This is getting frustrating!

Sorry, I posted this first in advanced husbandry before i noticed there was hardly any traffic there.

I have 14 ball pythons along with many other reptiles. I just don't understand why the bp's are so bad of feeders. Out of the 14, 6 ate tonight. This happens all the time. It's not always the same ones, either. I do have a large male cinny and a 700g normal female that eats every time, but the rest just eat when they want to, and what they want to.

12 of them are in the same 41qt rack (cinny is one of them). Hot side is 90-93, cold is 78-82 (I do have a temp gun). I went several months a few months back that they all ate like clockwork except for the pastel male. Now he eats almost every time. Most of the big females started skipping meals at the same time before Christmas. I have a normal 1.1 that hasn't eaten since then. I've tried live f/k, rats, mice,... Most of them have even bred for me over the last few weeks.

I am about to my wits end with these things. I have NO problems with any of my other snakes/lizards. Maybe you guys know something I don't. Please help before i go crazy!

Have you tried mice vs rats vs asf's?

I have tried live and p/k rats and mice. I have a few asf's, but they are not readily available here, so I don't even want to try that until I have a sustained population.

Are these all mature adults? It IS breeding season, and love is in the air.

I have ~50 ball pythons and about six of them are fasting right now. You can try offering food every 2 weeks rather than every week right now, to allow them to get a little hungry.

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Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

Well its winter so that causes many BP's to go off feed. When females beging their breeding cycle that will make them go off feed. I have found that ambient temps under 82 degrees can cause many to fo off feed. I would chaulk it up to the time of year. I definately am having more refusals that other times of the year. Then again I have many that are approaching ovulation so I wouldnt expect them to eat much. Some are going every other week. As long as they are healthy I wouldnt worry too much.

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I pulled this reply from the other thread. It was posted before I deleted the content.

Anyway, if any of this is true then I guess it may be normal? I am used to colubrids that eat always, no matter what. Everyone seems healthy but are loosing some weight. Do most of you have feeding problems around this time of year?

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Are these all mature adults? It IS breeding season, and love is in the air.

I have ~50 ball pythons and about six of them are fasting right now. You can try offering food every 2 weeks rather than every week right now, to allow them to get a little hungry.

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Yes, all of them except for the 700g girl are adults between 1200-2500g.

Do you just keep introducing pairs even if hey are refusing food?

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Originally Posted by chromeitout

Yes, all of them except for the 700g girl are adults between 1200-2500g.

Do you just keep introducing pairs even if hey are refusing food?

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If you're breeding them, yes. But you still want to give them breaks, and keep an eye on their weights. Usually once females start to breed, they'll eat as they are building.

Is this your first season breeding?

Yes, this is my first season with ball pythons. This is also my first with leopard geckos. However, this will be my third season for corn snakes and 2 species of uromastyx.

Do you have them someplace where they can have the normal light and dark cycles? If you do, try getting them in a darker spot. In the wild a Ball would be curled up in a moist dark termite tunnel and would come out in the night.
If you have them in a darker spot, try something a little lighter.

If you have feeders in the same room with them, get them out of the room and far away. Present the room prior to feeding.

I'm sure you mentioned it, you have your humidity up to 60%?

You should try to get the ambient & cool side above 80F if you can, maybe doing this will get them to start eating.

I've heard that giving a Ball python a warm soak before feeding them increases their appetite. I haven't personally tried it but I hear it works.

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Originally Posted by singingtothewheat

Do you have them someplace where they can have the normal light and dark cycles? If you do, try getting them in a darker spot. In the wild a Ball would be curled up in a moist dark termite tunnel and would come out in the night.
If you have them in a darker spot, try something a little lighter.

If you have feeders in the same room with them, get them out of the room and far away. Present the room prior to feeding.

I'm sure you mentioned it, you have your humidity up to 60%?

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They are in a temp controlled building with no windows, but I also have bearded dragons and uromastyx in there with lights on a timer.

