Re: Help, ball python not striking at food
Another consideration (which may have already been mentioned, but could have missed it) is a change in eating habits!
My 5 year old male was a phenomenal striker and eater when younger, but now I get excited if he decides to strike his food ad he usually has more success with the drop feed method.
I always go through the cycle with him though. Warm prey held with the tongs by the scruff of the neck and presented with a little jiggy dance just like I do with all the others. The majority of the time, he comes out and inspects what it is but won't strike. Leave it with him overnight and it's usually gone by the morning.
And this is just what works for him. When he does strike, it's a joy to see, but most of the time it's drop feeding. Because of his eating habits, he's always the last to be fed so there's no further traffic whilst prey is present, and always fed at night.
It could just take time to work out exactly what he wants and what works for you and yours!
Re: Help, ball python not striking at food
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Nephil
Sorry for the late reply. I feed my BP 2 hopper mice, thinking they were the right size for him cause my past total newbie reptile keeper self underestimated the stretching power of a snake, so i decided to feed my BP the right food quantity until the hoppers finish. I will have to reorder pretty soon, and i'll think if i should switch to rats since he is still young with a big appetite, and so it's maybe time to get him to taste a rat before he just gets stuck with mice as an adult. I'll be careful with choosing the right size prey this time, i'll weigh him and then post a thread about it so i don't do any more major mistakes.
Read this if you haven't yet. It's a good start.
Ball Python Feeding Guidelines (ball-pythons.net)
Good luck!
