Adult Not Eating for First Time

Hello All!,
I am new here, and am really excited to have access to such a information rich environment. I am relatively new to snake ownership. I inherited a 9-year-old Ball Python about a year ago. The snake was originally owned by my best friend of 27 years. My friend passed last year, and his parents decided to give him to me. I couldn't have been more honored, and I love having him. In other words, he means the world to me, and I have been spoiling him. I want to provide the best care possible. For the last year, things have gone pretty smoothly. My friend never upgraded his diet to rats. When I got him, he was by no means emaciated; however, he was small and undersized. He was on a diet consisting of mice for 8 years. After I got him, I started feeding him rats. He exploded in size. He has shed like 7 times in the past year, and his belly is actually pink right now. Has anybody ever seen a situation like this? Is it unhealthy for a snake to grow that fast? I sure hope not, I am just feeding him:) I originally fed him one small...then medium rat every three weeks. Now that he has grown so large, I feed him one large rat a month. He has never hesitated to eat...ever...quite the opposite actually. However, I just tried to feed him and he refused. He is now well fed; therefore, I am not worried about him not eating. I was just hoping to get some insight on adults not eating. I live in Chicago and it is cold. Could it be the season? As I stated earlier, he is about to shed...his belly is pink right now. Could that be the reason? He has taken food a couple times with a pink belly, so that is why my curiosity is up. Will an adult snake eat voraciously, and all of a sudden stop, while still displaying healthy behavior, and no obvious signs of illness? How long should it be before I am concerned? A preemptive thanks to all those that respond. Oh and side note: I now have a pet adult rat. The pet store I get them from is 45 mins away. How long can I keep this thing? (I do not feed my snake in his regular cage, and the rat is chilling in his feeding cage, and can stay there as far as I'm concerned.) What can I give the rat to gut load him for a healthier meal? Any and all insight would be greatly appreciated.

Sometimes snakes just srop eating for no apparent reason. I think you should be feeding him more often ( every 7 to 10 days). How much does he weigh?

He is fat and plump. I read that adults eating full sized rats shouldn't be eating that much. It was my understanding that juveniles should eat more often, but once a month seems fine for him...especially considering how fast he grew. No?

From what ive heard medium rats is as big as you are suppose to feed and younger snakes are suppose to eat every 5 to 7 days and adults every 7 to 10 days. If anybody with more experience thinks its wrong please let me know.

I've had the same ball python for 20 years and every winter he goes off feed for several months. If he's not showing signs of any illness, I wouldn't worry too much. They have very slow metabolisms and can go a very long time without food.

Im dealing with the same situation..I have 2 Ball Pythons...Both female ages 5 and 6 years old..the younger one always ate every 10-14 days...Never refused a rat...Now shes not wanting to eat..Its been almost 3 weeks since she ate last..My older one eats every 5 weeks...Can not get her to eat any earlier..Now its been almost 7 weeks since she has eaten....I always heard they slow down in winter, and can go a long time without eating...I've only had these snakes since last summer. They are handled all the time, and shed normally...They both are quite big around, and do not look like there starving...I feed them in a different tank, at different times..They only eat live rats...I do live in a colder climate ( southern Michgan ), but their tank is always heated at the proper temputuare...

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Originally Posted by ellenb19

Im dealing with the same situation..I have 2 Ball Pythons...Both female ages 5 and 6 years old..the younger one always ate every 10-14 days...Never refused a rat...Now shes not wanting to eat..Its been almost 3 weeks since she ate last..My older one eats every 5 weeks...Can not get her to eat any earlier..Now its been almost 7 weeks since she has eaten....I always heard they slow down in winter, and can go a long time without eating...I've only had these snakes since last summer. They are handled all the time, and shed normally...They both are quite big around, and do not look like there starving...I feed them in a different tank, at different times..They only eat live rats...I do live in a colder climate ( southern Michgan ), but their tank is always heated at the proper temputuare...

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So...you do feed your adult every five weeks? I think that every 7-10 days for an adult is too much. I may be wrong...but he is in no way skinny or emaciated. What do you do with your live rats if you snakes don't eat them?

Try switching him to a small/medium rat (around 80 grams) every two weeks (after he sheds). Although non-breeders don't need to be fed every week, it is inefficient for him to eat an enormous meal only one a month. Large adult rats can also be much more dangerous to your snake if they feel threatened than a smaller rat. It's past the time of year that males would typically go off feed (or near the end of it), so he is probably just still digesting that huge rat. Feeding him smaller meals more often will allow him to have more evenly spaced nutrition, and not be as uncomfortable for days after eating.

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

Try switching him to a small/medium rat (around 80 grams) every two weeks (after he sheds). Although non-breeders don't need to be fed every week, it is inefficient for him to eat an enormous meal only one a month. Large adult rats can also be much more dangerous to your snake if they feel threatened than a smaller rat. It's past the time of year that males would typically go off feed (or near the end of it), so he is probably just still digesting that huge rat. Feeding him smaller meals more often will allow him to have more evenly spaced nutrition, and not be as uncomfortable for days after eating.

