Off food... assist feeding?

We adopted a normal female BP. She is just shy of 4 ft and has produced clutches in the past according to the previous owner. Was told that she's been off food for @ 6 mos. now. She has refused both live mice and live rats for me. I was recommend to offer small so I tried to tempt her with a rat pinky hoping to slip larger food in behind it. She is all the way down to 800 grams now. It makes me wonder... has she really lost that much weight or did they breed her too young? She has shed recently and appears healthy otherwise but she is visibly under weight. Ultimately the question is, when should I start worrying and start considering assist feeding?

I do consider 6 months a fairly significant hunger strike, but Ball Pythons have been known to go twice that long. How much weight has she lost since coming into your care? It's important to remember that assist feeding, while not as traumatic as force feeding, is still pretty stressful on both snake and owner. If it were my animal, I think I would continue to pull my hair out, and wait a little longer. These little critters can certainly be frustrating some times.

What is her body condition? Is she more round or triangular? And to what degree?

I have a '12 rescue pastel girl who came to me at only 310g in November... is now 740g and still skinny who has decided to fast so I will be trying live today. These snakes can be frustrating!

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Originally Posted by glassslipper

She is all the way down to 800 grams now. It makes me wonder... has she really lost that much weight or did they breed her too young?

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What was her weight when you got her? The only advice we can give comes from what you tell us, so details are key...I'd still say waiting it out would be the wise choice.

Can't say if she was bred too young but, I've had females get "stuck" around 1,200 grams, and they were fine breeders that after laying clutches were in the 800+/- gram range....However, these girls of mine started eating immediately after laying and nearly doubled in size by the following year.

She really hasn't changed in my posession but I've only had her a few weeks. She is very supple and triangular in shape but has had a shed and her scales look good. she behaves normally and seems to enjoy attention when she gets it.

Could you post a pic of her? That would really help us in assessing her condition.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by glassslipper

We adopted a normal female BP. She is just shy of 4 ft and has produced clutches in the past according to the previous owner. Was told that she's been off food for @ 6 mos. now. She has refused both live mice and live rats for me. I was recommend to offer small so I tried to tempt her with a rat pinky hoping to slip larger food in behind it. She is all the way down to 800 grams now. It makes me wonder... has she really lost that much weight or did they breed her too young? She has shed recently and appears healthy otherwise but she is visibly under weight. Ultimately the question is, when should I start worrying and start considering assist feeding?

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Short answer NO you do not assist an animal off food, assisting is for hatchlings that NEVER took a meal on their own or animal on death's door.

Do you know when the last clutch was laid and whether or not that female resumed feeding after laying.

She knows how to eat so right now it's about making sure your husbandry is optimal (proper enclosure, temps, humidity etc), low stress (NO handling unless it is for cage maintenance) you may even wan to consider downsizing the enclosure (I have had trouble feeders that sized switch to 15 quarts tubs in the past) and more importantly it is about patience.

As food goes offering a rat pink to a 4 ft snake will not accomplish anything (it will not likely be recognized as a prey item), you need to offer a small rat (around 4 weeks old) and see how it goes.

http://www.iherp.com/Gallery/102461/...bNVT4PfzAt.jpg

Check your humidity and temperatures. What are you keeping her in? Do not assist feed.

only force feed as a last resort. As long as she seems healthy, hold off.