrected and hopefully by the next scheduled feed day you won't have a problem.

Also excessive handling can lead a snake to be stressed and not eat as well.

[JLC]

Alrighty.

As keepers, we try to feed our snakes once a week. (Well, many of us do...lots of folks may have alternate methods, but I'll speak from my personal experience.) But the snakes are not obligated to eat once a week. Sometimes they do...for many weeks in a row...and then sometimes they'll just skip a week...or two...or three. It doesn't hurt the snake at all to miss a few meals.

If your snake misses its regular feeding on Thursday...don't try to feed it again the next day or two days later.....just wait until the next regular feeding day to try again. Frequently offered meals when the snake isn't interested in eating will only serve to stress the animal and cause more problems with irregular feeding.

While you're waiting a week to try again...you can ponder the reasons why he may have skipped a meal...

--Husbandry issues...... Are the temps in the proper ranges and not fluctuating too much? Is the humidity levels fairly constant and not too low or too high? Is there a really bright light shining in the cage? Is there a lot of traffic or flashy lights (TV?) or noise (stereo speakers, for instance). Any changes at all to its environment from before it started skipping feedings?

--Not hungry....... Caused by feeding prey that are a bit larger than the snake needs, or multiple prey items that the snake doesn't really need. If you keep the meals on the smallish side each week, he's more likely to be ready to eat the following week. If you feed as large a rat as you can get away with...he's likely to remain "full" for an indefinite period of time.

--Shedding...... Many snakes don't want to eat while they are in the shedding process. You may not even be aware that he's about to shed because unless you get him out and look closely at him every single day, it's not uncommon to completely miss the "blue" phase that only lasts for a day or two.

Those are the most common reasons for a snake to skip a meal. Don't fret about it....just give it some thought to see what steps you can take to maintain a regular, consistent feeding routine. A few missed meals aren't a bad thing.

EDIT: I forgot to include "Excessive Handling" as a reason he may have not eaten. But Rich covered that one!

[white]

he is sheding. every other time he has sheded he ate fine, but he might be changing. and he is about 6months