Not Eating, HELP!!!

First, you're feeding her too much food on a weekly basis, so it's not surprising that she's refusing, as she fasts to catch up. She doesn't NEED any larger than a small/small rat a week. See how big this girl is? She gets a small/small a week. Just because she CAN eat larger, doesn't mean she needs to.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...8&postcount=15

When you feed live, you should be prepared to house any refusals properly. A 10 gallon aquarium with screen lid, water bottle and this food mix is perfect:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28391

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Originally Posted by nlankas

also the problem with waiting a week is that we don't have any housing for the rat besides our bathtub, which it's currently pooping and peeing all over right now, lol...we buy our rats from the local pet-store every week, and she's eaten quite well ever since the first time we tried...is there any particular foods i should feed the rat to keep it alive? it's been eating the bread i've been dropping in...and it has a little homemade water bowl too...

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Try killing the rat and freezing it. It'll be good for a long time that way. You might be able to switch your snake over to F/T after she starts eating again.

Edit: F/T is also cheaper and MUCH safer for your snake.

wow...i can't keep up with u guys, but thanks for the advice :) she usually eats at the beginning of every week, right around sun-downish...she has been taking rats around the same size as this one too.

sounds like we have a pet rat for the next week...yeah, and about killing the rat...i'm pretty sure none of us are willing to do that...i looked into buying F/T rats before, but i could only find sites where u could buy BIG bulk sized amounts, so we opted to buying a live one every week...it had been working well.

and rabernet, your BP's are gorgeous :) can't wait till my baby hits that size someday.

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Originally Posted by nlankas

sounds like we have a pet rat for the next week...yeah, and about killing the rat...i'm pretty sure none of us are willing to do that...i looked into buying F/T rats before, but i could only find sites where u could buy BIG bulk sized amounts, so we opted to buying a live one every week...it had been working well.

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To each his own. For me a risking the welfare and life of a snake over killing a $5 rat that's going to die anyway is not worth it.

I personally switched my live feeding snake over to fresh killed after she ate twice for me, then to F/T soon after that. The F/T was for money, but the fresh killed was for the snake.

I don't have a problem killing them either. You could make a Co2 chamber that uses a refillable Co2 tank from a paintball gun. It's Humane, quick and I'm sure less painful than the snake squeezing it to death. Also better for the snake.

check this one out. It looks real simple to make.

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Originally Posted by smasharama13

To each his own. For me a risking the welfare and life of a snake over killing a $5 rat that's going to die anyway is not worth it.

I personally switched my live feeding snake over to fresh killed after she ate twice for me, then to F/T soon after that. The F/T was for money, but the fresh killed was for the snake.

I don't have a problem killing them either. You could make a Co2 chamber that uses a refillable Co2 tank from a paintball gun. It's Humane, quick and I'm sure less painful than the snake squeezing it to death. Also better for the snake.

check this one out. It looks real simple to make.

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should there have been a link smasharama...

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Originally Posted by nlankas

should there have been a link smasharama...

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Shoot I must have forgot to paste it after finding it. sorry

It's down at the bottom.

Here: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...t=44423&page=2

I guess feeding off about 40 live mice a week to 17 Ball Pythons, each and every week(with a break here and there), with NO incidents other than a teensy toenail lightly scraping the surface of the snake's skin, doesn't mean anything. Do you think I would feed live to my Yellowbelly pair if I didn't think it was safe?

Whether feeding live, pre-killed or frozen-thawed, each has its own pros and cons. I feed live because my snakes eat more consistently and I'm not having to throw wasted mice in the trash(Would you throw a $20 bill in the trash? Yeah, didn't think so :) ).

Feeding live prey is very safe if done properly, just like f/t or pre-killed. I pre-scent the room for a good 30 minutes to an hour, so all of the snakes know what is going on. I also make the room dark so they feel more comfortable. I then go around to each tub, in a specific order, and drop a mouse in on the opposite side the snake is on. I move on to the next tub until everyone has a mouse(and the boa has a guinea pig or rabbit). I leave the mice in the snake's tub for 15-20 minutes and if they don't show interest or haven't struck in that amount of time, the mouse is returned to the cage.

Juvies get 1-2 small adult mice as do males, sub-adults get 2-3 medium adults(the number gets varied each week), and adults get 3 adult mice.

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Originally Posted by nlankas

and rabernet, your BP's are gorgeous :) can't wait till my baby hits that size someday.

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Thank you! Wish those were mine - but they are Adam Wysocki's snakes.