For those of you fretting about adult bps not eating...

My adult normal girl, my first snake, stopped eating in september of 2010. She just ate for the first time today. Thats six months of non-feeding. She didn't lose much weight, she just went into breeding mode.

These guys will tell you when they are ready to eat. (Assuming your husbandry isnt the cause of non-feeding).

Just posting to let everyone know they aren't the only ones and they WILL START EATING again haha :)

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

My adult normal girl, my first snake, stopped eating in september of 2010. She just ate for the first time today. Thats six months of non-feeding. She didn't lose much weight, she just went into breeding mode.

These guys will tell you when they are ready to eat. (Assuming your husbandry isnt the cause of non-feeding).

Just posting to let everyone know they aren't the only ones and they WILL START EATING again haha :)

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Funny you would post this, my normal shut herself down from eating and I was in a panic. She is my first bp and is a normal. I tried everything including a gerbil which might I add she ate and was the last thing she at around 4 mos. ago. She then put herself in breeding mode. She has since gone into building, ovy, and has locked with a spider male. Now the wait...... Thank you for posting this, newbees appreciate this. :gj:

I had a biiiiig girl lay last june who just started eating last month. Years ago I had a hatchling go 6 months to the day from hatching to first meal.

Been seeing A LOT of threads on not eating :) I guess I'm just lucky to have such a ferocious eater, has gained over 50 grams in the past 4 weeks!

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Originally Posted by wilomn

I had a biiiiig girl lay last june who just started eating last month. Years ago I had a hatchling go 6 months to the day from hatching to first meal.

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I would have assist fed or force fed that puppy after 2 months haha.

Yea some of my males just went off feed.

Im honestly not going to keep thawing out a frozen rat for it to just goto waste.

Ill try feed live if i have them, if not oh well.

You can generally tell when they will accept food or not accept it just by if their in feeding mode while heating up the other rats

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Originally Posted by Kymberli

Been seeing A LOT of threads on not eating :) I guess I'm just lucky to have such a ferocious eater, has gained over 50 grams in the past 4 weeks!

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When it wasn't breeding season, I couldn't drop the rat in fast enough. She would extend half her body length out to get her meal. Breeding season came around and all she wanted to do was get herself some. :D

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Originally Posted by Scaleyz

When it wasn't breeding season, I couldn't drop the rat in fast enough. She would extend half her body length out to get her meal. Breeding season came around and all she wanted to do was get herself some. :D

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Haha, my girl is identical. She barely lets me get the lid open before she comes flying out of her hide. My girl is just a few months over a year old, so she's not breedable yet let alone go off feed, but its great to read threads like these to help me in this next coming season when I throw her in with a male. :D

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

My adult normal girl, my first snake, stopped eating in september of 2010. She just ate for the first time today. Thats six months of non-feeding. She didn't lose much weight, she just went into breeding mode.

These guys will tell you when they are ready to eat. (Assuming your husbandry isnt the cause of non-feeding).

Just posting to let everyone know they aren't the only ones and they WILL START EATING again haha :)

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For the next few days I predict a decrease in the "Help! My ball python won't eat!" threads.

Then your thread will hit page 2 and it will start up again.

As it appears that the search function is vastly underused, could it be possible to get a sticky regarding this issue? Something in big, bold eye catching letters?

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

For the next few days I predict a decrease in the "Help! My ball python won't eat!" threads.

Then your thread will hit page 2 and it will start up again.

As it appears that the search function is vastly underused, could it be possible to get a sticky regarding this issue? Something in big, bold eye catching letters?

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We can keep discussing the topic to keep it to the front page, lol :)

I wonder how often the stickies get read by new members. And I for one LOVE the search feature. So much information at my fingertips.

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

And I for one LOVE the search feature. So much information at my fingertips.

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But the vast majority find it very overwhelming and extremely complicated to use. Typing in your question or a few keywords and clicking search, well the basic user cannot handle. Makes me wonder how they google anything :O or even found this site...

At the risk of hijacking the thread, I will agree, there isn't much as far as new posts go, especially in the husbandry area, that hasn't already been discussed in an older thread. The search function is awesome and most of my questions are answered quicker by looking them up than by asking. The only thing I post these days are updated pics and such.

The "my snake won't eat" threads are destined to dominate the husbandry section for years to come I'm sure. Folks seem to think their BP is different somehow. No offense to anyone who has posted a "my snake won't eat" thread. Heck, I've been tempted a couple times in a panic to post myself, but it all works out.

I've read at least 50 threads here on the old " my snake won't eat! "

The only time I posted about it was because I couldn't find information on the specific behavior of my own female. { Strike, throw prey, recoil, hiss at prey, not eat.}

Now, I like to tell people who are worried about their snake not eating to remember it is much harder on us when they don't eat than it is on them. And if that doesn't help to repeat my Mantra:

"This is perfectly normal, it's not going to starve. This is perfectly normal, it's not going to starve. PLEASE EAT SOMETHING! This is perfectly normal, it's not going to starve. " :D

Gale

Hello all,

First and foremost I'm new to the forum and yes, I'm reading the Sticky thread, so don't be concerned there are no newcomers reading the highlighted topics.

