Not hungry anymore....

I know that ball pythons will 'fast' as breeding season comes around, but is the 'fast' any indication that they are ready to breed or will even a bp that is not ready (i.e. not up to weight, etc.) to breed go into a 'fast'? I was just wondering because for about 2 weeks now my night temps have been about 2-3 deg lower than my day temps (94/84) because I have been squaring away the bearded dragon setup. Since I started messing around, my 1300 gram female has completely lost interest in food.....but my 800 gram male knocks them dead everytime....and the new little girl is a monster feeder (she would eat a horse if I let her :D). I am just trying to figure out if the lack in feeding responce in the female is due to that slight temp drop or just because she is being stubborn.

And I have the setup squared away so the temps are constant day and night...so dont worry about that :)

Believe it or not, she's very aware of what's going on outside! ... High and low pressure systems can wreak havoc on a ball pythons eating habits this time of year and at 1300 grams she probably thinks that she's ready to go!

Up her humidity, and make sure she's getting a large daytime light cycle ... 14 hours of light a day ... and she should snap out of it in a couple of weeks if she's kept warm enough ... the other trick you can do is to put a shed from your male in the enclosure with her for 24-48 hours ... it sometimes tricks them into eating again.

-adam

Thanks adam...the weather has been crazy here....50s at night, 90s during the day...I will give it all a shot...I have a fresh male shed from yesterday... and I am on a 10 hr light cycle too, so I will up that to 14 hrs....and I will mist a bit more often...and she is definately warm enough now :)

is it good to dampen the male shed? or just throw it in there?

Damp is good ... wet is nasty ... it's tricky to get it right if the shed is already crusty ... LOL

-adam

one of my big girls hasn't eaten in several weeks now either. i think she knows breeding season is right around the corner. usually she eats once a week without fail unless she is shedding. the night temps have been 1-2 degrees cooler in the herp room and it has been getting a little cooler outside. it's amazing how they can sense the change.

both my snakes arent eating. the female is only 862 though, do you think thats why they stopped? would that cause the male to stop?

It's a husbandry issue. Temps, humidity, light cycle .... something is different.

-adam

Just a question . Would one have to have a light cycle set up to prevent fasting for breeding when your not going to breed? Or would you just have to keep real strict temps.

Thanks