Still not eating... but..

[skunksweat]

one of my females 1100g hasnt eaten or pooped since i got her. i though it was the tank setup, then the heat. well i have a rack setup now with constant 85degs on the hot side and 80 on the other side. 2 hides and waterbowl i dropped in a small rat. (kind of a big rat, but nothing she cant handle) she wouldnt touch it during the day. so i tried the next night she snapped at it like 10-15 times but couldnt seem to latch on.. then i pre-killed it a coupple days after and she snapped at it but couldnt latch on either any ideas?

[JLC]

Bump your warm side temps up to ~92. A warm BP is a hungry BP. Then give her a week before you try again.

[skunksweat]

cool cool. ill try it. thnx

[JLC]

OH...and try a smaller prey item next time, too. Just because they "can handle" it doesn't mean it's good for them. And especially coming off a prolonged fast...a big rodent may seem a bit daunting.

[MarkS]

Might try spritzing the cage down a bit with lukewarm water too, They also don't like to eat when they're too dry.

[skunksweat]

ill try a weener rat. she didnt show interest before but maybe itll do the trick now. and a sprits of warm water too. sweet thanks guys. hopefully i get this fussy female to chow down

[moespeaking]

yea if she kept striking at but not constricting it then the prey was defintly too big for her.

[dcgator24]

If she kept striking at it but not constricting then its most likely not a feed response but a defensive strike. It probably has nothing to do with the size of the rodent. Ball pythons in the wild do not "decide" not to feed if the rodent looks too big to eat. They simply respond instinctually to a prey item and strike and constrict and attempt to swallow. Also if it was a full-on feeding strike as opposed to defensive there would be no mistaking it. It would be a strike and hold followed but coils and constriction. In this case for a female that's been fasting the size of the rodent could affect her feeding response, but to say that continued striking is definately related to size is premature. Its more likely that she's not yet ready to eat and is threatened and stressed by the rat.

[doyle033]

also check the mouth for signs of mouthrot, funky teeth, stuck (embedded) particles of bedding etc. in my experience a snake with a sore mouth is a snake who wont eat, no matter how hungry they get. hope it is not the case and just a girl being picky but worth a check, especially if she hasnt eaten since you got her. moving stress + small mouth problem= big problem in no time. good luck