ARGG i am so frustrated!!

hey thanks:)

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Originally Posted by ARBallMorphs

my super fire ate for the first time after 2 months about 4 weeks ago then she had 2 meals and now she hasn't eaten for 2 weeks again, same goes for my clown male, after a fasting period i finally decided to eat agin he ate for 3 times in a row and now skipped 2 in a row again

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If they're only averaging eating every other week, just offer every other week.

I had the same problem with a few of mine. Eat twice, skip, eat, skip twice, eat three times, skip twice, etc. They were erratic.

I cut back on the size of the food, and started offering those ones food every 14 days instead of 7. It's not a magic fix, but those ones are eating much more consistently than they were.

Ball pythons specialize in frustrating their owners. He worst culprits for me see to be the ones that I want to grow the fastest. I even have a girl from the same clutch as 3 others, and she is barely more than a third the size of her siblings. They all al be ready to breed size wise next season, the way she's going it may be her 4th before I can attempt with her. I would try backing the feeding attempts on any who aren't eating down to very couple weeks, or even once a month. So long as thy aren't losing a ton of weight, they're just being stubborn, so you have to be more so. Hang in there, it does get better eventually. Like when that first head pokes out of an egg you finally managed to produce. Or even just getting those eggs.

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I am having no more fun in the hobby anymore especially because they wont eat no matter what i try and i don't get to hold them, hell i dont even get to look at them as they are in tubs and opening the tubs would disturb them (ofc i have opened the tubs, to clean/fresh water/ get temps with temp gun)

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It sounds like you're worried about getting your BP's up to size for breeding, but what you really want from the hobby is a breedable pet. Unfortunately most BP's do well at one or the other. I found that I enjoy mine more when I stop worrying about the breeding aspect and focus more on the keeping side.

So, your collection has decided - much to your chagrin - that now would be a good time to join Jenny Craig and drop those winter pounds so they'll look good in a bikini this summer. They're telling you they're not hungry. Fine. Feed them less often, and/or feed them smaller meals. Most snakes in captivity are overfed. If it means that your females take a few extra months before they're at breeding weight, so be it. They'll go on their timeline, not yours.

Our Ginger didn't eat a thing for 5 months! She ate her f/t mice and then rats religiously every weekend. Then, nothing..... Offered her a f/t every 3 weeks - wouldn't eat it.

I finally decided to feed her live and now she can't get enough. I put the cardboard container with the mousies inside to tempt her appetite before I feed them to her. Ha! She broke in to the container and started munching on mice when I left the room for several minutes!




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One more quick thought......if a BP really is on a fast, then they won't eat frozen or live. Given that you have a few snakes, implementing live might not be a bad idea. It's harder for us because we only have our one precious girl, and have to get her supper at PetCo every week since breeding rats isn't a good option.


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hey,

last night i had a small victory,

my normal ph. Hypo female finaly ate, she is already with me for about 5 weeks and she wouldnt eat, the guy i got her from told me she only eats live rats so that is what i had been trying. But this little girl is a very stressy animal as soon i open the tub she balls up or gets really tense and every time the rat came close to her she freaked out so last week i thought lets throw in a f/t rat and leave it there over night, next morning the rat was still there right where i left it. So last night i threw in a live one again when i noticed a couple of the other tubs where Messy so i started cleaning those and after a while i heard a sound that made me very happy, i heard a dull bang (against the side of the tub) and some sqeeking right after, and i knew she grabbel the rat i was so happy! After an hour i finaly dared to open the tub and she ate it :D

what i did realise though is that i left the rat in with her for about 25 minutes before she took it where i normally take it out after 5 to 10 minutes max. So i guess the trick with this stressy female is to give her more time to actually get from tensed and balled up to feeding mode;)

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Originally Posted by ARBallMorphs

hmm....

maybe i should have a talk with the one offering that 13 female haha

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Hey chief , it sounds and looks like you have a lot of experience and you should just weather this storm. Maybe you do need a bit of a change in your collection but don't let a few non feeding bp's drive you crazy. We all are going through the picky feeders. It comes with the territory. You know that! Get happy and monitor your husbandry and make sure no one is sick. Then, keep it moving. We need your expertise! Stay in peace and not pieces. :gj: Remember, these are snakes. They are made to go long periods of time without food. That is one of the benefits of having them as pets. Or breeders or both.

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Hey chief , it sounds and looks like you have a lot of experience and you should just weather this storm. Maybe you do need a bit of a change in your collection but don't let a few non feeding bp's drive you crazy. We all are going through the picky feeders. It comes with the territory. You know that! Get happy and monitor your husbandry and make sure no one is sick. Then, keep it moving. We need your expertise! Stay in peace and not pieces. :gj: Remember, these are snakes. They are made to go long periods of time without food. That is one of the benefits of having them as pets. Or breeders or both.

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Haha, true

and thanks!

Woo had a small victory tonight too! my vanilla cream finally took a live small rat, hopefully it continues I really want her to get to weight for next year. The rest of the group was so so some ate some didn't the normal feeding day