Off feed question

I've been reading quite a bit about ball pythons going off feed for breeding season, but none of the books nor material that I've read mention whether this is normal for babies. My ball female is about 6-8 months old and sitting at around 160g, and she's refusing to eat. I've always assumed that going off feed for breeding season is only normal for sexually mature pythons...or is this true for any age/weight? I seriously doubt she's sexually mature enough to breed...

I also fed her her first live mouse last feed, which was on December 5th...would this be enough to deter her from eating her regular f/t? Do I need to get some dirty mice bedding or something of the sort to get her back on track?

Babies don't go off feed for breeding season, double check your husbandry and just try again next time. Why did you switch from f/t to live?

Well, I've read that most babies don't have trouble switching back and forth, it's the adults that are picky. Figured it was slightly better nutrition than f/t, so decided to give it a try. My hot side is 92-94º and my cool side is 79-81º and she hasn't ever refused a meal, so I don't believe it's the husbandry. Maybe she is just being picky. What's the best way to switch her back quickly if it's only one live meal? (I did stun the mouse, so it was really just twitching, not running around, as close to the "dead" feel of f/t)

Not sure where you heard you can switch back and forth without issue, ball pythons are probably one of the tougher species to switch back and forth with...

You could start with prekilled first and work from there. Maybe giving her a few live meals will kick start her feeding response again. For picky eaters I usually start out live hoppers, then adult mice, then once they put on a little weight I get rat pups and scent them with a f/t mouse, thaw them out together and heat hem up together. So far I've had a good success rate besides one of mine that's still refusing f/t.

Ay-ay-ay, guess I'll go get a live mouse and try that. Pre-killed heated with a f/t, would that work? Feed her the scented pre-killed and then try f/t next feed?

Yeah, just play around with it for a bit, just make sure she's eating consistently before you try switching...last thing you want is a baby losing too much weight.

Alright, guess I'll try to appease my picky snake with various dead things...oh, what a trial: guess the best lessons are learned the hardest way :P Thanks for the help.

160g seems a bit small for that age. My smallest are ~290g, and they have been inconsistent eaters. Make sure you are only offering food every 5-7 days, even when she refused. Also, make sure the prey item is appropriately sized (could definitely be on rat pups by now).

160 grams isn't terribly underweight for a ball that age. My female spider is a 2010 and she was only 105 grams when I got her back in February, she's about 800 grams now but she was just a peanut, and a finicky eater. Granted they all grow at different rates, I do agree she could probably easily take a rat pup :)

Yup, just fed her a live mouse. She took it readily, so I am glad that she at least ate. I got some mice droppings and bedding from the pet store as well, so next time I suppose I'll attempt rolling a f/t around in that and letting it dry there for a few minutes before feeding. Hopefully that'll be enough to motivate her.

I've actually never had issues switching most of my older snakes back and forth from live to FT and back, if they have eaten both, but some individual hatchlings get fussy. Heat the FT up until it's almost hot to the touch, that usually solves any issues.

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

I've actually never had issues switching most of my older snakes back and forth from live to FT and back, if they have eaten both, but some individual hatchlings get fussy. Heat the FT up until it's almost hot to the touch, that usually solves any issues.

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I usually leave the frozen mouse in almost boiling water for 15 minutes. Hotter than that? Do I need to bring the water to a boil, then?

Boiling I think is way too hot. I usually thaw mine out on the counter for a few hours, then keep them in ziplock bags and let them float in hot (sink) water for about 20 minutes. If I have a really picky eater I'll zap it with the hair dryer for another 5 minutes or so...to heat just the head up.

It absolutely worked!!! I put a f/t in a zip lock bag with some dirty bedding from the live mice I fed her previously, and submersed it in boiling water for 15 minutes...then took out the mouse, rinsed the stuck bedding in the hot water and she took it immediately!!! I am so happy that it's that easy to fool her! :D :D :D Glad she's back on f/t now. Thank you all for the advice, I believe my feeding woes are now over! :gj::banana::cool::snake:

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Not sure where you heard you can switch back and forth without issue, ball pythons are probably one of the tougher species to switch back and forth with...

You could start with prekilled first and work from there. Maybe giving her a few live meals will kick start her feeding response again. For picky eaters I usually start out live hoppers, then adult mice, then once they put on a little weight I get rat pups and scent them with a f/t mouse, thaw them out together and heat hem up together. So far I've had a good success rate besides one of mine that's still refusing f/t.

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What would do you for a "traumatized" live feeder?

We tried to switch him over with to F/T no success at all and went back to live.
Unfortunately, his last little meal was a scrappy teen mouse who fought back and now the snake acts "phobic" about them.

He won't eat F/T instead and "stunned" and "pre-killed" are totally ignored as "not food" so I have no idea what to try next.

I was thinking of getting him some pitiful little hoppers who can't "fight back", hoping he'll regain his former merciless killer confidence.

Beyond that, I'm lost for better ideas.

:(

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Originally Posted by Salamander

What would do you for a "traumatized" live feeder?

We tried to switch him over with to F/T no success at all and went back to live.
Unfortunately, his last little meal was a scrappy teen mouse who fought back and now the snake acts "phobic" about them.

He won't eat F/T instead and "stunned" and "pre-killed" are totally ignored as "not food" so I have no idea what to try next.

I was thinking of getting him some pitiful little hoppers who can't "fight back", hoping he'll regain his former merciless killer confidence.

Beyond that, I'm lost for better ideas.

:(

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My guy did that last year. I had to get him smaller mice for a while because he was terrified of the bigger ones for a bit there. When I stuck him with a smaller mouse (not quite hopper sized, but a small juvie) he took it. I gave him a bit larger one the next time, and after that size didn't matter anymore. Little bugger still won't take a rat pup or small rat though. Darn him. Lol. He'd grow so much faster if he'd just take rats. :/

Anyway, try a smaller juvie if he was on larger before. If not, then yeah maybe try a hopper. If THAT doesn't work, try getting a different color mouse. Good luck! :)

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Originally Posted by WarriorPrincess90

My guy did that last year. I had to get him smaller mice for a while because he was terrified of the bigger ones for a bit there. When I stuck him with a smaller mouse (not quite hopper sized, but a small juvie) he took it. I gave him a bit larger one the next time, and after that size didn't matter anymore. Little bugger still won't take a rat pup or small rat though. Darn him. Lol. He'd grow so much faster if he'd just take rats. :/

Anyway, try a smaller juvie if he was on larger before. If not, then yeah maybe try a hopper. If THAT doesn't work, try getting a different color mouse. Good luck! :)

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Thanks!

[as if feeding him live wasn't bad enough...now I have to feed him cute little mouse pups....I swear he does all this just to torture me]