Here's my Python Story:

I've had a Ball Python for 2 months. She's about a year old. 29". Female. Named her "Ophilia," her original name was "Genevieve."

Feeding/Eating

Well, she wouldn't eat any of the frozen fuzzies I gave her, even if I left them in her terrarium over-night. This had been going on for the entire duration which I had her. Nor would she take the food when I tried to tease her with the prey using elongated feeding tweezers.

Called the pet store, they said it wasn't an issue, she'll eat eventually, and she's likely to be acclimating to her new home. They also gave recommendations to leave the food in her cage throughout the night because at that point I was using frozen mice, which i imagine cannot actually do any harm to the snake, so leaving dead mice in the cage isn't a risk.

Time goes on, I eventually decide to get a small live mouse to feed her; I went to a pet store, got a very small mouse, put the rodent in front of her, and with my mom and I both watching her every movement, she ate the prey within 3 minutes. Problem solved!

As far as her behavior around feeding time goes, I would look for these signs:

* Reptile tunneling or making small holes in the wood-chip base in the terrarium.
* Snake exploring hers or his way up the glass siding of the terrarium.
* Python attempting (with no real risk of it happening) to escape the cage by pushing its nose against the screen at the top of the enclosure.

These clues have been a solid indicator my snake is hungry.

In fact, she has actually continued this trend of behavioral changes, so I am wondering now if I can continue feeding her mice until she no longer eats, or do I leave her as is?

Thanks a lot.

Pyth

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Originally Posted by Pyth

Hello all,

First and foremost I'm new to the forum and yes, I'm reading the Sticky thread, so don't be concerned there are no newcomers reading the highlighted topics.

Here's my Python Story:

I've had a Ball Python for 2 months. She's about a year old. 29". Female. Named her "Ophilia," her original name was "Genevieve."

Feeding/Eating

Well, she wouldn't eat any of the frozen fuzzies I gave her, even if I left them in her terrarium over-night. This had been going on for the entire duration which I had her. Nor would she take the food when I tried to tease her with the prey using elongated feeding tweezers.

Called the pet store, they said it wasn't an issue, she'll eat eventually, and she's likely to be acclimating to her new home. They also gave recommendations to leave the food in her cage throughout the night because at that point I was using frozen mice, which i imagine cannot actually do any harm to the snake, so leaving dead mice in the cage isn't a risk.

Time goes on, I eventually decide to get a small live mouse to feed her; I went to a pet store, got a very small mouse, put the rodent in front of her, and with my mom and I both watching her every movement, she ate the prey within 3 minutes. Problem solved!

As far as her behavior around feeding time goes, I would look for these signs:

* Reptile tunneling or making small holes in the wood-chip base in the terrarium.
* Snake exploring hers or his way up the glass siding of the terrarium.
* Python attempting (with no real risk of it happening) to escape the cage by pushing its nose against the screen at the top of the enclosure.

These clues have been a solid indicator my snake is hungry.

In fact, she has actually continued this trend of behavioral changes, so I am wondering now if I can continue feeding her mice until she no longer eats, or do I leave her as is?

Thanks a lot.

Pyth

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First of all, welcome to the forum. After reading your post, I'm not sure if you were offering advice or asking a question or both?
Some general feedback, though - If your girl is 29" and a year old, I'm sure she should be eating small rats. If she'll only eat mice, you should probably be feeding her a couple at a time. A single mouse is not enough for her,

Also, if she's out exploring at night, no problem - BP's are nocturnal. If she's out during the day, she may be stressed. Make sure her hide is tight enough that her body touches all sides when she's in it. It enhances the feeling of security. Most BP's pip their heads out of their hides when they are hungry. They like to lay in wait so to speak.

Good luck and, again, welcome!

Don't mind me, I'm just going to go ahead and bump this thread :P
It disappeared and the "BP won't eat" threads popped up again :rofl:

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Originally Posted by flatsix02

Haha, my girl is identical. She barely lets me get the lid open before she comes flying out of her hide. My girl is just a few months over a year old, so she's not breedable yet let alone go off feed, but its great to read threads like these to help me in this next coming season when I throw her in with a male. :D

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Update on my girl, she has locked with a male, she was locked for 2 solid days on and off. she is thick i mean thick. she hasn't had a meal since 12/2/10. I decided to offer her a live rat just for giggles, some say don't feed some say feed at this time. Buuuut I offered she lunged I mean lunged, now she is used to f/killed so i took it out and thump opened her tub and she lunged and in a matter of 20 seconds the large rat was gone. when i say gone i mean GONE!!! :) Just thought I would share that with you )