Poll: feeding and substrate

Smulkin has an interesting hypothesis regarding feeding problems, so to test it out, please respond to this poll if you HAVE had feeding problems.

I use paper towels on top of newspaper right now but I had been using reptibark. Due to the cost, I decided to waive the better look. Not only is the paper towel and neswpaper cheaper, it is so much easier to clean.

On the feeding problem....My BP has no problem with eating live, which he has been doing for 3 years, but refusing to eat f/t. I tried for quite some time but he just flat out fefused to eat it. I havent tried f/k mainly because I cant bring myself to kill his food via my own hands. I was brought up that you only killed an animal if either you were going to eat it, to end it's suffering due to illness or injury or killing it to protect your life. I am though, considering trying f/k, but have not gotten myself to do it because I have yet to see anything close to my BP being injured (not saying that it cant happen) by his food. I supervise each and every meal that he has and am prepared to intervene if necessary.

Thanks for the response. We're interested mostly in snakes going off-feed or refusing to eat anything. Has that been your experience, or do you just have a picky eater?

I have one that was off feed for 9 1/2 weeks, but she is now eating again. My snakes are on reptibark.

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Thanks for the response. We're interested mostly in snakes going off-feed or refusing to eat anything. Has that been your experience, or do you just have a picky eater?

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Just a picky eater......

I don't know if my response is a valid part of his theory, but here goes anyhow. I selected "other" for substrate because I use the shredded coconut stuff for my gopher snake. The first few months we had him, we fed him in a separate container and he did just fine. Then it started getting too cold to feed him in the other box because I didn't have a way to safely heat it...and at the same time, he went on a hunger strike. Since then, I've tried feeding him on a paper towel in his nice warm cage. He took two live pinkies once...but that's it. The pinkies are too small for him, but after not eating for so long, I wanted to start small....he still won't eat anything else and I'm really hesitant to get him going on live food...but I'm thinking my only option right now is to buy more live pinks or fuzzies to get him eating again. And I'm like Ironhead...in that I can't bring myself to kill live critters....but I may have to find a way to do it if Caesar continues to refuse frozen in the future.

That's really interesting, Judy. What kind of substrate was in the seperate container that you fed him in?

I currently use Cypress Mulch for a substrate in his enclosure, but I use paper towels in his feeding cage.

i use newspaper in all but one of my BP cages. and none of my ball pythons are currently eating very well. 2 are mature males, still off feed for winter i guess. one is a baby that will only take live. and one(the one on bark..dont remember which kind) is still debating wheter he likes rats or not...

I have used everything from news paper to the expensive reptile bark. But i think that for a nice soft bedding i use aspen bedding its cheap like 7 bux for a giant bag thats compacted so you get much more. i put a 2" thick layer in both tanks and still have a bunch left. And its harmless if ingested because its soft and thin.

ive heard aspen molds more easily. have you noticed this? how often do you change out the bark?

IMO, loose substrate is an unecessary pain in the butt. I use newspaper or paper towels and all of my snakes eat flawlessly (except for my 2 year old male BP who is still on his winter fast). I just use a few layers of newspaper and the snakes hide under those.

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Originally Posted by Smynx

That's really interesting, Judy. What kind of substrate was in the seperate container that you fed him in?

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The feeding container is/was a sterilite box that I would put newspaper down in. He would go right under the newspaper and stay there, so I started putting the f/t mice UNDER the paper and he ate just great that way for months. When the temps dropped, he stopped eating. I've long since gotten the temps back up, but haven't been able to tempt him with a mouscicle since.

That is completely normal behavior for ball pythons. My male has been off feed since Oct. When it starts getting cold, they just stop eating sometimes.

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Originally Posted by DavidBeard

That is completely normal behavior for ball pythons. My male has been off feed since Oct. When it starts getting cold, they just stop eating sometimes.

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Yeah, I know. Only problem is, mine isn't a nice fat bp...but a lean little gopher snake. Even after all this time, though, he doesn't look TOO skinny or anything. He still feels and acts healthy...but I'm getting more and more worried.

Just picked up a new substrate to try out. It's a bag of super crushed walnut shells designed for reptiles. The grains are a little bigger than sand. The humidity holds the same, which was my main concern, and is supposed to be harmless in case of accidental ingestion. Not a concern to me as I feed in a feed box with astroturf as substrate.
Anybody use this stuff? Cleanup is nice, because you can just scoop out waste kitty litter style. Also added some fake vines and covered the back wall and one side wall of the tank with aquarium background paper. Xaero has a whole new attitude! He grooves on the walnut, and feels MUCH more relaxed with some leafy cover.

Well so far the results are inconclusive and may just reflect what substrates people are using in general. I guess to be sure, we would have to post another poll to find out what substrates people are using, regardless of whether they have ever had feeding problems with their snakes. Does anyone know if that has already been done? I did a quick search and did not find any polls on the matter.

must . . . have . . . more sample . . . data (collapses)

Great response guys - thanks for taking the time.

Yeah there are SO many variables involved - I had decided to focus on 3 prime bits of data and this was the first. I had also considered Time of Day (rather hours since light cycle switched on) and Temp (ambient not prey) as possible factors. Smynx is the analytical powerhouse in the fambly - I am just the deflicted guy ;)

Oh hey cool you updated the signature - now I can copy and paste it into my own :P