Im starting to worry

[camb]

My female 08 pastel ball python who is about 480g has not eaten in almost a month. She has not lost much weight if any. But I recently switched her to rat pups from adult mice, and she seems really afraid of the rats even though they are barely bigger. should i switch back to mice? she ate the first rat i offered her but not with a good feeding response. before this she was a pretty good feeder, she would rarely ever miss a meal, but would sometimes have a less enthusiastic feeding response. she has pooped since her last meal. how long should i wait before i see a vet?

[mechnut450]

i offer a mouse again if she eats it will be her prefered meal. IF thatthe case I would consider getting her to take frozen rodents that way you not the smelly mess of mice. as far as worring I got a het pied that not eaten since about December if i remember right. If he not eatign by July I wll put him in QT and see if it casue he got female bps around and staying in breeding mode. and if he started eating I will make a note to remove him from he room after I done breeding each time I plan to use hime lol

[camb]

she s all ready on ft, so il just try mice next week. thanx.

[CRAZY]

One thing to remember about BP's and most snakes even, but bp's especially, they can go for AGES without eating. The record is 18 months I do believe. BP's are also picky. One way you can encourage feeding is, as gross as it sounds, exposing the brain. It's like candy to them. There are also synthetic mice hormone scents out there you can get. Do you pre-scent? That helps to encourage feeding as well. And, if all else fails, try and get you hands on a feeder gerbil, it is supposedly their favorite. I never had a serious "hunger strike," but I've heard some things.

[kc261]

I really would not go for a gerbil if we know the snake takes mice just fine.

If you have a reason you want to make the switch to rats, she will probably come around with some "tough love". You can make the transition easier by scenting the rats that you offer to her with mouse smell, and putting some dirty mouse litter in or near her cage at feeding time.

However, there is no need to switch her from mice to rats. She can do just fine for her whole life on mice. Just give her enough mice to make an appropriate sized meal.