Thanks :D

after my bp Scratch went on a hunger strike, I stopped handling her for several months because I was concerned about stress. I just handled her for about 10 minutes VERY gently and cautiously. Just the feel of her in my hands was so awesome I'm past words. she seemed curious, didn't ball up at any point. I let her loop around my arm for warmth for a few mins, then quietly put her back in her tank. she is so sweet, and she probably doesn't even know it :D

My normal hasnt ate in 4 months

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Originally Posted by killerphade310

My normal hasnt ate in 4 months

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been there, done that. I hope it works out well for you. just read the husbandry forums and make sure temps are ok, humidity is ok. Hunger strikes for a "new" ball python owner can be terrifying- I was worried about losing Scratch for several months before she finally ate. Tonight I was daring and decided to handle her for a very few minutes. 3 nights ago when I opened her cage to change her water, she hissed at me, so I quickly changed her water then left her alone. Tonight when I peeked in on her, she didn't seem to get upset, so I picked her up for a few mins. I quickly measured her, she WAS 26" long, she's now 27" long. when I got her last fall she'd had 4 feedings, and then she took about 6 more feeds like a champ, then mysteriously just STOPPED. There's no more "rat lump" in her belly, but I don't smell snake poop in her cage but I am sure it's gotta be there. When I get up in the morning that's the first thing I'm going to look for :D

what seemed to work for me was increasing humidity to 90+ percent temporarily. I live in the Chihuahuan Desert so our ambient humidity is about 10-20%. right now I am still trying to LOWER humidity in her cage, so I have removed 70% of the water soaked moss that I was using to raise the humidity. Currently my humidity is at 83% and going down. Once it goes down past 60% I will take some of the saved (frozen) moss, and thaw it, add water, and mix it in her bedding

as long as she strikes and eats like she did last week, I'm happy... but...

watch this space :)

do you guys still handle during normal feeding strikes if theyre still healthy and not losing weight?

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Originally Posted by psychoduck

There's no more "rat lump" in her belly, but I don't smell snake poop in her cage but I am sure it's gotta be there. When I get up in the morning that's the first thing I'm going to look for :D

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If she's been on a hunger strike, her body will try to absorb every ounce of nutrition she can get from the mouse/rat. She may go a few feedings before she poos because she's using up so much of the rat that there's nothing left... As long as she keeps eating, nothing to worry about for now...

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Originally Posted by Inknsteel

If she's been on a hunger strike, her body will try to absorb every ounce of nutrition she can get from the mouse/rat. She may go a few feedings before she poos because she's using up so much of the rat that there's nothing left... As long as she keeps eating, nothing to worry about for now...

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Thanks for that info, cage still smells "lovely", so no poop yet, but since she's been forever without a meal I won't worry - today was "feeding day" and once again she grabbed the rat like there never was a hunger strike! YAY!