Well I guess I have joined the feeding problem crew!
I just got my BP a little over a week ago and I know that the breeder was feeding on Mondays. So she hasn't eaten in a week and a half. She is 7 months old.
The breeder was feeding live. She has eaten very well for him. Now long story short I am feeding F/T and this keeps my wife happy and I am more comfortable with the idea of my snake being as safe as possible.
Well I thawed my rat of what I can guess is appropriately sized from what I can tell this is all new to me. The rat is as big as the thickest part of her. The body of the rat isn't as bug as it's head though. It seems close. I thawed it in the fridge overnight and took it out tonight and used a blowdryer on hot and high to heat it up. No takers... she just stayed in her hide. So I thought I would try her in a feeding tub just in case. I noticed her eyes are bluish-grey but I thought i would try again and after repeatedly heating the rat (paying special attention to the head) I kept grabbing it with the tongs by the back of the neck and danced it around a little at different speeds. All my girl did was lick it a couple times and nuzzled it like it was a teddy bear and kept exploring! She had no interest in it. I gave up after 15-20 minutes and now this whole nerv-racking ordeal has drawn to a close with the rat on top of her hide in her cage and me posting on here as yet another victim of a non feeding ball python. Grrrr.
So I am partly venting my frustration and trying to ease my patience. My Temps are band on 90-92 on the hot side and 80-82 on cool. The humidity is 58-60%. I guess I need to bump it up to 70% because she is starting to shed.
What do I do now? She is starting to shed so maybe she just can't see it? Did I do something wrong when offering. I didn't think it was going to be this difficult. Logic says it is a warm rat that is moving (although unnaturally) around = food.
Well any help is appreciated. Tonight was a big let down and I was really hoping that her first meal would go well.
Re: Well I guess I have joined the feeding problem crew!
since she's going into shed just leave her be. definitely get that humidity up .that's a lot of stress for a new snake. new home and going into a shed and eating new prey items (ft vs live). Another thing you may never get her switched. I have one male who will only eat live and in tank. No matter how hard I tried. You might try pre killed just kill it and through it in. I prefer live and fk just because it is way more convenient than ft. But that's just me. Good luck.
Re: Well I guess I have joined the feeding problem crew!
No problems really, some won't eat in shed. Take the rat out and let her shed. Get humidity up to 70. She will go blue, ( yes they can have a hard time seeing while blue), then clear up, then a few days later shed. It will not hurt her to wait until after shed. Then maybe try a p/k rat and take baby steps to f/t. She may need a few live feedings until she is all adjusted to her new home.
Re: Well I guess I have joined the feeding problem crew!
Yes, you will soon enough be able to read your snake and tell if he is going to eat or not.
Re: Well I guess I have joined the feeding problem crew!
... talk about problem eaters. One of my balls haven't ate in over a month and definitely is losing weight. I'm starting to get worried as she looks like a skinny baby again. Stupid thing is he ate every single time until a little over a month ago
Re: Well I guess I have joined the feeding problem crew!
There's a few reasons she didn't eat for you. She's still acclimating to a new home, she's always been fed live, and now you're trying f/t. She's in shed.
Having only had her a week, and one missed week of feeding isn't really what I'd consider a feeding problem.
You could also check to see how the previous owner had her set up as well.
A seven month old should have some pretty good weight on her, and a few missed meals won't hurt her. :)
Re: Well I guess I have joined the feeding problem crew!
Well she shed yesterday! Full shed no problems. She also left me a present. Very happy we have a successful shed. She also seems to be at home as far as using her hides and exploring at night. I held her a bit today mainly to check her out and make sure there was no stuck shed. She looked good to me. The shed itself was all balled up in her warm hide.
Now I tried feeding her a second time tonight. I tried a F/T and she showed no interest at all. The breeder of course had her in a rack and he fed live because it was easiest for him. I know they can be picky eaters and I am anxious t get a meal into her. It has been two and half weeks since her last meal.
Any thoughts/suggestions.
Should I just give up on F/T and buy live?
Should I try a live one tomorrow or the next day?
Should I just keep it up with F/T until she takes a meal?
Should I wait a week?
Man this is more frustrating than I thought it would be.