Is it okay for my ball to go without food for around three weeks?

I'm leaving for japan in may and I will be gone for about three weeks. No one in my house likes snakes and they're all scared of her (and especially don't want to touch/see a dead rat) so they can't feed her while I'm gone. There is also the option of getting a friend to come over every week to feed her, however if she can go without eating for that long and still be fine, I'd rather stick to that than have a friend go out of his/her way every week.

How big is your snake? My female ball python can go three weeks, but my male would be angry. Fresh water will also be a major concern over that long a time. Someone is going to have to come once a week to make sure there is water, again the size of snake, the tank set up, the depth of the water bowl will dictate how often someone needs to check up. If it is just one snake can your friend take the snake tank and all to their house?

Do you feed weekly? Does she eat every time you offer? If so I would consider having someone either take her or come over weekly to feed her because she may become stubborn and not eat for you when you come back. I'm not saying that it would happen but you never know. If your only going away for 3 weeks someone would only have to come about 3 times depending on water like piedlover79 said, I don't think that's to much to ask of someone.

Once they hit a few months old, you shouldn't even see a difference in body condition. I personally feed my older males every 3 weeks or so and have never had issues.

Water will be the bigger issue than food. I would suggest using several small undumpable bowls rather than one big bowl, and having your friend check them every few days.

Hi, sorry I should have included more details. She is around 2 years old and 4 feet long, my sister said she will be able to change her water and monitor the temperature and humidity. It's just that she doesn't want to feed her. I feed Eris weekly and she always eats when I offer it to her. I'm afraid she will get a little grumpy after not eating for that long though...

She will be fine. 3 weeks is nothing

Like mentioned, she will be fine. My 1.5 year old girl just came off her 5 month fast and she looks the same as before. Key is to make sure they have water all the time.

If it makes you feel better, I have heard of Ball Pythons that have gone off food for up to and excess of 9 months.

Both that I know of that went off food that long are still alive and doing well.

Don't beat yourself up too much if your snake doesn't eat during the winter season. It doesn't make you a bad caregiver, it just means you own a Ball Python owner.

We keep them because they are tame, we keep them because they can handle our learning curve and we keep them because they're a challenge.



Q - You know what they call a Ball Python owner that has never had any feeding issues?

A - A Liar :p


I'm just new to snakes myself, but I have kept lizards and fish for years in some pretty elaborate set ups. The best advice I got as a Ball Python owner was..."They eat when they're hungry, when they're hungry is just as much of a mystery to someone with 20 years experience as a newbie"


*I might suggest trying fresh killed, I get it...it's inhumane. But they were specifically raised to be food. But if they refuse to eat it, you can remove it after an hour and freeze it to be used later as frozen thawed. May as well be kind to your wallet :)

The water issue is critical. The food can wait. I would be very concerned about the cleanliness of the enclosure and have to make sure i had someone to take care of that. You don't want the animal sitting in his waste products at all. :cool: Especially for any extended period of time.