yet another feeding post

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Originally Posted by Antonella_M

and of course when I said "changed his mind" I didn't mean it literally, what I mean is that he had all the right steps before, blue eyes, etc. but that was 3 weeks ago, his skin is silky again, only one of his eyes is crusted

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I'm sorry if you took my comment in a rude way. It wasn't meant like that in any way, shape or form. I'm still learning too so I was asking if it's possible, even though I don't think it is, for them to 'change their mind' in the middle of a shed cycle because of one problem or another...say like stress, humidity, temps or whatever. It was probably a stupid question that could have been worded better.

Many other members have mentioned that they will go off feed during the winter so maybe that has something to do with it. To be on the safe side, I'm sure a trip to the vet wouldn't hurt.

Either way, good luck and I hope all is well with the little bp

Hello and welcome to the site!!

It was already mentioned, but make sure that your husbandry is correct. Also make sure that the hides are good and snug, I switched hides once and the new ones were a little too big and one of my girls went off feed for a couple of weeks, until I got her some new hides that were more fitting to her. I am not sure if you are using a tank or a tub, if it is a tank are 3 of the sides covered? My BP that is in a tank right now was much more happy when 3 of the sides were covered. Also, I wouldn't try repeatedly to get your snake to eat. If your snake refuses than wait a week, try to limit handling, and then try again. I normally feed my snakes later on at night, when the house is nice and quiet and darker. If you are feeding f/t, you can also try leaving the prey item in it's enclosure overnight (don't do this with live prey though!). One last thing, where is your BP enclosure located? In a high traffic area? If so, try moving it into a room that is alot less busy. Good luck!!

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Originally Posted by BallNation

This may seem harsh put after reading your other post i think you should take your snake back to where you got it. Go buy a book on ball pyhtons go on line and read evrything you can.

And in six months try again.

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New members come to this site to learn, to educate themselves and to be able to offer their snakes a better chance at a healthy, content captive life. This sort of immediate response without the corresponding offer to help them is not the sort of thing I'm personally comfortable with nor like to see happen at BPNet. :mad:

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Originally Posted by Antonella_M

my little ball python (6 months) will not eat, he missed almost 3 weeks of feeding, and for that time he looked like he was about to shed (blue eyes) then seemed to have changed his mind. I tried soaking him repeatedly but he looks as shiny as ever, except on of his eyes has cracks. He's crawling around like a maniac, what should I do? should I try the hot water heating, or is he not eating because of the shed, or should I just leave him alone. He's losing weight and I'm losing my mind, help please!

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Antonella, let's get back to basics here and see where things can be adjusted in order to help you help your snake.

Please describe or post pictures of the snake's enclosure including information like size, location in your home, hides provided, substrate, temps & humidity and how you measure and monitor that. Next things about this snake as far as it's weight if you know that, where you got it from, it's general health issues and it's feeding history both with you and with it's previous owner/breeder. Information like that, clearly laid out will help us to provide better, more precise ideas for you.

Most issues with shedding and feeding are traceable to the way a snake is kept. It's not unusual to see a new keeper such as yourself struggle at first with the care that a ball python needs and if you got it from a pet store they likely gave you very poor or no care instructions in the first place. Don't get frustrated or overwhelmed. This is all fixable stuff and with the proper information and support from this community you will be able to manage it as others have before you. Supporting new keepers is a MAJOR goal of this site and I'm sorry if you received anything less than that. :(

So let's just get that information laid out clearly and work from that point forward to get you comfortable with caring for your snake and get this snake set up properly so it can shed and eat properly. It will take a few weeks most likely but that's to be expected. Everything with BP's moves slowly and carefully towards the goals we set. :) However, once they are set up correctly and you are more confident in your ability to maintain your snake, I can tell you they are one of the nicest snakes to have around and normally very easy to care for.

Is it possible that the snake did in fact shed and you just have not found the shed skin yet? They have a habit of wadding it up and you find it in the most unexpected places.
If his eyes look 'cracked' that could be retained eyecaps. There are a few threads on what to do with that.

other than that I have nothing to add to the great advice already here :)