Not Eating.

[snake_lady83]

I have had my baby bp for a month now and she still has not eaten for me. I've tried feeding her 3 times so far (f/t), but no luck. The pet store that I got her from was honest and said that she hadn't eaten for them yet, but they did say that she IS captive bred. A local pet store owner said that if she doesn't eat for me soon that I should force feed her, because it isn't good for her to go for this long without eating. But almost everything that I've read says that they can go for long lengths of time without eating and still be ok. How long is too long? How do I know when it is an actual problem? I really don't want to force feed her because I don't know how and I'm afraid that I will hurt her. And I don't want someone who knows how to force feed her to do so, unless it is absolutely necessary. I know I wouldn't like someone to shove something in my mouth against my will! I am going to try to feed her live tonight...I just hope that it works. Any advice will be a help.

[jason221]

Are you double sure that your set-up is correct? 90ish warm side, 80ish cool side, two identical, tight-fitting hides, 50-60% humidity, not a gigantic enclosure, etc. Also, is his enclosure in a high-traffic area of your house? If so, try moving his enclosure to a quieter area if he doesn't eat tonight.

Other than that, if you don't want to do a bunch of crap to the mouse to trick him into eating, I'd try a live hopper (or whatever is appropriate for your snake to be eating). If he's the one in our avatar, I'd say that 3-4 weeks isn't too detrimental to his health, but it's good to get him eating anyway.

[JLC]

You might need to make a trip to the vet with her to have her checked out...and get a good idea based on her age and weight for how long she can be stubborn before you must resort to drastic measures. No one on the Internet can say with certainty how long a baby bp can go without eating. And the vet can also hopefully rule out any illness or parasites as a reason for not eating.


All that being said...husbandry issues are almost always the cause for a baby bp to not eat. They need the proper temperatures...humidity...and security. That last one can't be stressed enough. A baby bp who doesn't feel safe will not eat.

[jcaustralia]

my first ball took about 3 months to take food for me, and i have had one ltc that took almost 2 years to get feeding. i don't force feed anything, very stressfull for the animal, but some people may disagree with that, what size rodent are you offering? it may be to big or to small?, and you may want to try live first untill it gets a few meals in it before trying f/t.

[snake_lady83]

Her temperatures are stable and the humidity also. I have her in a basic tub setup (just the necessities). She has two identical hides, but she isn't using them much (that I've noticed). But I recently put them in. The hides she used to have weren't identical....Maybe she just doesn't feel secure enough right now...If she won't eat for me tonight I'll try moving her somewhere else in the house.


As far as what size food. The f/t that i offered were mouse fuzzies. I asked my husband to try to get an adult mouse from the pet store for me and he came back with a baby hampster...I guess I'll give it a try. Not what I was expecting though.

[jcaustralia]

i would stay away from the hampster all together, fuzzies i feel are to small for balls, hoppers on up depending on size. but i would try live first for a few times to get it started then try the f/t, also i would not move it around your house leave it in one spot. just moving the cage can stress it out to not eat.

[snake_lady83]

I have seen several people suggest crumpled up newspaper to other members. That is one thing I haven't tried yet. Do you think that would be a good idea? Especially since I haven't seen her using her hides much. She doesn't seem stressed, but she can't talk so it's hard to tell...she's draped across one of her hides right now sound asleep (she must be because she hasn't moved for about an hour or so)

[jcaustralia]

that i would not know i have never tried crumpled newspaper, usually i kept them in smaller enclosers so they felt a little more secure.

[ECLARK]

Hannah, Try this. just before its time for the lights to go off at night. put a live hopper mouse in with the baby bp.dont keep looking to see if it ate, leave it alone till morning. more than likely you will discover a lump in your bp in the morning. if that dont happen, you got problems. good luck

[snake_lady83]

Sounds like a plan...my only concern is that I've heard that you need to monitor live prey closely to make sure that no harm comes to the snake, but I'm sure you have more experience than I do.