Why do some of them take FOREVER to strike?

I'm not talking about those that are off feed. I only have one that isn't eating at all. I have some that are regular eaters, but they take FOREVER to strike! I will dangle the rat for like 30 mins and my arm is sore and suddenly they strike. They sniff and sniff and sniff. Sometimes they don't strike, so I never know when to say enough is enough.

Am I feeding too much? I don't see this problem mentioned by a lot of people. I feed everybody once a week. The ones that eat regularly I feed 15% bodyweight or so. The ones that are sporadic eaters I feed smaller maybe just 5%. I have a few big snakes that would only take small 40 - 50 gram rats, nothing else.

Oh, while I'm at it, it is the MOST frustrating feeling when today one of my sporadic feeders, after dangling for 25 mins of so, she struck and MISSED, then curled up and won't strike again.

It takes me almost 2 hours to try to feed my snakes. The first 70% of them, bam bam bam, done in 15 minutes. Then it's cat and mouse games with the rest it is really frustrating. I have thus far NEVER had a day where they all ate on the same day. I have 13 ball pythons.

What are some things I can try? How about meditation?

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By the way, I have a new rack 90% built, just need to put holes in the tubs and test everything. It has opaque grey tubs. I am hoping this will help. My friend who keeps balls too said it was night and day difference when he switched from clear to dark tubs.

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Originally Posted by hungba

I'm not talking about those that are off feed. I only have one that isn't eating at all. I have some that are regular eaters, but they take FOREVER to strike! I will dangle the rat for like 30 mins and my arm is sore and suddenly they strike. They sniff and sniff and sniff. Sometimes they don't strike, so I never know when to say enough is enough.

Am I feeding too much? I don't see this problem mentioned by a lot of people. I feed everybody once a week. The ones that eat regularly I feed 15% bodyweight or so. The ones that are sporadic eaters I feed smaller maybe just 5%. I have a few big snakes that would only take small 40 - 50 gram rats, nothing else.

Oh, while I'm at it, it is the MOST frustrating feeling when today one of my sporadic feeders, after dangling for 25 mins of so, she struck and MISSED, then curled up and won't strike again.

It takes me almost 2 hours to try to feed my snakes. The first 70% of them, bam bam bam, done in 15 minutes. Then it's cat and mouse games with the rest it is really frustrating. I have thus far NEVER had a day where they all ate on the same day. I have 13 ball pythons.

What are some things I can try? How about meditation?

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By the way, I have a new rack 90% built, just need to put holes in the tubs and test everything. It has opaque grey tubs. I am hoping this will help. My friend who keeps balls too said it was night and day difference when he switched from clear to dark tubs.

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It's bullseye or bust for my crew. They don't get coddled. Either hit or wait until next week.

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I don't have this problem. Well, not in the same way. I feed live. I give everyone 30 mins tops then the rat comes out. Some I've learned that if they are going to eat, they'll do it within 5 minutes or not at all so that's all I give them.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

It's bullseye or bust for my crew. They don't get coddled. Either hit or wait until next week.

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X 2

Here you snooze you lose. :gj:

I put the rat in the first tub goes onto the next and next ....once done I wait 10/15 min go back over all the tubs and removed what has not been eaten, no second chance they eat during that time frame or they will wait another week.

Sure I can just take the rat away and wait till next week but the whole idea is to try to get them to eat and gain weight for breeding etc. over time. There are snakes that only eat like this since I got them, and if I were to just take the rat away they will not be eating at all which would defeat the purpose anyway. Unless over time they recognize the pattern and strike right away (do they?), then their not eating is my loss.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

X 2

Here you snooze you lose. :gj:

I put the rat in the first tub goes onto the next and next ....once done I wait 10/15 min go back over all the tubs and removed what has not been eaten, no second chance they eat during that time frame or they will wait another week.

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Deborah, you put the rat into the tub. Do you mean they just eat the rat without any dangling? Or are you feeding live?

If Loki doesn't strike after about 10 min I put his food in his cage. It's always gone in minutes.

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Originally Posted by hungba

Sure I can just take the rat away and wait till next week but the whole idea is to try to get them to eat and gain weight for breeding etc. over time. There are snakes that only eat like this since I got them, and if I were to just take the rat away they will not be eating at all which would defeat the purpose anyway. Unless over time they recognize the pattern and strike right away (do they?), then their not eating is my loss.

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Deborah, you put the rat into the tub. Do you mean they just eat the rat without any dangling? Or are you feeding live?

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I mainly feed live and the few that get F/T either strike soon as I open the tub or I go on to the next one so they basically even have less time.

I have two that I have never seen strike at their food. I put the pre-killed rodent in the tub and come back in a little while. It's almost always gone. I guess they're shy.

