She wont Eat Agrrr

Ok so i have had my ball python for aaround 3- 4 weeks now. And she will not eat at all.
I contacted the breeder and they suggested i go to live , though they fed frozen thawed...
i cant feed live, a . i dont have access to live hoppers only live adults.
b. im afraid of feeding live mostly cause of aggression..

Oh i guess i should mention she is a bumblebee and she is losing weight noticably every week. She is an 09 hatchling. She lives in a 20 gallon tank with a screened lid, undertank heater and infrared heat light as well. Temps are 85 during the day and around 75-80 at night. basking temp higher then 85 .
humidity is moderate meaning 50-60%

So , my question is what do I do ?>??
adn how long is she going to be able to go without me being really worried?

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Originally Posted by BlueCinder

Oh i guess i should mention she is a bumblebee and she is losing weight noticably every week. She is an 09 hatchling. She lives in a 20 gallon tank with a screened lid, undertank heater and infrared heat light as well. Temps are 85 during the day and around 75-80 at night. basking temp higher then 85 .
humidity is moderate meaning 50-60%

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A 20 gallon enclosure would be too large for a hatchling. You can try to clutter the enclosure with crumbled newspaper or try cluttering it with fake decor plants so there are NO open spaces. How many hides do you have?

85F is too low, Ball pythons need their warm side to be between 88F-94F during the day, and it wouldn't hurt for it to be at night. What are you using to control the undertank heater & infrared bulb?

Ball pythons do not bask, as they are nocturnal and would much rather hide during the day.

Coolio is right on the money. How are you measuring your temps btw?

Well i have a thermometer in the middle of the tank which shows me he ambient temp. of 85. i have a hide on the warmer side of the tank. which is also where the uth is and bulb. i also have a thermometer there showing 90-92.
i have a big water dish on the cool side. I would like to also mention that in order for me to keep the heat in more i put a really heavy sweater covering half the screen cover and side of the tank, and thats where she seems to stay most of the time, well all o f the time actually. and on that side its below 75 .

i am using aspen bedding as a substrate too.. she is an older 09 hatchling. not recent. i was told she was well established and etc.. .


so more foilage in the tank, got it ! :gj:
i am usinga 50 watt infrared heat light... should i go bigger??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

A 20 gallon enclosure would be too large for a hatchling. You can try to clutter the enclosure with crumbled newspaper or try cluttering it with fake decor plants so there are NO open spaces. How many hides do you have?

85F is too low, Ball pythons need their warm side to be between 88F-94F during the day, and it wouldn't hurt for it to be at night. What are you using to control the undertank heater & infrared bulb?

Ball pythons do not bask, as they are nocturnal and would much rather hide during the day.

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yah i meant hot spot, meaning place where they get warm LOL. sorry. im use to saying basking.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BlueCinder

Well i have a thermometer in the middle of the tank which shows me he ambient temp. of 85. i have a hide on the warmer side of the tank. which is also where the uth is and bulb. i also have a thermometer there showing 90-92.
i have a big water dish on the cool side. I would like to also mention that in order for me to keep the heat in more i put a really heavy sweater covering half the screen cover and side of the tank, and thats where she seems to stay most of the time, well all o f the time actually. and on that side its below 75 .

i am using aspen bedding as a substrate too.. she is an older 09 hatchling. not recent. i was told she was well established and etc.. .


so more foilage in the tank, got it ! :gj:
i am usinga 50 watt infrared heat light... should i go bigger??

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Typically, if you've decided to go with both the UTH and the lamp, you should have the UTH on the cool side at a controlled lower temperature. NO LOWER THAN 75 F. Any cooler, and that is bad bad bad. But too warm is bad, as well. If you can't keep the temps on the warm side between 90-92 with just the lamp, try upsizing the bulb. Also, regarding the hides and water dish, BPs are secretive, and they should have same-size hides on BOTH sides. This way, they will not ignore their needs over security. Hope this helps, and hope any of the experts out there catch any false info I may have accidentally given you!:gj:

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Originally Posted by Moofins07

Typically, if you've decided to go with both the UTH and the lamp, you should have the UTH on the cool side at a controlled lower temperature. NO LOWER THAN 75 F. Any cooler, and that is bad bad bad. But too warm is bad, as well. If you can't keep the temps on the warm side between 90-92 with just the lamp, try upsizing the bulb. Also, regarding the hides and water dish, BPs are secretive, and they should have same-size hides on BOTH sides. This way, they will not ignore their needs over security. Hope this helps, and hope any of the experts out there catch any false info I may have accidentally given you!:gj:

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ive always read that all heat stays on one sid eof the tank?

With a 20 gallon tank there is likely no need for heat on the cool side of the tank unless the room gets into very frigid temps. If the warm side is where it should be the cool end should naturally be about right as well. Again, this is assuming the room the enclosure in is in somewhat "normal" living temperatures.

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Originally Posted by xscorpio

With a 20 gallon tank there is likely no need for heat on the cool side of the tank unless the room gets into very frigid temps. If the warm side is where it should be the cool end should naturally be about right as well. Again, this is assuming the room the enclosure in is in somewhat "normal" living temperatures.

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yah the enclosure is in my main room, non high traffic area, and its always at 24-26 degrees celcius in the room

Are you warming up the prey before offering? Like say with a blow drier?

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Originally Posted by Danounet

Are you warming up the prey before offering? Like say with a blow drier?

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Oh, no thats a nifty idea. ill try it :0 thanks

I feed live, never F/T yet, But I think people warm the prey up with blow driers and things like that to simulate normal body temp of prey. :)

As far as the prey item goes, like the poster above said make sure it's nice and toasty warm- I don't use a blow drier but I thaw my mice/rats out in hot tap water and dry them with a paper towel. Make sure they're thawed all the way through- seems obvious I know but sometimes they can still be frozen in the middle even when they *seem* thawed, so make sure they're warm and squishy even in the middle, lol. Don't just plop the mouse in front of the snake and expect it to eat, either- dangle it in front of her nose, maybe even dance it around a little to get her excited.

