Old snake having trouble eating*seeking advice*

I have an old female Ball Python nearing 20 years in age. She has really thinned out and become frail in this last year and a half and has started having trouble with her food.

Around Thanksgiving she got her usual 2 medium feeder rats and though she has always been a slow eater, she took unusually long with these two and ate one of them backwards.

When I went to feed her this evening she couldn't kill any of the rats. I got 3 small ones because the store was out of medium and when I put the first one in she struck it quickly, but didnt have a very good bite on it and for the life of her could not exert enough force to constrict the animal.

I let her go for about 30 minutes until i started moving her and trying to get her to release and get a better bite.After she let go, I took the rat that had been suffering for 30 minutes and fed it to my other python.
I tried a new rat with my old snake and she couldn't even get a good enough bite on the animal to keep it from moving. I took the rat out and knocked it out and tried to see if she would go for it then. But alas she did not.

She is extremely frail and feels ancient when you hold her. I'm worried she may not be able to feed herself any longer. Is this common behavior for a snake that is nearing the end of it's life? Thanks for any responses.

Weight loss in the face of regular eating and frailty indicates health issues. Your snake has been sick for at least a year and a half. Slowly starving does not feel good. You *must* take her to the vet, and really consider that it is probably time for euthanasia.

Do you know her actual age ? Have you had her for 20 years without knowing how old she was when you got her ?? Was she wild caught ?

20 years really isn't all that old for a Ball Python from what I have heard. Might be, she just has an actual health problem going on. Being that she feeds on live, could she perhaps have internal parasites ? Worms ? They would make any animal weak and thin over time.

If you care for that animal, try to get a fresh fecal to a vet, have it tested for any nasties.

Aside from that , you may have to use small meal of "stunned" rat. As much as I dislike stunning, it might be what needs to happen.

If its possible she is even older then 20 and all tests come back negative, yes, it may be her time has come to an end.

Keep us informed. Id like to know what you find out.

I think someone on here had talked about their older snakes that were arthritic and had been breaking ribs unknowingly at advanced age-I agree a vet visit to see what's going on and if anything can be done to help is needed.

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Originally Posted by GoingPostal

I think someone on here had talked about their older snakes that were arthritic and had been breaking ribs unknowingly at advanced age-I agree a vet visit to see what's going on and if anything can be done to help is needed.

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That was me, with my yellow rat snake. He was 16 and blind and only when I got his skeleton articulated was the arthritis and broken/healing/healed ribs discovered. This is why when my lovely Lacy girl started losing weight even when she was still eating great I knew the end was coming. Once she had 2 refusals and a regurge I called it on her. Being a snake, she could probably have gone months and months longer but her quality of life would have been poor.