I have tried everything...

Okay, I purchased a ball python around two to three weeks ago and the personn who sold her to me told me that the ball is not off feed meaning that she should feed for me once she acclimates. Well it has been a while since I got her and she hasn't eaten for me. I left her alone for two weeks. I offered her what he was feeding her and she refused (I offered a live small rat). I waited a week and offered the same thing again. Then I left a pre killed rat in the tub overnight. No luck. I am thinking about sending the ball back because he guaranteed she would be feeding. What do you think?

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Originally Posted by lesserlover

he guaranteed she would be feeding. What do you think?

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I dont think u can guarantee a bp will eat. If your husbandry is off it would not eat.

Have you tried mice? Not sure what the breeder fed it. But iv read some wont touch rats if its only eaten mice or whatnot.

Whats ur temps, humidity, cage setup, size of cage/tub?

Maybe try somthing alittle bit smaller and let her ease back into things?

Barring issues with husbandry, another option that I just used for my recently purchased fire was to use a live mouse that I let sit in some tuna fish for alittle while before I offered it. She snatched that right up and Ive had her for about a month refusing everything else.

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Originally Posted by f4n70m

I dont think u can guarantee a bp will eat. If your husbandry is off it would not eat.

Have you tried mice? Not sure what the breeder fed it. But iv read some wont touch rats if its only eaten mice or whatnot.

Whats ur temps, humidity, cage setup, size of cage/tub?

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I have not tried mice. My husbandry is on point. I have a lot of balls and they all are on feed. This ball is the only ball in the rack that is not feeding. She is in stike mode 24/7. It seems like she has not settled in. She strikes the prey but she is not attempting to eat the prey. She does not coil.


Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Sariel

Maybe try somthing alittle bit smaller and let her ease back into things?

Barring issues with husbandry, another option that I just used for my recently purchased fire was to use a live mouse that I let sit in some tuna fish for alittle while before I offered it. She snatched that right up and Ive had her for about a month refusing everything else.

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If the ball does not feed the next time offered, I will get creative.

Thanks.

please list everything about your set up.

what type of cage, exact temps, what you're using to measure the temps, etc, ALL THINGS TRIED SO FAR (give that its been 2-3 weeks, you can't have tried everything). You may be stressing the snake more by trying so many different things at once.

If i were in that situation. I'd leave the snake alone for 2 weeks with no contact except to change the water and do any necessary cleaning and then at night, offer the preferred prey item, turn off the lights and walk away. If its a live item i'd leave a small light on and come back and check every 30 mins or so.

I would try a small mouse. From what i hear starting on small seems to work?

Okay... I have this female inside of my Animal Plastics rack with the hot side of her tub being at 92 degrees and the cold side at 81 degrees. I am using a helix controller and I have a tempgun to measure temps. She has a water bowl and a hide inside of her tub. she is on news paper. I have not made contact with her as it is more important for me to get her to feed than to have a nice looking snake to hold.

Thanks for your advice. keep it coming.

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Originally Posted by f4n70m

I would try a small mouse. From what i hear starting on small seems to work?

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She is 800grams. I am not sure a small mouse would do her any good. I know I should not be worried about her loosing any weight but the sooner she feeds the less of a headache I will have.

Have you spoken with the seller about the issue? Was he feeding her in a particular manner? I know I have a female that simply will NOT touch her rat unless she's in a covered tub with lights out. It took a while to figure out that she prefers it this way. I'm working on getting her to start accepting food readily w/o all the extra prep work but for now it's what works for her. You might try offering food in a way that excludes all possible distractions. Have you tried closed paper bag or cardboard box?

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Originally Posted by lesserlover

She is 800grams. I am not sure a small mouse would do her any good. I know I should not be worried about her loosing any weight but the sooner she feeds the less of a headache I will have.

