Not eating, don't know what to do...

Personally, I wouldn't wait until after he defecates to feed him again. He might not poop for 4-5 weeks.

Also, I would try assist feeding one bigger meal rather then a bunch of pinkies. More assist feeds = more stress. So if you only need to assist feed once per feeding, wouldn't that be more preferable?

I would try a fuzzy at least or a hopper. Pinkies aren't really developed enough to give the snake the nutrients it needs.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Personally, I wouldn't wait until after he defecates to feed him again. He might not poop for 4-5 weeks.

Also, I would try assist feeding one bigger meal rather then a bunch of pinkies. More assist feeds = more stress. So if you only need to assist feed once per feeding, wouldn't that be more preferable?

I would try a fuzzy at least or a hopper. Pinkies aren't really developed enough to give the snake the nutrients it needs.

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Gonna have to agree.

Pinkies are for those snakes that are like 5 - 10 inches when they are like 1 month old.

They are generally for very small snakes that are still babies. IMO

get a hopper and let it roam his tank/tub. but not unattended. If/when he strikes it and coils it make sure its dead.

He isnt taking F/T because hes a ball python :D they are picky that way as everybody knows.

Get him a live prey item that moves and you should have him eatting. if he doesn't eat then, then you move onto assist/force feeding a hopper. but not a pinky again.

Hope he gets better!

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Originally Posted by MikeV

Gonna have to agree.

Pinkies are for those snakes that are like 5 - 10 inches when they are like 1 month old.

They are generally for very small snakes that are still babies. IMO

get a hopper and let it roam his tank/tub. but not unattended. If/when he strikes it and coils it make sure its dead.

He isnt taking F/T because hes a ball python :D they are picky that way as everybody knows.

Get him a live prey item that moves and you should have him eatting. if he doesn't eat then, then you move onto assist/force feeding a hopper. but not a pinky again.

Hope he gets better!

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The OP has already tried live.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

The OP has already tried live.

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Ah, then I dont know...


assist feed a hopper? thats all I can think of thats left lol

He refused to assist-feed with F/T. He did, however, take four live pinkies. We only have to barely put it in his mouth and he started taking them immediately. After the first one was down, we offered him the second to see if he would take it himself, but he tried to run away from it. So we had to assist-feed it. We were just trying to get something in him, to start off with. He is really, really skinny. If were were going to have to force feed him, we wanted to use a smaller prey so it stands a better chance of not getting regurgitated.

I will move onto mice hoppers/rat fuzzies in a feed or two, but he seems to have absolutely no idea on how to eat it unless I put it in his mouth. And even then, he only seems to want to take pinkies. He didn't seem stressed after the first time we assisted him. After that, when we nudged it in his mouth, he immediately coiled and constricted it (although poorly...). The whole process per pinky took about three seconds. He got a taste for them immediately, though he still refused to strike or eat on his own. We just had to nudge it in his mouth and he did the rest.

He hasn't eaten in a month, the roundest part of him is about the size of my thumb, maybe just a tad bigger (and I have small hands...). It is obvious from his weight that he has probably not eaten for quite a while before I got him, so I have no idea how long it has been since he has eaten. I don't want to give him something too big that his malnourished system can't handle and end up regurgitating. That seems like it would be a lot more stressful than assist feeding...

He may be malnourished, but he hasn't actually shrunk. He can handle it.

And don't leave live rodents in there unattended. You're lucky it didn't decide to eat him. I wouldn't place a live one in his mouth, either.

I really think that you failed the first assist feed, not him. He's eating fuzzies this way, why not something that's actually the right size? I'm not being mean, I just think you may have made a mistake, like anyone could. No, I've never assist fed and I wasn't there, but I'd certainly expect to make a mistake my first try.

And he won't poop unless you feed him, so put him on a schedule and don't wait for a dookie that's not coming.

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Originally Posted by stevepoppers

He may be malnourished, but he hasn't actually shrunk. He can handle it.

And don't leave live rodents in there unattended. You're lucky it didn't decide to eat him. I wouldn't place a live one in his mouth, either.

I really think that you failed the first assist feed, not him. He's eating fuzzies this way, why not something that's actually the right size? I'm not being mean, I just think you may have made a mistake, like anyone could. No, I've never assist fed and I wasn't there, but I'd certainly expect to make a mistake my first try.

And he won't poop unless you feed him, so put him on a schedule and don't wait for a dookie that's not coming.

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A live pinkie is not going to eat him. Neither will a hopper or a fuzzy.

I don't think the OP was wrong by assist feeding, but I don't think it was necessary to feed 4 pinkies in one sitting. One small fuzzy would have been a better option. Feeding 4 pinkies is about the same as feeding a fuzzy or two. So whats the difference if he eats it in one sitting rather then 4?

My point is that if he can handle 4 pinkies, he can handle a fuzzy.

Yes, the live rat I put in his cage overnight was not full grown. It didn't even have it's eyes open. I am certain that it wouldn't be able to harm him.

The thing is, I wasn't the one to try to assist-feed him. I tried a few times, but he kept spitting it out. When I say he wouldn't take a fuzzy through assist-feeding, I mean that the owner of the reptile store, who has taken care of Ball Pythons her entire life, tried it with a fuzzy and he tried to spit it out as soon as possible. She said that Force-Feeding should be the last alternative, as it is extremely stressful for the snake, so she tried to assist feed a pinky. And he took it without any trouble or squirming away or spitting it out. It wasn't stressful at all and he didn't freak out or try to struggle away or wrench himself away from it. He ate without any fuss once we put it into his mouth for him.

With the fuzzy, he was struggling as hard as he could, trying to get away as much as possible.

I am not going to keep feeding Crane pinkies, but this was just something to get him to eat one meal. Just something to get in him so he wouldn't die. We didn't see the need to force-feed him fuzzies and stress him out a ton, when he was happily taking pinkies through assist-feed, in a much, much less stressful way.

In another feed, I will be using fuzzies, but the pinkies were the first time he had eaten in who knows how long. Over a month. Probably well over a month. Getting something into his stomach was the main priority.

Well, it's really good you got something in him, whatever it was. Go for something bigger if you can. This is really great though. :gj:

A rodent can't eat him if it doesn't have teeth, yah. ;) General precaution and whatnot.

Try this!!!
This has worked for me in the past. Take him out and put him in a dark cloth sack with a properly sized food item. Get a cloth sack with a draw string or other way to secure it so he cannot get out and put him back in him enclosure what this does is simulates being in a rodent den much like in nature. Even though he was CB, instinct will take over whether he is CB or wild caught. Also this may make him feel more secure due to the sack will lay against him. I had a bp hatchling that this was the only way I could get her to eat. I was like you and tried EVERYTHING. this was the only way she would take food. After she was established eating (after about 8 feedings) I moved her into a small box for feeding for about another 2 months. After that she was on. She ended up being a great eater after that.

Hope this helps. Godspeed to you and yours.