Wont eat?

[mischevious21]

I have a problem- my older female BP wont eat.. she hasnt in three weeks, sense I got rid of the BP that I had housed with her.. I know that isnt the reason, because I know their not social animals, but the last time she ate was two days before I got rid of him and she refuses to eat now. Her enviorment is the same, temps and humidity the same, so I dont know why... Some help, please?

[pythontricker]

its breeding season. they have a tenance to not eat during this time. its nothing to worry about!

[xdeus]

Three weeks in really not a problem for an adult Ball. It could be that you have been feeding her larger food items and she just needs to "catch up" or it could just be the season. Quite often they will stop eating during the winter or breeding season. Just keep offering her a meal every week to two weeks and she'll eat eventually. You should only be concerned if she starts to lose weight or exhibits signs of stress such as frequent shedding or symptoms of an URI.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

When you say your temps are the same, humidity is the same etc...can you eleborate

In my experience most BP when provided with proper husbandry will eat.

First know that, as long as your BP does not loose too much weight he will be fine, second try to proceed by elimination to find out if there is anything that can be done so your BP resume feeding.

How long have you had your snake for?
How old is your BP?
How big is your BP (length, weight)?
What type of enclosure do you use?
How big is your enclosure?
Is your enclosure in a low traffic area?
What are your temps (cool & warm side)?
What is your humidity?
What type of thermometer/hygrometer do you use (dial,stick,or digital)?
What kind of hides do you provide (log, homemade, cubbyholes etc) and how many do you have?
Are your hides tight (all side touching your BP's body) and identical?
What do you usually feed to your BP (Rat, Mice and size)?

[mischevious21]

How long have you had your snake for? 2 1/2 years
How old is your BP? A little over 2 1/2 years
How big is your BP (length, weight)? Around 3- 3 1/2ft, and last time I weighed her it was about 1000g
What type of enclosure do you use? Glas aquarium
How big is your enclosure? 55 gal.
Is your enclosure in a low traffic area? Yes
What are your temps (cool & warm side)? Cool, 79- warm, 88
What is your humidity? 54
What type of thermometer/hygrometer do you use (dial,stick,or digital)? digital
What kind of hides do you provide (log, homemade, cubbyholes etc) and how many do you have? granite (rock), three -one on the warm, one in the iddle, and one in the cold
Are your hides tight (all side touching your BP's body) and identical?
What do you usually feed to your BP (Rat, Mice and size)? Rat, medium sized

[muddoc]

Jessika,
Deborah posed some excellent questions, and it seems by your answers that you have been keeping your ball python in a very well maintained enclosure for some time. I would bump your colad and warm side temps up about 2 degrees each, if possible. Lastly, I don't know what you call a medium rat, but I have some 3000 gram females that I may feed a medium rat to occasionally (mostly because a feeder did not get eaten for a few weeks, and got too big. Try feeding your guy some smaller rats, and I think he will eat more regularly. I believe Lawrence might have hit the nail on the head when he said, "It could be that you have been feeding her larger food items and she just needs to "catch up".

[hoo-t]

You got rid of HIM three weeks ago? How old was he? Do you know what to look for when snakes breed? As was mentioned earlier in this thread, it is breeding season. A gravid female will go off food. Not saying that she is gravid, just throwing in another possibility.

Steve

[mischevious21]

You got rid of HIM three weeks ago? How old was he? Do you know what to look for when snakes breed? As was mentioned earlier in this thread, it is breeding season. A gravid female will go off food. Not saying that she is gravid, just throwing in another possibility.

Steve

Yea, I got rid of a snake a few weeks ago- he/she was the only one that I wasnt 100% positive on sex, but I think he was a male. But if it was, he wasnt ready or even able to breed yet, so I'm not worried about her being gravid... Next year though will be another story She's 'big enough' to breed now, but I want her to put on some more weight, so that it wont pose a risk to her.
And thanks- I will raise her temps a bit. I hope it will help.. I will find out in a few days though!!
And the "medium rat" is pretty much a small/med, the store I get them from through conditers them med's. lol.