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Think of the smaller feeder animal not as a real meal and more as an appetizer (literally) - something to get her back into the swing of things. You mention that she was taking live small rats from her previous owner. If she has had any incidents with live feeders, a poorly placed strike and resulting bite or scratch for instance, then she may be more reluctant to take another live rat. Taking a step back and offering smaller (less threatening) prey animals can help rebuild confidence and feeding response.

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Originally Posted by Quiet Tempest

Think of the smaller feeder animal not as a real meal and more as an appetizer (literally) - something to get her back into the swing of things. You mention that she was taking live small rats from her previous owner. If she has had any incidents with live feeders, a poorly placed strike and resulting bite or scratch for instance, then she may be more reluctant to take another live rat. Taking a step back and offering smaller (less threatening) prey animals can help rebuild confidence and feeding response.

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Exactly what i ment by it just not in as much detail :gj::gj:

I will offer her mice the next time she is scheduled to feed.

At around the weight she is many balls go off feed. Especially after being shipped. I think you are worrying too much. If she is 800g she was obviously eating for the previous owner. Unless she loses a significant amount of weight I would not worry. At most you should contact the seller just to let him know that it has not eaten, but it is unreasonable to expect the seller to take the snake back at this point. I have had snakes of a similar weight as yours shipped to me that went off feed for 8 months after shipping. I even hand delivered a snake to a friend in NY a few months ago and she still went off feed. All off her siblings are still eating great for me, but the 20hr car ride was enough to put the one I brought him off feed. His still has not eaten as far as I know.

If it were me, I would do nothing but change the water in her cage for about a month. Don't pick her up, don't offer food, nothing. After that try a live rat at night and see what happens. She may not eat again until late spring/early summer. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by lesserlover

She is 800grams. I am not sure a small mouse would do her any good. I know I should not be worried about her loosing any weight but the sooner she feeds the less of a headache I will have.

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My 800g male who was eating small rats, refused 2 in a row. I put him back on mice. Offered 2 cause that's what he was eating before, but he eats one then goes back into his hide.

If what I read here is accurate (and I have no reason to believe it's not), sometime in the near future his appetite will pick back up and he'll most likely want rats again.

So offer her a mouse. It may be what she wants at the moment.

And btw, he is still gaining weight on 1 adult mouse.

My 600g female is being picky on me, and now my 400g male is. It's the winter, so it could just be that. The change in scenery, the time of year. I would try mice, that's what got my female to eat after 4 weeks.

All BPs are different and it's not rare for one to go months without eating after being put somewhere new, especially at the size yours is. Also, this time of the year it is not rare for some BPs to get off food for a bit. As long as she's not losing to much weight you have nothing to worry about and giving her back would be extremely premature.

I can tell you from experience that sometimes they just need a while to acclimate to their new surroundings. I purchased two female normals in the spring of 2008. When they were with the previous owner, they were feeding normally. When I got them home, I waited a week and tried to feed. They both refused. I tried live, f/t, pre-killed. Tried leaving a f/t or pre-killed feeder in with them overnight. I tried leaving them along for a few weeks, still nothing. Finally, after 4 MONTHS, I tried to feed again and out of the blue, they both ate. I had tried everything I could think of and nothing had worked until one day I just tried to feed like I feed all my other snakes and they took the feeders as if they had never been off feed.

Maybe leave her alone in a dark tub for a while (cover her tub with black construction paper to make her more secure).

I am a bit upset about the situation but I understand everyones input. I wanted her to breed for me next season. I want to produce lucy's and purchased a mojave and a lesser female that are both 08's to do just that. I will give her more time, duck tape her tub with construction tape and cross my fingers that she feeds in the next month. I might even board her at the local pet store to see if they can get her to feed after 2 months. Thanks everyone.

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Originally Posted by lesserlover

I am a bit upset about the situation but I understand everyones input. I wanted her to breed for me next season. I want to produce lucy's and purchased a mojave and a lesser female that are both 08's to do just that. I will give her more time, duck tape her tub with construction tape and cross my fingers that she feeds in the next month. I might even board her at the local pet store to see if they can get her to feed after 2 months. Thanks everyone.

