Ball Python refuses to eat.... What Now!?!?!?!?!?!

It has been over two months since my BP has ate. The husbandry is fine. She just won't eat for some reason and it's driving me crazy. She has not lost any weight or anything however I want her to eat!!!! I have tried many different techniques to get her to eat and she just won't.


When I first got her about a year ago she was a true killer. She ate all the time and was extremely aggressive. She has now turned extremely placid and tame, which of course I love - however, she's a wimp when it comes to eating.

How can I get her to feed? What should I do?

Can you go into detail about your husbandry? We just want to be sure that it isn't related to husbandry.
Temps? Humidity? Is your heating pad being monitored by a probe and regulated?
Hides?

Also if everything is up to par husbandry wise then I wouldn't worry about it. I know it is frustrating but is has only been two months. And as long as you offer your bp food regularly then she will eventually eat. Also like you said she isn't losing weight which is really good.

My bp went off feed for about 4 months. And maintained his weight and finally ate. AND he grew 12 inches being off feed. Which I thought was incredible.

Make sure it is for sure not your husbandry. Then all you can do is be patient and keep offering food. You will be okay :]

How old is she? weight?
One thing you will learn from keeping ball is "patience" :), If she is not loosing weight don't worry, she'll start again.

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Originally Posted by Generationshell

AND he grew 12 inches being off feed. Which I thought was incredible.

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:O, what are you putting in the water :P

i know exactly how you feel back when i had a ball python he never ate i got him as a baby an i had him for about 3 months he never ate once an i stressed out bad although i found out that he was sick :( an that was the reason he didn't eat it was very stressful. in your case your snake has ate before so hes fine but have there been any recent changes in the cage? have u tried f/t an live mice?

u said husbandry was right so he'll come around sooner or later

Maybe she just horny?need companion?same Thing happened on my bp too...

Depending on the time of day the cool side ambient temp is around 80=85, and the hot side is 90-95. I have a heat lamp on the hot side and an UTH, as well as a smaller heat lamp on the cool side to keep the temp from dropping too low.

Humidity is at 50-60%.

I have a rock hide on the cool side as well as a piece of driftwood and hide on the hot side.


And to the poster who goes by the name "Freaky," your answer was highly inappropriate, and mostly it was just stupid.

My female ate three hoppers and then did not eat for a month and a half. She snatched up one today and is looking for more. Just a matter of time till they eat again. I just figured she was not hungry. She hit the mouse within seconds of it being put in her feeding cage. Try feeding in a different location. Take it to the bathtub and feed her in there. Maybe a change will help.

Hi,

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

Depending on the time of day the cool side ambient temp is around 80=85, and the hot side is 90-95. I have a heat lamp on the hot side and an UTH, as well as a smaller heat lamp on the cool side to keep the temp from dropping too low.

Humidity is at 50-60%.

I have a rock hide on the cool side as well as a piece of driftwood and hide on the hot side.


And to the poster who goes by the name "Freaky," your answer was highly inappropriate, and mostly it was just stupid.

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Actually until you tell us the size of the female he may very well stand a chance of being right. I have a female here who has just stopped eating as part of the breeding cycle.

How are you controling those temps as that is more of a swing than I would be comfortable with?


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,



Actually until you tell us the size of the female he may very well stand a chance of being right. I have a female here who has just stopped eating as part of the breeding cycle.

How are you controling those temps as that is more of a swing than I would be comfortable with?


dr del

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What do you mean it's more of a "swing" than you are comfortable with? If you mean a swing in temps, on average, the ambient temp is about 85 and the hot side is 90. Of course it fluctuates by a degree or two at nighttime.

Hi,

I meant 5 degrees is more of a variation than I think there really should be.

We recommend a colld end of 80-82 and a warm end of 90-93f. If you could keep it at 80f and 93f then that would give the snake the most options for thermoregulation.

If your cool side is hitting 85f and the hot 95f on a fairly regular basis with a 5 degree swing it might be worth trying to control the heat sources more accurately to see if that helps.

As I asked before what are you using to control the temps at the moment - it may be we can suggest something that will work a little better.

Some one asked earlier if you had changed anything in the husbandry around the time she stopped eating and I too would like to be able to rule this out.

Could we also get a look at your enclosure?


dr del

85 is a little high. But not the point I am interested in. My understanding is this is a year old female, (are you sure it is a female have you probed her?) and that until two moths ago she was feeding fine? What is her weight?

I am assuming that you track her husbandry? Has anything changed the temps the enclosure are all basically the same? If so I'd not worry much often Royals will stop eating during the breeding season. It maybe simply that the 'female' (I question that as it is typically males that go off at 1 year and females later but there is no absolutes) has decided to stop. Barring weight loss lethargy and loss of muscle tone or acting oddly. There is quite possibly nothing wrong. I like ambient air temps in your range but I still make sure there is a cool spot in the 79-81º range as well, but in truth a feeding royal 'happy' and healthy that stops after insuring that healthy and no big changes in husbandry it is just likely coming of age fast and nothing to worry about.

Keep weight checks and husbandry checks and keep offering perhaps a bit smaller than normal less than 10% 5-7% maybe and she will eat when she is ready.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

I meant 5 degrees is more of a variation than I think there really should be.

We recommend a colld end of 80-82 and a warm end of 90-93f. If you could keep it at 80f and 93f then that would give the snake the most options for thermoregulation.

If your cool side is hitting 85f and the hot 95f on a fairly regular basis with a 5 degree swing it might be worth trying to control the heat sources more accurately to see if that helps.

As I asked before what are you using to control the temps at the moment - it may be we can suggest something that will work a little better.

Some one asked earlier if you had changed anything in the husbandry around the time she stopped eating and I too would like to be able to rule this out.

Could we also get a look at your enclosure?


dr del

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Thanks for the feedback.

Currently I have a UTH on the hot side as well as a 100W heat bulb/lamp. From experimentation I have realized this is what I need to keep the hot spot at a consistent 90-95 degrees.

On the cool side I have a 75W lamp as this is what I have noticed to keep that side at a consistent 80-85.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

85 is a little high. But not the point I am interested in. My understanding is this is a year old female, (are you sure it is a female have you probed her?) and that until two moths ago she was feeding fine? What is her weight?

I am assuming that you track her husbandry? Has anything changed the temps the enclosure are all basically the same? If so I'd not worry much often Royals will stop eating during the breeding season. It maybe simply that the 'female' (I question that as it is typically males that go off at 1 year and females later but there is no absolutes) has decided to stop. Barring weight loss lethargy and loss of muscle tone or acting oddly. There is quite possibly nothing wrong. I like ambient air temps in your range but I still make sure there is a cool spot in the 79-81º range as well, but in truth a feeding royal 'happy' and healthy that stops after insuring that healthy and no big changes in husbandry it is just likely coming of age fast and nothing to worry about.

Keep weight checks and husbandry checks and keep offering perhaps a bit smaller than normal less than 10% 5-7% maybe and she will eat when she is ready.

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As much as I hate to admit it I am not 100% sure that she is female. I could be wrong but based on the size of her head, her spurs, and her lack of hemipenes it is fairly safe to assume it is female. Also, nothing has changed in the enclosure.


I do have a question regarding hemipenes someone in this thread may be able to answer. It is my understanding that male BP's have them and it is pretty clear what they look like when you see them after the first time. Do females have anything else when they are "popped," like a single red ball type thing that occasionally protrudes?