Yup, if somebody doesn't want to eat, the next guy in line gets it. I don't think your snake is likely to starve to death if you give him 5-10 minutes and then move on. They will eat when they are hungry. Just make sure all your husbandry is spot on.

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I've even had my corn snake refuse one time. I dropped her feeding frequency down a day or two, skipped her one week and she hit it with no problem the following week. Tracking me before I even opened her enclosure.

The goal shouldn't be to get them to gain weight. Gaining weight doesn't mean your snake is suddenly 'ideal' for breeding. Bulking up doesn't always mean that they're ideal for breeding, haha. Don't worry about hitting every feeding. They're BPs!! They're not going to eat every time. Heck, if my corn snake even has her times where she'll pass up on food (No strike, but heavily sniffing). And they're supposed to be garbage cans.

Skip a week and go back at it. I can understand if they're striking for you for months, then it's one of those: "Grrr! They won't be up to size this year!" But a couple feedings shouldn't take you back too far. Unless they're dropping weight steadily :snake:

Skipping a feeding sounds like a good idea. However, does that only work if food is not offered? Or if it is offered and they don't eat, does that not work as a skipped feeding due to the fact that food is offered (perhaps stress?)

Yes, technically they would have skipped a meal by refusing. However, they still encounter stress from the offering of food. So the question becomes: Do you try and offer again in 7 days, or do you wait until the feeding after that?

Personally, it's your call. If your BP has refused meals, then I would skip the next one and wait until he is well and truly hungry.

I did this with my corn and almost couldn't get the mouse into her mouth fast enough when I opened the tub about 12 days later. Best response ever. I thought she was going to explode the mouse with how hard she wrapped it. Since then, she eats like clockwork once a week :gj:

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Originally Posted by hungba

Sure I can just take the rat away and wait till next week but the whole idea is to try to get them to eat and gain weight for breeding etc. over time. There are snakes that only eat like this since I got them, and if I were to just take the rat away they will not be eating at all which would defeat the purpose anyway. Unless over time they recognize the pattern and strike right away (do they?), then their not eating is my loss.

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Deborah, you put the rat into the tub. Do you mean they just eat the rat without any dangling? Or are you feeding live?

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30 minute zombie dance (dangle) is crazy. I feed mine FT, and 2 hit within 90 secs or so. The others, i just leave the prey and walk away. Have you considered just dropping the prey in tubs, keep it dark and quiet and leave them for 30 mins? Try it.


And breeding size is not a sprint, its a marathon. The snakes will eat and breed almost exclusively when they want to and not when YOU want them to.

Remember for females 3 years old, 3 feet long and 1500g minimums. Getting them to breeding size is one thing, getting them fat and unhealthy is another

I'm a little newer to balls but I only feed F/T. The first thing I do is double check the temp of the rat. If it doesn't feel alive to me, I put it back under the heat lamp. I also feed after 8:30-9 PM so that it's closer to their natural hunting time. If they are in shed and don't strike, I lay it in the entrance to their hide (the head inside, body out), turn the lights out, and leave the room. Haven't had a refusal yet and I'm feeding my juveniles every 5 days. Patience and the right conditions can make a big difference. If your husbandry is correct then double check the rats just to be sure.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

X 2

Here you snooze you lose. :gj:

I put the rat in the first tub goes onto the next and next ....once done I wait 10/15 min go back over all the tubs and removed what has not been eaten, no second chance they eat during that time frame or they will wait another week.

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Same with me. If they don't take it they can wait. Sometimes I will rewarm it with the blow dryer and retry. I just don't have time for them to be picky.

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Originally Posted by AdamF

And breeding size is not a sprint, its a marathon. The snakes will eat and breed almost exclusively when they want to and not when YOU want them to.

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Everybody thinks I am stuffing them with food to get them up to breeding size from one line in my post, which isn't true at all. When a snake doesn't eat for 5 weeks, 6 weeks, 7 weeks, 8 weeks etc., don't you think I should try to get them to eat? Not trying to powerfeed anybody just get them up to breeding size at a normal time frame by getting them to eat regularly.

I have not said anything about jamming as much food into them to get them to breeding weight. All I said was I had snakes that won't feed without 30 minutes of dangling and I feed (or try to) them once a week with appropriate sized rodent. Trying to get a snake to eat better who eats sporadically isn't RUSHING them to breeding size. It's trying to get a problem feeder to eat normally. I don't know what I said that caused this misunderstanding from multiple readers.

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Originally Posted by hungba

Sure I can just take the rat away and wait till next week but the whole idea is to try to get them to eat and gain weight for breeding etc. over time.............., then their not eating is my loss.

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I think this is the post that people are referring too that made them bring up breeding.

I have a couple that won't strike at f/t. They won't even coil it. They just slide up and start swallowing!