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Why are you "upset"? Is it because you think the seller lied....or is it just because it won't eat.

Here's what BG can guarantee. If you buy a snake at that size.... at this time of the year.... and put it on newspaper there is a 50% chance it's not gonna eat(BG's experience). If the seller kept it on Aspen or Cypress, you can almost 100% guarantee it may not eat if you put it on newspaper. Nobody has mentioned substrate, but it makes a huge difference.

Let BG give you some advice. Sell all your Ball Pythons and get some boas. That's the only way you won't need to deal with this problem. Stop panicking and call the seller and ask EXACTLY how he had it set up and what EXACTLY he was feeding it. You even need to ask what substrate the feeders were raised on if he's feeding live. A live rat raised on Aspen smells different than one raised on Pine....and it can make a difference.

Ball Pythons are a pain in the butt this time of year. They're an even bigger pain in the butt when you purchase them at this time of the year. If they are over 350 grams and you set them up differently than they were kept before, you're most likely gonna have a feeding issue. Ball Pythons will go off feed for breeders when they move them from tub to tub....even if they never refused in their life......so they'll definitely do it when sold to someone else. Good luck.....and stop panicking. You bought a BALL PYTHON!!!!!! This is what they do.:taz:

I would not move her to board at a local pet store. That move will probably reset her "acclimating clock" and you will have to wait even longer. Not to mention, some pet store people can be dumb when it comes to fasting ball pythons.

Make her tub as dark and secure as possible (give her an extra hide if you have to). I would just tape dark construction paper over the outside of the tub. Something another breeder recommended to me when the girls were fasting (though I never tried it) was to ball up newspaper and throw the balls of newspaper into the tub to take up space. No personal experience with this one but you could try it. At the size she is, not feeding for a few weeks won't hurt her. One of the girls I had was around 800-900 when she came home and she went 4 months without ill effects so your girl should be fine. You may not be able to breed her this season but I think the most important thing would be to get her eating first.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I would not move her to board at a local pet store. That move will probably reset her "acclimating clock" and you will have to wait even longer. Not to mention, some pet store people can be dumb when it comes to fasting ball pythons.

Make her tub as dark and secure as possible (give her an extra hide if you have to). I would just tape dark construction paper over the outside of the tub. Something another breeder recommended to me when the girls were fasting (though I never tried it) was to ball up newspaper and throw the balls of newspaper into the tub to take up space. No personal experience with this one but you could try it. At the size she is, not feeding for a few weeks won't hurt her. One of the girls I had was around 800-900 when she came home and she went 4 months without ill effects so your girl should be fine. You may not be able to breed her this season but I think the most important thing would be to get her eating first.

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You're on point. I have used the newspaper trick with my female het pied and she kills the rat and place it in her water bowl and then come back for it overnight. The pet store is the East Bay Vivarium. There is a guy name Michael who can get a dead ball to eat a jumbo rat. He is really good. In the past he has gotten balls that were off feed to eat for me. I understand how that will be another change of scenery for her again that would be the last case scenario. I want to breed her next season. The '10/'11 season. If she was on feed eating rats I would have tried to get 800 grams on her before next cooling season.

:O egads...don't board her at a pet store...that would make her even more stressed.

Now I want to preface this with ....I haven't had this problem yet....Yet being the key word I am sure. However....from all that I read they can go off food for several months. I understand you are hoping to breed next year....but ...it is really up to the snake. Calm down...take a deep breath get her a jumbo mouse try it live....try it prekilled...try it just laying there. The more uptight you are the more the snake will sense it.

I totally agree with BG...(usually do) about the substrate...didn't even occur to me.

The thing you want to remember is that you have a beautiful 800gram snake...you dont need to worry about her not eating right now....as she is not a hatchling and weight wise can afford to go off for a while.

