Strikes, coils, does not swallow

My female albino ball python has been eating very well until about 2 weeks ago. She would strike and coil the frozen thawed rat that I heated up but leaves it and doesn't swallow it. This happened two weeks in a row now. Today I even offered it again with tongs and she striked and coiled again but no swallow. She ate very well before every week. The rat is the same size I have fed her many times before.

They only time one of my BP's did that was when the prey item was too large. Did you recently increase the size of the rat?

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Originally Posted by lmartelli77

They only time one of my BP's did that was when the prey item was too large. Did you recently increase the size of the rat?

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No as I said the rat was the same size as I had fed before I did not increase the rat size at all for a long time.

Have you been breeding her? What's her weight? Have you moved the enclosure? Lots of things will change their feeding. And sometimes they just arn't wanting to eat. Sounds like she has a good feeding response though.

Mine did the same thing, I just left it in the tub and when I checked a couple hours later it had disappeared!

You may not be heating it as much as she prefers. I have one that will grab it and drop if it isn't warm enough for her liking. She could also be going into shed.

I have a couple that do this and refuse to eat while being watched. I cover the front of the tubs so they can't see out and the rat is gone in 10-15 minutes everytime.

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Originally Posted by hungba

No as I said the rat was the same size as I had fed before I did not increase the rat size at all for a long time.

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Lol...i'm sorry. I don't know how I missed that in your original post. As someone else stated, make sure the rat is nice and warm. I blast mine with a hair dryer for about 30 seconds immediately before offering it to my bp's.

IMO it is either a too large or too cool prey item or the animal does not feel secure and dropped it with out feeding. I am assuming that the snake has been kept the same way throughout so it points to cool food but if you changed something or the snake has had a scare recently that might be it too.

Mine does that when its too cold or wet.

My leopard girl does that once in a while. I just reheat the mouse and offer it again...and again...and again until she finally swallows it down.

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Originally Posted by LotsaBalls

Have you been breeding her? What's her weight? Have you moved the enclosure? Lots of things will change their feeding. And sometimes they just arn't wanting to eat. Sounds like she has a good feeding response though.

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No breeding she is not breeding size yet. She is only 250 grams now. No I have not moved the enclosure.

I know sometimes they don't want to eat, but I thought when they are not hungry they strike in a defensive way, if at all, but don't coil. In my experience, if they coil they will eat, if they don't wanna eat they don't coil?

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

You may not be heating it as much as she prefers. I have one that will grab it and drop if it isn't warm enough for her liking. She could also be going into shed.

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I am sure she is not going into shed, she has just shed 10 days ago.

I did heat it up quite a bit, and not sure if it affected it if I did not heat enough, but up till this point she was the kind of good feeder where I didn't have to even heat it I just thawed it and put it in there near the heat pad and it would disappear within an hour.

She didn't swallow it last time which is why this time I heated it up extra and whatever mistake I may have made I don't think I made twice in a row which is why I am worried. I heat the rats in a ziplock bag put on an extra heating pad.

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Originally Posted by Matthew Malone

Mine does that when its too cold or wet.

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Cold or wet as in the rat or the temperature humidity?

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Originally Posted by meowmeowkazoo

My leopard girl does that once in a while. I just reheat the mouse and offer it again...and again...and again until she finally swallows it down.

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I did that I offered twice and the first two times she coiled and didn't swallow, I waited 3 hours the first time and an hour and a half the second time. I offered again, but third time she did not even strike.

This was a snake that up until these last two feedings I would just get a thawed rat and toss it into the tub and it would disappear usually witnin an hour or less. As far as I'm aware I have changed nothing either in her enclosure or around her.

could she still constrict but not be hungry? she has GAINED 15 grams since not eating 2 weeks, i just weighed her. weird she still coils. In my experience they usually ignore the good or strike defensively when not wanting to eat.