Feeding

Hello everybody I am a new be to both this forum and to the world of ball pythons. This is my first snake.

I purchasaed my hatchling ball python last April. According to the seller/breeder I was told to wait five days prior to feeding her. I did. I offered her a live pinky mouse (store was out of fuzzies). She flicked her tongue and investegated it but to no avail.......she returned to her cave and stuck her head out. I placed the pinky mouse inside her cave with her and went to bed. Upon awaking the next morning I discovered that she ate it!!

I have since fed her a fuzzy mouse and rat pinkie (all live) and she devoured them. The following week I dangled a frozen thawed hopper in front of her and once again she devoured it!

Tonight I thawed out a hopper and dangled it in front of her cave where she was hiding and she began flicking her tongue and exiting her cave. After several minutes she finally struck at the hopper and began to coil. After only a few seconds she let go and began to flicking her tongue as she was trying to find the hopper. She left the hopper on the floor of her cage and retreated back to her cave. I attempted to offer the hopper again but she refused. Any clues? All the time I have had her she had been an aggressive eater.

She is housed in a 10 gallon glass aquarium and the substrate is reptile carpet. Her heat is provided by a zoo med under the tank heater. Her cave is directly on top of the heat source. On the opposite side of the aquarium is a water bowl that is large enough for her to soak in if she wishes.....although I have never seen her in the water. The basking site ranges between 91 and 93 degrees measured with a temp gun. Although the humidity has been fairly low the last two days (39%) it normally ranges in the 50 to 60% range.

The only difference that I have noticed over the previous weeks is that she seemed to have been much more active moving about her cage. I kind of attribute that to food being too small and not satisfying for very long. This week (after she devoured her first hopper) she has been hiding in her cave and not coming out. I attributed that to her being satisfied after eating her fist hopper mouse.

I will try and feed her again on Saturday and see what happens. Any ideas from you experts what I should do, if anything, different?

I have heard of bal pythons going off of food when they are adults for a while but I don't want this to happen to my hatchling. She could not sustain a hunger strike for very long (I don't think anyway). I just want her to be healthy and eating properly. Who knows......I may be worrying about nothing.

I am no expert, but...

Any signs she may be in shed? (pink belly, blue eyes, hazy/faded colors) I know my snake didn't eat when he was like this.

How long has she been off food?


Just wondering, do you have your uth attached to a thermostat?

Howzabout some pic's so we can see how big a snaky we are talkin' about here. Seems to me, an early '08, you should be feeding Rats. But I'm no expert.

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Originally Posted by unrezt

I am no expert, but...

Any signs she may be in shed? (pink belly, blue eyes, hazy/faded colors) I know my snake didn't eat when he was like this.

How long has she been off food?


Just wondering, do you have your uth attached to a thermostat?

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:rofl:, we are obviously not experts :rofl:

At a year old you snake should be eating small rats.

I forgot :welcome: :oops:

Thank you both for your replies. I was told she was born one week prior to April 26, 2009. She still had some dead skin on her as she was going through her first shed.

Although I have not measured or weighed her I will say that she is about 15 or so inches long. I have the under tank heater attached to a dimmer switch.

As far as being off of food......never. She has always seemed to be very aggressive when eating. What I mean by aggressive is that she normally hits it pretty quick (within a few seconds) when I place the food in her tank.

The only other thing that I can think of is that after she took the food tonight I put the lid back on so I could sit down and enjoy the eating show......It was then she uncoiled and retreated a few moments after. The 10 gallon tank has a top mesh lid that locks in place. I wonder if the clicking noise scared her??????? When feeding her last week I immediately placed the lid on her and she did not miss a beat. The last time she ate was 6 days ago.

Her last shed (and first shed ever) was April 26 (prolly a few days before). She may be getting ready to shed but I did not look at her that close.

I will try and get some pics uploaded.

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Originally Posted by BeastMaster

:rofl:, we are obviously not experts :rofl:

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Lol :pc:

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Originally Posted by Reptile King

Thank you both for your replies. I was told she was born one week prior to April 26, 2009. She still had some dead skin on her as she was going through her first shed.

Although I have not measured or weighed her I will say that she is about 15 or so inches long. I have the under tank heater attached to a dimmer switch.

As far as being off of food......never. She has always seemed to be very aggressive when eating. What I mean by aggressive is that she normally hits it pretty quick (within a few seconds) when I place the food in her tank.

The only other thing that I can think of is that after she took the food tonight I put the lid back on so I could sit down and enjoy the eating show......It was then she uncoiled and retreated a few moments after. The 10 gallon tank has a top mesh lid that locks in place. I wonder if the clicking noise scared her??????? When feeding her last week I immediately placed the lid on her and she did not miss a beat. The last time she ate was 6 days ago.

Her last shed (and first shed ever) was April 26 (prolly a few days before). She may be getting ready to shed but I did not look at her that close.

I will try and get some pics uploaded.

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The clicking noise very well may have scared her and caused her to let go. I usually feed my snake in a separate container, watching but not interfering or moving, until its all the way down his throat before replacing him in his cage.

I would also like to feed her in a separate enclosure but I was told to let her eat in her tank where she is comfortable and secure. I have had her since April 26, 2009 and was wanting her to get on a solid feeding schedule before introducing her into a new environment.

I will try again Saturday.

It should be fine to leave the lid unlocked while your feeding ( stay in visual proximity of her tank ) and make sure to lock the lid after the food is swallowed. There's no reason to feed her in a separate enclosure.