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Originally Posted by lesserlover

You're on point. I have used the newspaper trick with my female het pied and she kills the rat and place it in her water bowl and then come back for it overnight. The pet store is the East Bay Vivarium. There is a guy name Michael who can get a dead ball to eat a jumbo rat. He is really good. In the past he has gotten balls that were off feed to eat for me. I understand how that will be another change of scenery for her again that would be the last case scenario. I want to breed her next season. The '10/'11 season. If she was on feed eating rats I would have tried to get 800 grams on her before next cooling season.

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Just remember, they don't always work on OUR schedule. She very well may not be ready to go next season, or she could just turn on her eating and be ready. In the meantime, just enjoy keeping her and "don't sweat the small stuff". :)

In the end, there really are no shortcuts in breeding ball pythons, and the snakes will be the first to humble you and remind you of that. Juveniles and adults can take longer to acclimate.

The breeder had her on newspaper. I sent him a message to see what substrate was used for the feeders. Thanks everyone.

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Originally Posted by lesserlover

The breeder had her on newspaper. I sent him a message to see what substrate was used for the feeders. Thanks everyone.

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You may just need to wait her out. Try and set her up as close as possible to how she was set up and wait. If you keep trying different methods she doesn't have time to "settle in". You don't want to try and feed her more than once a week. This is what Balls do unfortunately. You can start to panick in about 6 months.

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Originally Posted by lesserlover

Thanks for your advice. keep it coming.

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I was talking to one of the owners of a pet store I frequent who knows a good deal about snakes because I'm having the same problem with my albino. She said she has had some luck with securing the snake in a large paper bag with a pre-killed rat overnight. Could be the added sense of security? I had never heard of doing that but it might be worth a shot.

My female Mojave ate a jumbo mouse tonight. I am waiting on my het pied female and Lesser female to feed now. I am happy but I wish she would take a rat.

Another thing I've been told to try at times is what they eat over in Africa, ASFRs (African Soft Fir Rats) and gerbils. I've has success before with ASFRs before.

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Originally Posted by Big Gunns

You may just need to wait her out. Try and set her up as close as possible to how she was set up and wait. If you keep trying different methods she doesn't have time to "settle in". You don't want to try and feed her more than once a week. This is what Balls do unfortunately. You can start to panick in about 6 months.

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Still no reason to panic at 6 months either. Ive had males and females under 1000 grams go off feed for 7 months last year and i had to wait it out. They lost maybe 200grams total in thier weight and still looked plump. They have since resumed feeding and are well over 1300grams.

Try cypress mulch! Big Gunns is right! It will make the bp feel more secure feeling something always around its body! It can take a month or more to get one settled in! They all are different!

I voted for you to send the BP back. If you are not able or willing to learn about husbandry and feeding issues in BP's than you should not keep them. Sending your BP to someone else to deal with a problem is a BAD way to go about fixing it. Sorry if i seem blunt but dealing with an issue in this matter upsetts me.

GOOD LUCK,
Bill

ive gotten snakes that didnt eat for 2 months then out of no where there on food weekly and will even take 2 a week. This may not be the hobby for you. Just about all of my snakes but 3 outta 22 are not eating.

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Originally Posted by AdamM

Another thing I've been told to try at times is what they eat over in Africa, ASFRs (African Soft Fir Rats) and gerbils. I've has success before with ASFRs before.

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He's in California, ASFRs are illegal here :(

Just restating what has been said already... do not send the snake to a pet store, even if it is a great one.

He may have the experience to get her eating, but she is going to come home and you will be back to where you were.

You did note that several of your snakes have been off feed before, and you have had to utilize this before... maybe the problem does lie somewhere in your husbandry then?

Wait her out, keep your husbandry good, and do not try too many tricks. Fussing over a fussy feeder is a great way to keep them off feed. (snakes in bags, wet bags in trunks, etc. etc.). Stick to housing and temps.

Good luck with her,
Bruce

PS: when you said you had her for a few weeks and then you had already tried everything? Tip of the iceberg. I do not even attempt to feed new snakes for a min of two weeks. Building up hunger is not a bad thing, and at this time of the year and that weight, they are tricky to begin with.