month 6 and still not eating... this is getting a bit odd.

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Originally Posted by rattlehead07

so i didnt handle him for the whole week, and kept the temps and humidity in goodstanding, tried to feed him today and pretty much got the same problem. the weird thing is, hes hunting. hes not trying to escape out of his cage, but roaming around the cage floor, i put him in my bed, and hell hide and peak his head up and look around as if hes hunting as well. i tried putting him in a different box with the rat, after 20 minutes of ignoring it, he struck at it, but didnt grab it and coil. he then proceeded to climb halfway out of the box and hunt outside the box. this is pretty strange :\

i couldnt get a gerbil or one of those african rats as theyre not sold around me, so i tried with a small rat again...

should i just keep trying every week, as i have been, and not worry?

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Try a mouse. Mice smell different.
Also, ball pythons don't really hunt. What you're probably seeing is stress roaming. Ball pythons are ambush predators. They wait and kill from their hideout. They rarely go hunting beyond their home.
I recommend moving him to a 20gallon tank or a 32qt tub. Also, try feeding in the dark with no lights on him and minimize movement around the tank during feeding.

mine is is over 3 feet long and eats about 3 mice or more

This could be just as simple as a winter fast. It's totally not uncommon for balls to go off feed in the winter months even if their temps are perfect. You should have or get a grams scale. That way if he's not losing alot of weight you know you don't have a problem. If he is losing weight quickly it will be stress or an illness. Judging by looks alone you're not going to be able to tell soon enough if you have a problem. Because he is in a glass tank he probably will be inconjunction with the weather and daytime hours in your area. I wouldn't stress him out too much though, and I'm sure he will come out Of this as soon as the winter months are up. Don't try gerbils as they are extremely aggressive and will have no problem injuring your ball. Asf and gerbils are a pain in the butt to get the animal to switch off of. I think this Is one of those instances that your ball is in breeding mode and fasting because of that. It's nature it doesn't change just because there's no females around. I've had a male fast for 6 months with no Ill effects. Hope this is helpful.
Morgan

i would put him in a tub with a heat pad underneath controled by a t-stat...i had the same issue for my albino went on strike for 2 months and i switched to a 32qt tub and he ate the following week...i use a 32 qt tub with 2 hides and a water bowl...80 deg ambiant with a 91 deg hot side...all my snakes eat like there is no tomorrow

I'm in the same situation as you... My ball python stopped feeding on september & now has 6 months without eating... she is 4 ft. Long & her enclosure its a 60 gallon tank which she was raised as a baby... She fast last year also for 5 months but i guess every year is a different thing... but it's still kinda chilly here so I dont worry about it much just offer food every 2 weeks & you'll be surprised that 1 day it'll attack a rat out of the blue like if it had an on off switch button.... Just be patient IMO i dont think you should change anything in its enclosure just leave it as is of course with the proper temps & it will eat when it wants to.

Changing things Is up to you of
Course. But when you change setup there is a certain amount of stress that will come with it. I think you will feel alot better if you had a scale and could see if he's losing weight or not. Changing him from a tank to a tub will not do anything if this is just a winter fast. Any ball over 1 year old is prone to winter fasting no matter what type of set up they are in. I think people have less issues in tubs because they don't let in the natural sunlight as easily as glass does. I use tubs as well and every year even some of my balls that I am not cooling go into fast mode. Some balls get stuck in fast mode and they need to be force fed to come out of it. This is something that shouldn't be taken lightly and your animal should be brought to an experienced professional that knows how to do this safely. This would be a last option sort of thing.

hey guys! just shooting you an update, at month 6, Damien finally ate! there was same hesitation, but he took out two mice, one after the other, and had no problem taking them both down :)

i didnt change the enclosure size, just gave it time. thanks for all the advise, hope this doesnt happen again for this long hahah!

Congrats rattle head, I have two large bps that have been off for 6 months also.

I know how you felt - I pray each week they will eat but so far no luck. My 1600 female did this last year also but it never gets easy for the owner.

Mine are all kept in tubs with hides.

Congrats!! Yay

My new (and first) ball may have a respiratory problem. He appears to yawn frequently and keeps his head in a verticle position quite often. He spit up a yellow substance yesterday also-unless it was poop. I've had him 3 weeks and he has not eaten yet. All living conditions seem to be what is required. 80-85 degrees, 50% humidity, water, enclosure in a 20 gal glass tank with basking lamp. He is 18 inches long. This seems to be a great website. thanks for any help!