Need some advise.....

I've posted before about the problems I've had with my 3yr old female normal bp not eating - for the first two years I had her she ate like clock work but then she went off feed and stayed off for like 7 months.

At the 7 month point I panic'd and let my breeder/friend take her to see if he could get her to eat - he put her in a tub with aspen - she was originally used to an RBI cage with paper. He managed to get her to eat twice with live, once with prekilled.

I then brought her back home - but I first purchased an RBI rack with Aspen to keep her in - thinking that she liked that arrangement better. She's been home now for about 4 weeks and has not eaten for me - she just looks at the f/t rat but won't eat it. I leave the rat in her tub all night and still nothing.

I just don't get it - should I start to offer her live?? I hate to do that but will if that is the only way she will eat. I am afraid to feed live because I fear the rat will hurt her.

What would you guys do??

Just as an FYI - I have two other snakes in this same rack and they are eating just fine. Temps are 88/90 on the hot side, 80/82 cool side, humidity runs about 65%.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

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Originally Posted by L.West

I've posted before about the problems I've had with my 3yr old female normal bp not eating - for the first two years I had her she ate like clock work but then she went off feed and stayed off for like 7 months.

At the 7 month point I panic'd and let my breeder/friend take her to see if he could get her to eat - he put her in a tub with aspen - she was originally used to an RBI cage with paper. He managed to get her to eat twice with live, once with prekilled.

I then brought her back home - but I first purchased an RBI rack with Aspen to keep her in - thinking that she liked that arrangement better. She's been home now for about 4 weeks and has not eaten for me - she just looks at the f/t rat but won't eat it. I leave the rat in her tub all night and still nothing.

I just don't get it - should I start to offer her live?? I hate to do that but will if that is the only way she will eat. I am afraid to feed live because I fear the rat will hurt her.

What would you guys do??

Just as an FYI - I have two other snakes in this same rack and they are eating just fine. Temps are 88/90 on the hot side, 80/82 cool side, humidity runs about 65%.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

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If you feel that feeding live will get her to eat, just give her an appropriatly sized rat and be sure you monitor the feeding closely. Have a pair of tongs handy in case the rat tries to bite. I feed all of my snakes live, and to tell you the truth, when my snakes are hungry, they waste little time taking out the rats. I'm not saying it cannot or will not happen, but I have not had one incident to date.

What is her weight? How much weight has she lost?

She is about 1,600 grams now - thru the whole 7 month fast she lost next to nothing - about 120 grams I think. She has since consumed 3 meals during the months of July and August.

How long should I let a live rat wonder around in her tub before I figure she is not going to eat it??

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Originally Posted by L.West

She is about 1,600 grams now - thru the whole 7 month fast she lost next to nothing - about 120 grams I think. She has since consumed 3 meals during the months of July and August.

How long should I let a live rat wonder around in her tub before I figure she is not going to eat it??

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I wouldn't allow it in there more than 20-30 minutes.

I personally never had too much luck getting balls to take f/t, which is why I sold / traded mine. I would through in a live mouse or rat pup. If that doesn't work, try putting her on cypress mulch in a small tub. Make sure she has a hide, and the a temp of about 92f on the hot side. Give her a week and try again. Good luck.

In my limited experience with my 3 ball pythons that we've had for almost 2 years, you can pretty much tell they're not interested within the first 5 minutes. I feed all my snakes in a feeding container in a room with soft light, so first, I put the snake in, put a block of rat food in the opposite corner, then I put a live rat on the rat food. The snake usually stares at the rat in "hunt" mode. I keep everything quiet.

If he's not interested in the food, he will usually start "exploring" the feeding tub within 5 minutes. We leave the snake for another 10 minutes just to be sure. If he is still casing his feeding tub, we put everybody back and try again the next week.

If the snake stays in "hunt" mode, we usually give him up to 30 minutes to catch that rat. If he's still not doing anything, we conclude that he doesn't want to eat but doesn't want to be eaten either, so he stays tensed up. We put everybody back to their respective houses and try again next week.

We supervise feedings just to be sure the rat doesn't get enough courage to go Terminator on the snake. We've had rats that do this when the snake starts casing the tub - they figured... chicken! So, we just take the rat out in that case and try again next week.

Hope this helps.

When i switched her to a tub/rack I eliminated her hides because the breeder said he didn't use them for her and he got her to eat.

I think maybe I will put the hides back in and try to feed f/t next week - if she still doesn't take it then I will try life the following week.

From what I have read and learned on this site - it is not recommended to take them out of their regular tub for feedings - is this correct??

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Originally Posted by L.West

From what I have read and learned on this site - it is not recommended to take them out of their regular tub for feedings - is this correct??

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For the most part it is a matter of preference. I feed mine in their tubs. I know alot of others do as well. But there are also some that feed in a separate tub.

I am a seperate tub feeder, mostly cause i use to have large boas and did not want cage aggro in them, I find with a seperate feeding tub they get into food mode as soon as they hit the tub, I ussually let them sit in there a minute to prime them up, with the mice in there hot water in the room to get the smells going, when i open that lid they are pretty stoked to see a mouse :)

Do you think I would have better luck with trying a separate container for feeding?? At least that would alleviate the worry of her swallowing aspen.

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Originally Posted by L.West

Do you think I would have better luck with trying a separate container for feeding?? At least that would alleviate the worry of her swallowing aspen.

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I don't think you will have better luck. Not with a ball python. Ball pythons are shy feeders and will often go off feed if fed outside their home enclosure.

Swallowing aspen is not really a problem. It happens sometimes, but it should not cause problems. I have never even heard of it causing a problem.

Give her the hides back. I have snakes that will eat with no hides, one hide, and some that need two identical hides. Even in a rack system.

If she still doesn't eat after adding the hides, try filling the enclosure with crumpled paper and offering a small rat a week later. Pre scent, turn off the lights, and offer at night.

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Originally Posted by L.West

Do you think I would have better luck with trying a separate container for feeding?? At least that would alleviate the worry of her swallowing aspen.

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All of my snakes are on Aspen. I'm sure they have injested some from time to time but I haven't had a single problem from it.

Ok thanks. I will put her hides back in and see what happens.

The one thing i can recall that the breeder did that I do not is that he fed her very, very late at night - I'm talking like 1am - do you think that would make a difference. I always wait until dark but it is usually only 9:30 at night.

Thanks for the help.

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Originally Posted by L.West

Ok thanks. I will put her hides back in and see what happens.

The one thing i can recall that the breeder did that I do not is that he fed her very, very late at night - I'm talking like 1am - do you think that would make a difference. I always wait until dark but it is usually only 9:30 at night.

Thanks for the help.

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Does anyone think the time of night would make a difference in my success with her eating??

I've put her hides back in her tub - she went right in them.