Next feeding day, try just dropping them in and leaving then alone for an hour our so.

Balls will get to breeding size on their own schedules. I have a pastel female that should have been "ready" last season but went on an 11 month feeding strike instead. It happens.

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My response was based on this part of OP "....the whole idea is to get them up to breeding size."

A BP that does not eat for 6,7,8 weeks is no cause for panic at all. I was not at all accusing you of power feeding. Just remember they eat, grow, breed on their schedule, not ours.

They really dont care much that you have a ready mate, the incubator, tanks, pinkies and set up for complete nursery all ready to go. :)

Most of us have dealt with it.

Good luck in BP patience 101

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Originally Posted by AdamF

My response was based on this part of OP "....the whole idea is to get them up to breeding size."

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Yes, it does make it sound very different when you leave out part of my sentence, and underline certain words for emphasis, doesn't it?

Try this:
"Sure I can just take the rat away and wait till next week but the whole idea is to try to get them to eat and gain weight for breeding etc. over time."

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By the way, I agree that a ball python doesn't eat for some weeks is no cause for concern about their immediate health unless they loose a lot of weight or some other symptoms, but if there is some reason they are not eating instead of they are just full then it should be corrected.

Since those snakes are eating, I am tending to think they are not simply "not hungry". Of course they may be, but to continually have a snake not eat/able to eat because that snake is shy or scared for whatever reason, and thus take longer to strike, I think is not a good thing. That was the whole point of this post to ask what are possible reasons some of my snakes would take so long to strike, while others kept the same do so immediately.

Could be just personality. I don't know. I am going to try switch to dark tubs as my friend has good success with his lot that were problem feeders.

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Originally Posted by hungba

Everybody thinks I am stuffing them with food to get them up to breeding size from one line in my post, which isn't true at all. When a snake doesn't eat for 5 weeks, 6 weeks, 7 weeks, 8 weeks etc., don't you think I should try to get them to eat? Not trying to powerfeed anybody just get them up to breeding size at a normal time frame by getting them to eat regularly.

I have not said anything about jamming as much food into them to get them to breeding weight. All I said was I had snakes that won't feed without 30 minutes of dangling and I feed (or try to) them once a week with appropriate sized rodent. Trying to get a snake to eat better who eats sporadically isn't RUSHING them to breeding size. It's trying to get a problem feeder to eat normally. I don't know what I said that caused this misunderstanding from multiple readers.

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I have a pastel female who hasn't eaten in months. She still in good body condition and will eat when she's ready. Would I prefer that she continued to eat regularly? Absolutely!

But, if she has other ideas, and I have to with her flow.

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Out of all of my SSTP's and bloods, none of them have ever struck at their food except one, my female black SSTP (she hits like a truck lol).

The only way any of my other snakes will eat is if I place the f/t rat on a paper plate and lay it in front of them. After a minute or so they gently grab the rat and take it to their hide to consume. Not sure why but makes feeding very easy and its kind of cute in a way how gentle they are with their food. I've tried dangling food in front of them, but they will never strike, think I have a room full of lazy snakes lol

I just received 2 new bloods yesterday so I will have to see how they will feed.

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Originally Posted by hungba

Yes, it does make it sound very different when you leave out part of my sentence, and underline certain words for emphasis, doesn't it?

Try this:
"Sure I can just take the rat away and wait till next week but the whole idea is to try to get them to eat and gain weight for breeding etc. over time."

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By the way, I agree that a ball python doesn't eat for some weeks is no cause for concern about their immediate health unless they loose a lot of weight or some other symptoms, but if there is some reason they are not eating instead of they are just full then it should be corrected.

Since those snakes are eating, I am tending to think they are not simply "not hungry". Of course they may be, but to continually have a snake not eat/able to eat because that snake is shy or scared for whatever reason, and thus take longer to strike, I think is not a good thing. That was the whole point of this post to ask what are possible reasons some of my snakes would take so long to strike, while others kept the same do so immediately.

Could be just personality. I don't know. I am going to try switch to dark tubs as my friend has good success with his lot that were problem feeders.

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Semantics, but you cannot write "whole idea is breeding...even over time", and then wonder where most of us got the idea you were in a hurry to get the animal to breeding size"

If you read most of the responses "striking", is not a requirement, nor is it an indicator the snake is shy or scared. He may not want his prey dangled. He may want to eat only in the dark. (They are naturally nocturnal). Nor are the habits of other BPs' you own a real basis for comparison. If your husbandry is right, he/she will eventually eat. My male has gone months at a time without eating, and then he goes for periods when he eats real well.

I have 5 with 4 different eating personalities.

Several, including myself have posted that you should feed the snake at a quiet/dark time.A Dark tubs will certainly help you in that regard.

I always try to go by this motto: "Snake's pace, not mine"