My baby ball python didn't eat in 11 days,

Hi guys,

I have a male ball python, he is 1 month old,

without any reasons he stopped eating, i tried now for more than two days to feed him but he refuse to eat.

I didn't change anything in the cage or the tempt. everything are the same.

also he is not shedding, before he used to take his meals very fast.

I feed him a small live mouse.

I noticed that he is scared of the mice, when I put the mouse inside his cage he stays still 4ever.

Iam really worried about him because he is very young.

What should I do, Should I take him to the vet or just wait to he is ready to eat?!

thanks,

I forget to mention that after his last meal in about 4 days, he throw up something,

I found like a mouse skin but very little,

maybe that will help..

Seems stressed to me.

What kind of heating element are you using?
What are the Warm Side Temps?
What are the Cold Side Temps?
What percent is the Humidity?
If you are using a heating pad whats the Heating Pad temps?
Are you using a glass enclosure or a plastic tub?
How big is the enclosure?
How many hides do you have?

That is a regurge! This is why he stopped eating.. The reasons for regurging is the temps were too low or you handled the snake in less than 48 hours after feeding or the food item may be too big. I would leave him completely alone for a week then try to feed a smaller prey item! Do not handle for 2 to 3 feedings and give it 48 hours to digest after a feeding! Good luck!

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Originally Posted by seeya205

That is a regurge! This is why he stopped eating.. The reasons for regurging is the temps were too low or you handled the snake in less than 48 hours after feeding or the food item may be too big. I would leave him completely alone for a week then try to feed a smaller prey item! Do not handle for 2 to 3 feedings and give it 48 hours to digest after a feeding! Good luck!

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I agree. But wont BPs regurgitate if they are to stressed?

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Originally Posted by hunter94

I agree. But wont BPs regurgitate if they are to stressed?

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Yes, stress can cause regurge as well! That is why I said leave him alone for a week to give him a break!

You need to give your snake a week to two weeks for it's stomach to get back in order.

Then feed something much smaller than you did before, maybe a mouse fuzzy or smaller, just to see if he can hold something down.

Check all your temps and make sure they are right, and no holding the snake.

Thanks guys a lot,

I will wait for a week and will not handle him at all,
also i'm making sure now that all the tempts are perfect..

and how do I know if the mouse is big for him?
I buy my mice from petco and they are almost the same size..

Thanks again,,

are the mice you are feeding from Petco live? because if so, they are probably TOO BIG! I have a hatchling .. and trust me, I know how hard it is to find appropriately sized live mice. You need to be feeding hoppers or fuzzies. Nothing bigger if he is only 1 month old! (Im pretty sure.. This is what the breeder I got mine from told me) I feed mine hoppers and get them from a private pet store, they have me on a list and they automatically order them for me every week.

I would feed fuzzy mice. You need to feed whatever you can get a regular supply of. Rats come in alot of sizes so it may be better to switch. Feed fuzzy mice until he feeds a couple times!

I have an easy time finding a good size for my snake. Luckily I live in a decent sized city with lots of petstores. Go online and google "City and State you Live in" and then petstore after that and you can call the petstores and ask if they have feeder mice. Thats what I did and I found a couple of places I can get mice and rats for my snake.

Yeah sometimes it is really hard, we only have Petco. But on the days they get their new shipments in, they get in some really small adult mice along with the regular size mice.

Yea, plus petcos mice aren't bred for feeding. So I think the best thing for people without petstores that sell live feeders would be F/T. Then again you could always go on your local Herpetological Society's website and look for people that breed feeder mice and sell them.

Yeah, I switched over to f/t as soon as my snake had about 8-10 regular meals(he was a problem feeder when I first got him).

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Originally Posted by AkHerps

Yeah, I switched over to f/t as soon as my snake had about 8-10 regular meals(he was a problem feeder when I first got him).

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Yea, I think my snake will eat anything lol he is not picky at all. I switched him from Mice to Rats with no problem at all. Expect for the first time I tried to feed him a Rat I scared on accident and he didn't eat but he ate a Rat the next time I tried to feed and he ate his 2nd Rat today. Probably cause I got my snake from a reputable breeder and he takes care of his snakes very very well.

Try f/t. If you can get a scale or if you have a kitchen scale, try and find out the snake's mass, then take 10% of that and offer that size prey. Rodent Pro's website is great for sizing.

One week may not be enough, I leave my new bps alone for 2 weeks before trying to feed. They can go a lot longer than you would think without eating and you really only need to worry when they lose a significant amount of mass (I'd worry at 10% but I think I remember seeing 30, someone else can verify this for me).

Check out the caresheet and follow it as well as you possibly can for husbandry. It's actually a pretty good sheet (the corn snake one isnt so great).

Also, check on craigslist in your area for anyone that breeds feeder mice and rats. that's how we found our guy, and he quickly has become a very good friend. He also breeds Balls so that helps whenever we come to a situation that we just aren't sure of...lol.

Thanks guys a lot for the great info.

I will try to figure out his wight and the prey wight two.

what confusing me that he had the last three meals without any problems, and the prey size was the same, I got mine from Petco, which I think is hard to find smaller,

I will try to find a store or guys that breed feeders, I live in Lincoln, NE, so if there are any places please let me know,

Thanks a lot for the great info,