She Wont Eat :(

[Kesslers Kreatures]

Well i have had my BP for about 6 months now and she has eaten fine every feeding. I haven't had a problem until yesterday. I dropped the rat in her cage and she just kinda looked at it. She went up to it and kind of licked it and smelled it then went away. She seems very uninterested, i usually feed her a small rat every week and a half - 2 weeks. depending on the size of the rat she had previous. Her temps are perfect and the humidity is as well, I have read on here that sometimes they like to fast during the winter months. Do you think that could be the case here?

[JLC]

Could be winter fast...but I kinda doubt it. Are you SURE nothing in the environment has changed recently? Moved the cage to a new room? Brought in another animal that the snake may smell? Someone new handling the snake recently? All sorts of things that might seem "no big deal" to us could stress out the snake.


Either way...one missed meal is no big deal. Just wait until your next scheduled feeding time and try again. Maybe the snake is about to go into shed and lost her appetite. (That happens to mine) Or maybe something in her environment has changed, even if its not something that you've noticed. Another week or so should probably give the snake time to adjust and get hungry again.

If she continues to miss meals and you can't figure out why...it may be "winter fast" or you may need to take a closer look at what's going on in her environment.

[Kesslers Kreatures]

I got her a new cage recently and i also added some new climbing brand for her but she has eaten since i have done both. i dunno i hope im just over reacting and she eats again soon but now i have this live rat sitting in a tupperware bowl in my house and nothing to do with it lol

[JLC]

I got her a new cage recently and i also added some new climbing brand for her but she has eaten since i have done both. i dunno i hope im just over reacting and she eats again soon but now i have this live rat sitting in a tupperware bowl in my house and nothing to do with it lol

I have a wire cage that I use for rats that don't get eaten. Just keep 'em happy for a week and then try again.

Your options for dealing with that rat are:

1. Get a cage for it (food, water, bedding, all that jazz) and save it for the next feeding

2. See if the pet store will take it back and give you store credit towards another one later. (Many will, but not all)

3. Humanely kill it.

[Kesslers Kreatures]

Yea i thought about maybe buying a cage for it... I also had a friend tell me i should try taking the rat back to the store but i didnt think that they would take it back. Hmmm i might have to try that. Im just really worried about her. shes been doing great, and all of a sudden she doesnt want to eat...

[Kesslers Kreatures]

I recently took her outside and let her climb around in the grass and stuff, she seemed to have loved it, she was moving around exploring all over the place. Do you think that could have stressed her out?

[JLC]

It might have. Sometimes we just never know why they choose not to eat one week. It's just what they do.


I like having a little cage for "extra" rats. Even if I know the store will take them back...it's nice to not HAVE to make that drive out there if I don't feel like it. It's a little bit of money up front to get a cage and all the stuff you need...but once you have it, you always will, and it's very convenient for these times when our snakes decide to be picky.

[Kesslers Kreatures]

Thank you so much, i have just been really stressing out that she wont eat. She is my first BP and i dont want anything to happen to her

[Kesslers Kreatures]

Oh i just had a thought, I recently had her heating light go out, i was using a 75 watt red heating light, the store where i buy my stuff was out of the 75 watt lights so i got a 60 watt... do you think that the light had something to do with it? Im going to buy a new 75 watt light tonight.

[JLC]

She'll be fine! They can go months and months without eating. You'll just have to get used to the occasional skipped meals.


I doubt a change in wattage caused an issue, unless you went from a red light to a white one. (A bright white light shining directly in the cage can be a cause for stress) Maybe if the change caused a significant temperature drop. However...if, as you say, the temps are fine...then its not a concern.

Just give her some time and feed her again next week.