Feeding Issue? Try this...

[psycho]

There's a lot of things that causes ball pythons not to eat. Two of the main causes are stress by overhandling and mite infestation. What can you do about stress? Stop handling it for a week or so and then offer food; If it ate try handling it for 15 minutes or so every other day and then offer food see if it takes it, if it does you can increase the time you handle it by 5 minutes and so on. I handle my ball pythons for about an hour but I started by handling them for about 10 minutes and then increasing time by 5 minutes if they ate. What can you do if your ball python has a mite infestation? Try keeping its cage simple with newspaper or paper towels as bedding, a water bowl, a hide box, and a source of heat; This will help you spot mites easier so you can get rid of them. You might also want a bowl large enough for your snake to soak in. By soking, your snake is drowning mites you'll usually find them floating at the bottom of the dish. Keep your snake in a simple cage until you see no signs of mites, It only takes about 2 months or so to get rid of them. You might also want to buy Provent-A-Mite or Mite-Off as this should speed up the process.

If your snake doesn't have mites and you haven't handle it a lot and still doesn't eat, TRY THIS...

- Double check that your temperature and humidity cycles are correct and your snake has a few places to hide in the cage.
- Is the cage in a room that gets a lot of foot traffic and noise?
Try moving it to a more quiet room
- Are you offering live?
Try offering dead (or vice versa)
- How large of a meal are you offering?
Even though they might be able to swallow a large meal, some snakes prefer smaller ones
- Try offering different types of rodents like Mice, Rats, Gerbils, or Hamsters
- What color of rodents are you offering?
Some snakes don't recognize white lab mice or rats as food items, try getting colored ones (Gray, Black, Brown, Light brown, Etc...)
- Are you offering male or females rodents?
Some snakes show a preference one way or the other
- What is the temperature of the dead rodent?
A fresh kill rodent is the right temperature and thawed sometimes isn't. Snakes elict a feeding response by the right Heat, Movement, and Scent.
- When you offer food, how are you doing it?
Try not to disturb or handle your snake on feeding day (except if you are moving it to a "feeding tub")
- How far away from the snake is the rodent?
Somewhere between 2-6 inches is about right, some people touch the rodent's face against the snake's face this can intimidate ball pythons
- Try scenting a dead rat or mouse by rubbing it against a dead gerbil or hamster
- Try thawing a rodent, refreezing it, and thawing it again, the freezing process breaks down the cell walls and makes the rodent smell more pungent
- Try providing a dark hidebox that touches the snake's sides this way they feel more secure and then dangle a killed prey in front of the hole, most of the times the ball python will get it
- Also try chicks they are a tempting treat
- Try feeding it at night since ball pythons are nocturnal

Other reasons a ball python doesn't eat...

- If your snake is wild-caught it might take a while so it can get comfortable in its new habitat
- What season is it out doors?
It's pretty common for males and sometimes females to go off feed during winter months
- Is it within a few days of, or during a shed cycle?
Most snakes won't eat during this period
- Is your snake about 800 to 900 grams?
It is not uncommon for them to stop feeding when they reach this certain weight
- Sometimes small males stop feeding since they are so interested in breeding during breeding season and starve themselves to death.

This thread was by request,
Hope this is helpful to anyone though.

[StormSerpent]

Thanks, this seems to be a good guide to problem solving.

I honestly think we should at least have one thread like this stickied, since it is one of the most frequently asked questions here.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

To the OP, Apreciate the effort but there is a lot of incorrect / misleading information in your post. I will be be happy to pick it apart piece by piece if nobody else does but I am at work and can't do a detailed reply at the moment.

Anytime anyone asks me for specific advice in PM's I request they do it in an actual thread for all to see... that way I can reply, and others can too... so I can be corrrected when needed.

[BuddhaLuv]

Thank you soooo much for posting this!

I just tried feeding my BP earlier in the evening again and he still didn't eat. This is the third time he has refused food since May 18th. He was on a 10 day schedule before that and fed well both times for me.

I am going to try some of the things that you have listed here I did find it interesting that you mentioned the color and sex of the rats. He has started refusing food ever since I bought male white rats. Before that he had eaten 2 times for me (I have only had him since 4/27/09 and he shed a week later) and both times the rats happen to be white with black spots and were females! I had know idea that color and sex may have something to do with it!!!

One question I still have is, since he has been refusing food, how many days should I wait between attempting to feed him again? I don't want to stress him out even more by offering food to often but don't want to wait too long either.

[mrshawt]

One question I still have is, since he has been refusing food, how many days should I wait between attempting to feed him again? I don't want to stress him out even more by offering food to often but don't want to wait too long either.

Generally a week between feeding. Depends on your normal feeding schedule. Don't worry about starving your bp, they're tough lil buggers.

[blackcrystal22]

There are already a few other stickies about this.
And a very good guide in the BP caresheet on this forum.

Good shot though.

[Kaorte]

I think that a few things in here are correct, but for the most part, the advice given is not really accurate.

PAM is the ONLY way to get rid of mites and keep them gone.

Temps, humidity and hide boxes are probably the leading cause of a snakes refusal to eat. Maybe you should go into more detail about the exact types of hides you need to provide for a BP.
"Try thawing a rodent, refreezing it, and thawing it again, the freezing process breaks down the cell walls and makes the rodent smell more pungent"
This isn't true. Refreezing just makes them loose their nutritional value more.

I don't think chicks are suitable for ball pythons. Nor do they think of them as treats

I think it is more common for females and some males to go off feed in the winter months.

[anatess]

Also, bp's sometimes skip meals when they're in shed. Just thought I'd mention it.

And sometimes, everything is spot on, and they still won't eat. I just learned to wait it out.

[psycho]

There are already a few other stickies about this.
And a very good guide in the BP caresheet on this forum.

Good shot though.

I wasn't really trying to make it a sticky it was just a request for a friend of mine...but i taught i would of shared it with everyone besides my friend...

[psycho]

Also, bp's sometimes skip meals when they're in shed. Just thought I'd mention it.

And sometimes, everything is spot on, and they still won't eat. I just learned to wait it out.

I mentioned the shed thing...