I would change the enclosure up a bit, also- make sure there are multiple secure hides like others have said, they like them tight! I would also get rid of the heat lamp, it's not bad per se but I've found that an UTH alone on the 'warm' end is plenty to get the right temperature and the lamps tend to suck a lot of humidity out of the tank. If you're using those little round thermometers, try to get a digital one with a probe; they're much more accurate and easy to read. On the warm side, remember you want to measure the temps on the ground, not in the air, so if you have the thermometer stuck on the side I would peel it off and at least set it on or even buried in the substrate for a while to get a reading, you might be surprised how warm it is down there. The temps on the glass *bottom* of the tank should be around 95 or a bit lower, any higher than 100 and you run a definite risk of burns.

Hope she eats soon!

ok so i went and got two ccaves, huges plants to cover the tank and i moved the red light bulb to the side where she always is, she is always on the cold side. and i just tried again i even did the live mouse in a container and pre scent thing and she wasnt even intreseted in the mouse.
im starting to get frustrated the breeder hasnt even contacted me back.

Hi,

Every time you change the tank she has to get used to it again and feel secure. Even if the change is for the better it's still a change. :)

Just remember no handling or uneccesary interaction for a week then try another feed.


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Every time you change the tank she has to get used to it again and feel secure. Even if the change is for the better it's still a change. :)

Just remember no handling or uneccesary interaction for a week then try another feed.


dr del

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Oh ok, thanks. yah its been like two days. I will try next week.
But because she has lost so much weight compared to last time, what should i do if she doesnt eat ... ps. her tongue is going constanly so she cant be very unhealthy right ?

Hi,

Well that depends on her weight drop - you say she was a well started hatchling and that she seems to be losing weight every week but you don't give us a starting figure or a current one so it's really hard to judge where she is at. :(

You've only had her 4 weeks and the breeder says she was eating well.

Assuming he is telling the truth then she has only missed 4/ 5 meals which isn't generally a problem - but without the weight differences it's hard for us to judge reliably.


dr del

Like everyone else said. Raise the temp. Clutter the tank. Give more hides that are small and tight. Drape a towel over the front of the tank so she feels more secure. Warm the food well right before offering it. Stand very still when offering it so she doesn't see your movement and get distracted or scared. Try warming the mouse in hot water from the faucet. Wet mice always work better. They put off more scent. I have a hatchling that doesn't eat well for me that Ive had to assist feed a few times but im not about to try to explain that since you're new to this. If you try all the right things she should eat for you soon. If she does not and starts getting dangerously thin you may want to consider finding someone in your area with experience assist feeding balls. If the temp is not high enough she will not be able to properly digest either so get those temps up. Keep us informed.

I'm curious on what your using to control that UTH?

Are you giving her hopper mice? Maybe try to change the prey size. I have an May 09 Pastel, and she is already on small rats. She could eat two adult mice, but she may be larger than yours, since she has had the weight drop. Try and get her weighed.

With my baby i purchased back in Febuary, I tried pinkies (nope) then fuzzies (nope), finally tried a hopper and she loved it. He was only about 125 back then. My probelm was that I wasn't feeding big enough.

I feed live though. I have fed frozen before, and when i did i ran the rats head under hot water in my bathroom. By the time I got to the snake room it was cool enough to eat, yet still hot enough to sense. It worked for some of them. It is worth a shot.

ok so i have done everything everyone has suggested , and i tried again tonight. and still for ten minutes straight, nothing. i tried the warm water, blow dryer and everything, the tank temperature is now where its suppose to be and still nothing. Im a lil frustrated at the same time its been a month and usually by now at least one of the other snakes i ve had has eaten.. i just dont understand it and it also doesnt help that the breeder is such an ass and wont respond to any of my emails.

Two questions...

1. What did you mean by "you're afraid of aggression from feeding live?" I feed 7/9 of my snakes live prey, and none of them are the least bit aggressive. As for not having access to live mice, do you have any pet stores nearby? If there's a Petco/Petsmart, you can just buy a pet mouse as a feeder.

2. Did you try a different type of prey - rat pups or ASFs? Some BPs have a strong preference, like my girl Delilah who's stuck on live mice... she won't eat rats of any kind, and very rarely a f/t mouse. Now that she's 700g I have to feed 3-4 mice at a time, which is a little annoying, but you do what you gotta do. If you really want the baby to thrive, you'll have to experiment and possibly make compromises (like feeding live or driving farther). Good luck! :oops:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BlueCinder

Ok so i have had my ball python for aaround 3- 4 weeks now. And she will not eat at all.
I contacted the breeder and they suggested i go to live , though they fed frozen thawed...
i cant feed live, a . i dont have access to live hoppers only live adults.
b. im afraid of feeding live mostly cause of aggression..

Oh i guess i should mention she is a bumblebee and she is losing weight noticably every week. She is an 09 hatchling. She lives in a 20 gallon tank with a screened lid, undertank heater and infrared heat light as well. Temps are 85 during the day and around 75-80 at night. basking temp higher then 85 .
humidity is moderate meaning 50-60%

So , my question is what do I do ?>??
adn how long is she going to be able to go without me being really worried?

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Go buy a little shoebox container, put some Aspen in it with a heat pad underneath, then try and feed it live. If you can't get a live small fuzzie, then do all BG says and try and feed frozen. If this still doesn't work, you're going to have to find small live feeders.


The last resort is force feeding, but if you do what BG says....... 99.9% success rate. Big Gunns guarantees it. :gj: