Not Eating, Odd.

It's that time of the year for males to be off feed.

This is going to be a fairly long post since there are several things I want to address, so brownie points to those that read all of it:).

First of all, ball pythons are nocturnal (and not the most active species even at night). In general if a nocturnal animal is active during the day or a diurnal animal is not, that's a pretty strong indication that something is wrong. The animal is stressed for some reason. It could be that the animal is sick, it could be that it's not being housed correctly, the temps could be of, etc. You get the idea. While your ball python is captive, it is not domesticated so it's behavior should not differ significantly from that of a wild ball python. Ball pythons haven't been bred in captivity for very long (we're talking less than 50 yrs) so we haven't changed their behavior that much.

I also think this doesn't sound like the usual seasonal fast. The fact that the snake is off feed for the second time in 6mos concerns me. If this snake was in my collection, I would be reevaluating my husbandry. Two fasts in 6mos is not normal.

My recommendation for a smaller enclosure was based on experience, not just opinion. I've been keeping ball pythons for long enough, and in large enough numbers to give me a decent feel for what's normal behavior and what's not. I've gotten a few problem feeders second hand, and managed to get them eating well. In the wild, ball pythons spend the majority of their time underground, in termite mounds. They don't come out unless they need food, water, a mate, or different temperatures. In the wild, they live in a very confined space, not out in the open. It's important to keep this in mind when dealing with problem feeders, whether they are imports or captive bred.

Many problem feeders will be fixed by moving from a tank/display/large cage to the confines of a rack, but there are some (especially imports) that need even more security. I have one 1200g female that's still kept in a V35 tub (20"x15"x5.3") because she quits eating if she's moved to a V70 (34x17.5x5.3). I got her as a problem feeder, and she has eaten fantastically well for me since moving to a smaller tub but quits each time I try to move her back to a bigger one.

If moving the snake to a rack doesn't work, I move them to a totally blacked out tub that is only slightly smaller floor space wise than the V70 but approx 14" deep (I'm not sure on measurements...I will have to measure the tub I use when I get home). I give them a hide and water dish and fill the tub 1/3 to 1/2 full with a mix of coconut husk and cypress mulch. This seems to mimic their natural environment pretty well. I've gotten imports to take F/T rats within 30 days of being brought into the country this way, so I know it works.

I understand that you don't believe in a cage being too big, but based on my experiences bigger is not better when it comes to housing ball pythons. If you continue having feeding issues I would strongly consider changing housing to something smaller.

I'm also curious about how you're measuring temps (analog stick on, digital with probe, temp gun) and where in the enclosure you are measuring them (on the substrate, under the substrate, air temp).

Hope this helps,
Shelly

He hides most of the time, but compared to my corns, boa, and hognose he's all over the place. I never see any of my other snakes at all. He also has been a picky eater since he hatched, it took the breeder six months of force feeding before he finally started eating on his own. He's two and a half now.
I measure my temps with a digital thermometer from accurite, I was also using a temp gun but the batteries died recently. I have the probe for the digital therm under the substrate (it's not very thick- maybe he needs more? If so, should I use aspen? I'm using reptibark for him). So his warm spot measures between 88-91 at any given time (those are the mins and maxes on the thermometer). The main part of the thermometer is on the cool side, and it's min and max temps 78 and 85.
I *really* dislike the idea of him being in something smaller. He looks cramped in this one as it is, and I have friends who keep their bps in 6 x 2 and they don't have any feeding issues either. I mean, if the hunger strike continues I can move him, but he was having the same issues here and there, along with huge temp and humidity spikes and minor scale rot when he was in the tub. Ever since he's been in the bigger cage he's turned bright and shiny and has not had any health issues. I'm not saying I am against tubs, I keep several of my corns and hognose in them, but it wasn't working with him. I am going to stop using the room spray for a while, I felt that since it is just like perfume it wouldn't have any effect. None of my other animals have shown any changes in behavior, and they never had issues when I used febreeze once in a while. I knew a guy once who sprayed febreeze ON his monitors and snakes, so at least I don't do that.. :banana: Thanks ahead of time..

Okay, so I weighed him and he's 980 grams.

Could be that time of year. It doesn't really matter that he has been off feed a couple times as he is an individual animal and this very well could be the case for this time.
Doubt it was the candle. Really doubt. Unless you lit the candle and fed the prey at the same time.

You may think your enclosure is too big, but your ball python doesn't. 980 is a decent size, I wouldn't have him in anything bigger than a 32, and you might find he feeds better in a 28 even. (size wise, if you have a different enclosure, just think about comparable size). The difference between YOUR bp and your FRIENDS bps are that YOUR bp is YOURs, not THEIRS. Sorry to be a little harsh, but you already stated he has always been picky, thus he will not feed in the more stressful situations, such as large enclosure, and a bp feeding in a large enclosure doesn't mean that it is the proper size.

Ball pythons do best in smaller enclosures. You mentioned the wild being bigger ... well, ball pythons spend most of their time in holes in the ground that they fit tightly into. That is their "wild," not the vast open spaces. They don't like being out in the open, vulnerable.

Good luck and don't fret unless he is off feed and starts dropping weight.

Alright! So, Ramesses has been in a ball-room rack from Boaphile for quite a few months now. He has resumed eating, as well as normal whole sheds. So here's a question- I was told to feed BPs once a week. He's getting small rats every week currently, but is an every-other week feeding okay too? Or since he goes on these 6 month feeding strikes should I keep feeding once a week?

I feed my adult males every 10 to 14 days, so that should be fine.