Baby ball ate....

Now he's refusing. Last meal was a sm hopper on 9-15. Before that, he was eating every 4-5 days. Temps are 87 on warm and 79.5 on cool. Humidity is 60%. He shed on 9-26. Any ideas?

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Originally Posted by Shadow_TA

Now he's refusing. Last meal was a sm hopper on 9-15. Before that, he was eating every 4-5 days. Temps are 87 on warm and 79.5 on cool. Humidity is 60%. He shed on 9-26. Any ideas?

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Live or F/T? Mouse or Rat? How big is your BP?

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Originally Posted by Egapal

Live or F/T? Mouse or Rat? How big is your BP?

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He was on live mouse hoppers when I got him. So that's what I am doing , then switching him to f/t and onto rats. He was hatched on 7-24-11, so he's still little. That's him in my avatar.

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Originally Posted by Shadow_TA

He was on live mouse hoppers when I got him. So that's what I am doing , then switching him to f/t and onto rats. He was hatched on 7-24-11, so he's still little. That's him in my avatar.

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Unless your hands are very small you should be feeding larger than a mouse hopper. It may seam a little OCD but I think its a very good idea to get a digital kitchen scale. You can pick them up for a very reasonable price. Keep track of your snakes weights. This info can be very helpful to see if your snake is losing much body weight during a fast. For a new snake owner it can be hard to just look at a rodent and tell if its too small or too big. For a baby ball python I would feed between 10% and 15% of your snakes weight. The adult F/T mice I was getting when I fed F/T were about 18-22 grams. As for the fact that your snake missed a meal. It happens. Just keep offering every 5 days or so.

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Originally Posted by Egapal

How big is your BP?

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He was 100g on 9-2, 126g today-both empty weights

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Originally Posted by Shadow_TA

He was 100g on 9-2, 126g today-both empty weights

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I would be feeding a small adult mouse every 5 days. I think it would be a good idea to switch to rats that are 12 to 14 days old.

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Originally Posted by Egapal

I would be feeding a small adult mouse every 5 days. I think it would be a good idea to switch to rats that are 12 to 14 days old.

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Alrighty, I will try a rat with him.

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Originally Posted by Shadow_TA

Alrighty, I will try a rat with him.

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Alright, just need to know that everything is ok with him. He is still refusing to eat. I tried a live mouse Monday since that is what he was on and ate on 9-15. He is now 108g. Any reason to worry or just let it be and try again next week?

too soon to worry. did you change anything else, like a bigger enclosure? I would also stick with what he was eating and try feeding in the dark and leave him be while trying to get him back on feed.

it is extremely normal for a snake to refuse a meal. just shrug it off. they can go up to a month without eating, make sure you always offer it though.

I would advise you to bump up your temps, at least on your warm side. 90ish would be better. Has he defecated or anything since he was weighed at 126g? 18 grams is a lot of weight to lose for a ball that size in such a short amount of time. What are you housing him in? Hides? Location in the house?

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Originally Posted by Naginibellatrix

it is extremely normal for a snake to refuse a meal. just shrug it off. they can go up to a month without eating, make sure you always offer it though.

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I don't know about extremely normal. If you're providing proper husbandry, hunger strikes shouldn't be too common and hunger strikes are more serious when it comes to young or underweight snakes. Now if we were talking about a healthy 1,500 gram adult going on a strike during winter, fair enough, they have enough weight reserves and are past their delicate hatchling stage.

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Originally Posted by AK907

I would advise you to bump up your temps, at least on your warm side. 90ish would be better. Has he defecated or anything since he was weighed at 126g? 18 grams is a lot of weight to lose for a ball that size in such a short amount of time. What are you housing him in? Hides? Location in the house?

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I've got temps up, currently 93 and 82. He has defecated once right before he shed. He's in a ap cage, the t8 with a divider, 2 hides (it's a half log broken in half, so a 1/4 log) they are snug but not too tight. He's in the middle bedroom with a weight bench decoration. Minimal traffic through there.

I offered him a f/t mouse last week, and he struck hissed and ignored it. Left it in the tank with him and it was still there in the morning.

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Originally Posted by Shadow_TA

I've got temps up, currently 93 and 82. He has defecated once right before he shed. He's in a ap cage, the t8 with a divider, 2 hides (it's a half log broken in half, so a 1/4 log) they are snug but not too tight. He's in the middle bedroom with a weight bench decoration. Minimal traffic through there.

I offered him a f/t mouse last week, and he struck hissed and ignored it. Left it in the tank with him and it was still there in the morning.

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Half logs are really bad hides. At that age I would probably still be on an upside down terracotta drip tray. You can get these at Michaels or any place that sells pots. You can just buy two or three (very cheap) break a piece of the side gently with some pliers then file the rough edges down. This is a nice way to go because its cheap, and fits tightly on top and two or three sides.