Advice please PB won't eat..

This is is a post that I hoped I would never need to write.

Buzz hasn't eaten for 12 weeks now.

He was 730g and on small rats and eating well when one evening he upped and moved to the cold side of his enclosure and stayed in his hide for 8 weeks! I keep a close eye on his temps and use a temp gun to ensure his temps are correct. 30 Degrees on his warm side and 20 Degrees in his cool side. He has a hide on his warm side a hollow log reaching from the the warm to the cold and a hide in the cold side so he has plenty of options of hides with different temps. Before he stopped eating he would move between his warm, cold and log.

I defrost his food in a bath of warm water left next to his cage. Normally this would result in him wandering his cage in anticipation of food. He never left his cold hide. I checked his temps and left him alone, trying every 2 weeks, each time a different food type SR, Multi , rat pup , jumbo mouse.

After 2 months I changed his cage around. Changing the substrate to coconut husk, moving his hides around, etc. He immediately moved back to his warm side and after another week went into shed. Early last week he started to show more activity and would come out on an evening and explore his cage on a evening. This weekend I tried him on a jumbo mouse, he came out of his hide but no strike.

He is now looking thin and under weight. (Wouldn't you if you haven't eaten for 12 weeks).

Are there any tips anyone would recommend ? I'll upload Pics of his enclosure.

Chris

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Originally Posted by Alf_uk

He is now looking thin and under weight. (Wouldn't you if you haven't eaten for 12 weeks).
Chris

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Yes I would be in trouble if I had not eaten for 12 week. But I am a mammal and not a snake. its no big deal for a healthy ball python.

You will get alot of advice here. I can give you more too, But my first advice is do not panic, it happens with ball pythons.
12 weeks at near the 1000g wall hapens. I can give you more tips later, and other members will have many. but my first advice is do not panic.

Yes make sure your environment is spot on and matches what they are used to, but again do not panic, they can handle 12 weeks if healthy.

Hey Chris!

How old is your snake and how long have you had him? Has he eaten for you before? 12 weeks without food is a walk in the park for a healthy snake. I have a few snakes that fast for 4-5 months every year. I do think you could bump your temps up a few degrees, especially on the cool side. I’d aim for a 32/27 temperature gradient. Other than that if you know your snake isn’t sick then you’ll basically just have to keep offering food and wait him out. I only offer food every 2-4 weeks for snakes that are off food. Most snakes, especially BPs, can go without food for a very long time but they all come around eventually. It can be frustrating but try not to stress too much. Sometimes a live feeder will jumpstart their appetite. If you think your snake is ill, or if it loses a substantial amount of weight, then a vet visit may be in order but hopefully that’s not the case. Best wishes with your critter.

Raise your temps. Hot side minimum 75 for cold side and 90 for hot side.

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Also is this your first BP?

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The combo of temperature and the type of hides might be the issue, it might just be a seasonal fast. 20 is way too low for anywhere in his enclosure. 30 would be okay seasonally on the warm, but I wouldn't do that year round. I would add a hide to the warm side just big enough for him to fit and see if that helps any. Having a big long hide that stretches across but doesn't have one end enclosed fully might not make him feel safe enough. Check the temp inside the log at the warm end and what is it getting to? He might be way too cold inside his hide also. Chances are that inside the log at the warm end is not much warmer than the cool end since his body isn't touching the substrate when he is inside and there isn't enough contact for heat to transfer.

I would double check what you are measuring temps with is accurate. Seems odd the cool end would be so low in the late spring/early summer unless you were running AC really cold in the house and the enclosure had poor insulation.

Can you add a picture of your snake? Unless it is dangerously underweight you don't need to worry. How much does he weigh now?

Sooo a fellow Brit !!

Read all of the above posts and then when you’re confident the set up us correct try the hairdryer method of feeding thawed frozen mice/rats


I’ll send it to your messages now

Good luck !


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Thanks for you advice. Good to hear that I don't have to worry. Still haven't figured out how to upload pics.

Its been warmer in the UK this week so his cool temps have been 22/24 and warm 30/31. It tried him with a jumbo mouse tonight and nothing he go within mm of the mouse and i am sure his tongue touched the thing but nothing..

Let me figure out how to upload pics

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alf_uk

Thanks for you advice. Good to hear that I don't have to worry. Still haven't figured out how to upload pics.

Its been warmer in the UK this week so his cool temps have been 22/24 and warm 30/31. It tried him with a jumbo mouse tonight and nothing he go within mm of the mouse and i am sure his tongue touched the thing but nothing..

Let me figure out how to upload pics

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What did you do when offering ??

As regards photos .. the free TapaTalk app has a one click photo upload option .. even I can use it :)


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