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Thank you very much for the info. I only upsized his meals because of his age, per the advice of the pet shop owner. I was told once a month is plenty for a mature adult; however, what you said makes sense. He is not digesting it still (I think so anyway, he pooped over two weeks ago). Believe it or not, medium rats are hard to come by by me. Large seem to be more abundant....that's also another reason I upsized him. As far as the danger part, I am always standing by to intervene if necessary. I never thought about him feeling threatened, as he is an aggressive eater(but a lover! lol) I am just going to be patient. Furthermore, have you or anybody else ever heard of a situation like mine as far as a huge growth spirt at 9 years old becaus of an all mice diet for all its life? I am really curious on this one.

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Originally Posted by WhiteSoxPyro83

Thank you very much for the info. I only upsized his meals because of his age, per the advice of the pet shop owner. I was told once a month is plenty for a mature adult; however, what you said makes sense. He is not digesting it still (I think so anyway, he pooped over two weeks ago). Believe it or not, medium rats are hard to come by by me. Large seem to be more abundant....that's also another reason I upsized him. As far as the danger part, I am always standing by to intervene if necessary. I never thought about him feeling threatened, as he is an aggressive eater(but a lover! lol) I am just going to be patient. Furthermore, have you or anybody else ever heard of a situation like mine as far as a huge growth spirt at 9 years old becaus of an all mice diet for all its life? I am really curious on this one.

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Oh...and I will take that advice for sure. I am taking the large back today, and am going to wait until they get a medium. Do you feed live? what do you do with the rat if your snake refuses?

Though still learning myself (we never stop learning), I have heard many, many times...even from top breeders....it's not uncommon for Balls to go off feed for weeks, months...or even a year (though not very common for that long). As long as your husbandry is good, it may be because of shed, mating season, winter, illness, or they just might not be hungry. As others have mentioned, just keep an eye out for illness, get a scale and make sure he's not losing large amounts of weight....otherwise snakes are snakes...and if you're doing the best you can with GOOD information, just let him be a snake. He'll eat eventually.

In the following YouTube video, you can hear this BP owner who has a handful of larger adults say one of his was off feed for nearly a year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIngd7qD36w

I feed primarily frozen thawed, but do have an occasional live eater. I like not having to go to the store to buy a feeder every week (or thirty+ feeders, in my case!). Frozen are cheaper in bulk than individual live rats, too, for me.

To your question about the growth spurt - if your friend was only feeding one or two mice a month, then it absolutely makes sense that your boy made up for it with gusto. I only feed rats, but I would estimate an adult male would normally take 3-4 adult mice per week. I have a pinstripe female that was only being fed every 2-3 weeks when I got her in July (she was supposedly 4 years old, and was 950g). She has been on one small (60-80g) rat per week since then, and is now 1900g! She was healthy enough when I got her, but now gets enough caloric intake to actually reach her full potential.

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

I feed primarily frozen thawed, but do have an occasional live eater. I like not having to go to the store to buy a feeder every week (or thirty+ feeders, in my case!). Frozen are cheaper in bulk than individual live rats, too, for me.

To your question about the growth spurt - if your friend was only feeding one or two mice a month, then it absolutely makes sense that your boy made up for it with gusto. I only feed rats, but I would estimate an adult male would normally take 3-4 adult mice per week. I have a pinstripe female that was only being fed every 2-3 weeks when I got her in July (she was supposedly 4 years old, and was 950g). She has been on one small (60-80g) rat per week since then, and is now 1900g! She was healthy enough when I got her, but now gets enough caloric intake to actually reach her full potential.

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Thanks a bunch. As I stated, I'm not too concerned. I do want a scale though, just out of curiosity. I do have pics of him on my profile if you are curious. He is awesome and very active. What is normal weight for an adult? I just call him a guy...don't know, and don't want him put through the stress of a probe. However, I have had him for a year, and he has never been to the vet in his life. I think I may bring him in shortly for just a checkup? I don't know because he is and awesome, active, perky, and many many long tounge flicks kinda snake lol. I llet him explore out of his cage as much as he likes(while keeping a close eye on him of course) he is a very curious active snake...THAT LOVES TO CLIMB believe it or not. lol

Yes The older one (Molly) eats every 5 weeks , until this month...The friend I got her from told me the eating schedual, and at first I thought 4-5 weeks was too long...I have never gotten her to eat before 5 weeks..My other bp ( Hatchet)..yes its a males name, were not 100% if he/she is really a male...This one has never been probed, but as its getting bigger, looking more like a female...always ate for me every 2 weeks, once took a rat at 10 days...Now its been 3 weeks since his last feeding, didn't want rat....I keep rats that arn't eaten in a critter tank..an inexpensive plastic tank with top...Just make sure you keep a brick on it, i had a rat get loose throught the little see-through top once..lol.And just give it water and I feed them hamster food...Both my snakes are are good size ..not skinny by any means..Molly, is really heavy and strong..So 4-5 weeks is ok for her....Both are very heathy looking and are handled all the time...I know this time of year is there breeding season so that may be why they arn't eating as much...Even the lady at pet store told me this...I know its normal, but as a pet owner you always want to make sure your babies are ok..Not like dogs and cats who eat everyday...From everything i hear..It normal:)

Oh..as far as a growth spurt..My younger one, who eats for me every 2 weeks..Grew a lot in the last 8 months since I got her...I think my friend ( previous owner) only feed her every 4 weeks like the older one who only eats every 4-5 weeks....All snakes are different..I've only been a snake owner since last July..Learning more everyday:) I love this website..