There are no rodents in the room, and I do bring in the tub of rats a little before feeding time.

As for humidity... I haven't checked it lately, but I NEVER have a stuck shed. I will recheck this tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

You should try to get the ambient & cool side above 80F if you can, maybe doing this will get them to start eating.

I've heard that giving a Ball python a warm soak before feeding them increases their appetite. I haven't personally tried it but I hear it works.

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I do the best I can with the temps that my crappy sideways rack will allow. 80 is the average from top to bottom.

I might give the soak thing a try.

Thanks to all of you so far!

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

You should try to get the ambient & cool side above 80F if you can, maybe doing this will get them to start eating.

I've heard that giving a Ball python a warm soak before feeding them increases their appetite. I haven't personally tried it but I hear it works.

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Never heard of such a thing (the soak). Never had to soak a ball python to encourage them to eat.

chromeitout - yes, colubrids are very different from ball pythons when it comes to feeding response.

As long as you offer appropriately sized meals (not too large) on a weekly basis, they tend to eat pretty consistently. However, once I start to get consistent refusals amongst my collection, I move to a once every 2 week feeding, except for girls who are breeding and I know will eat - they still get offered weekly.

I have tired many different things with my balls, but some are just bad eaters. Some will take f/t, some won't. Some will eat every week, some every other week, and some like to take months off. That is one reason that I am selling all of my ball pythons, and switching to snakes that eat very well on f/t. It is just so frustrating when you breed your own rodents. You never know how many to breed because you can never determine which, or how many, balls are going to eat each week.

Good luck though.

Hold up.....you don't have all 12 in the same tub do you? Am I just reading that wrong?

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Originally Posted by chromeitout

Most of the big females started skipping meals at the same time before Christmas. I have a normal 1.1 that hasn't eaten since then. I've tried live f/k, rats, mice,... Most of them have even bred for me over the last few weeks.

!

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What has bred for you? The ball pythons, or the rats and mice?

Later,

George

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Originally Posted by BPelizabeth

Hold up.....you don't have all 12 in the same tub do you? Am I just reading that wrong?

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:rofl: No, they have their own tubs.

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Originally Posted by chapskis1

What has bred for you? The ball pythons, or the rats and mice?

Later,

George

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6 out of 7 adult normal females, my pastel female (bred with the pastel male, but won't have anything to do with the cinny or spider...GRRR!), and all three morph males spider, cinny, and pastel have bred. Everyone has bred for me that is big enough except 1 normal female. I do still have a normal male adult, a 700g female, and an 1100g Black Pastel female that I have not attempted.

Oh, and the rats and mice will not STOP breeding, lol. I'm busting at the seams with them.

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Originally Posted by Wh00h0069

I have tired many different things with my balls, but some are just bad eaters. Some will take f/t, some won't. Some will eat every week, some every other week, and some like to take months off. That is one reason that I am selling all of my ball pythons, and switching to snakes that eat very well on f/t. It is just so frustrating when you breed your own rodents. You never know how many to breed because you can never determine which, or how many, balls are going to eat each week.

Good luck though.

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I am afraid that I share alot of the same feelings with you, and it's possible that I may get rid of mine as well. There have been alot of good posts in this thread alone about methods of dealing with the bad eating habits of balls, but I'm not sure that I want to deal with a species that is knowingly going to be a problematic feeder. It takes me longer to feed my 14 balls than it does to feed 40 colubrids due to the "well I'll only prekill one rat and move from tub to tub to see if anyone wants it, then put a live rat in a couple of tubs and watch to make sure they eat it and not viceversa, then grab a mouse or two and see if the rat refusers will take them". With the colubrids you just count out how many feeder items you need for each one, total it up and thaw or kill all of them and chunk them in the appropriate tubs. I'm definately not hating on bp's because alot of the morphs are just stunning, but they are beginning to stress me out, and to know that this is considered "normal", makes it worse.