Ball Python will not eat

My baby ball python has not eaten in 2 weeks, it has always eaten frozen mice and now it seems like it's not interested. It smells the air goes near it and just keeps going occasionally it will nip it but not completely devour it, is there something wrong with my ball python?

It could possibly be that the prey offered is not warm enough. Try heating it a little more, or it could be the prey is too big, or too small.
What is your enclosure and temps? How big is your ball? Do you have its weight?

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The age old question... "why won't my ball python eat?"

Have you changed anything in the vive set-up lately?
What are the temps at, and how are you measuring and controlling them?
What weight is your BP? What size/weight prey do you offer it?
How do you offer it?

Soooo many possible reasons for a BP to go off feeding. There are a TONNE of threads out there just like this :) do a little searching around with the search bar at the top right corner of the page, read some other threads, and you might find your answer quickly. It could be a very simply fix! Or, it could be a stubborn ball python.

Best of luck!

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

My baby ball python has not eaten in 2 weeks, it has always eaten frozen mice and now it seems like it's not interested. It smells the air goes near it and just keeps going occasionally it will nip it but not completely devour it, is there something wrong with my ball python?

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How old is he? How much does he weigh? How long have you had him?

Is he going into shed by any chance?

As I just said to someone on iHerp, welcome to the world of Ball Pythons! :D

They can and will go off feed sometimes, usually for no reason at all - and as adults, can easily fast for multiple months (one of mine went 10-11 months) without any ill side-effects. But if you notice OTHER symptoms, like wheezing, mucus, lethargy (hard to tell with BPs, lol), etc, or if they lose a LOT of weight, that is when you really need to worry.

Any chance the baby is going into shed? That's the most common reason for a sudden disinterest in food, as most BPs prefer to abstain during the pre-shed and shedding period. If you're not sure, look to see if the belly is pink... they should also look a bit "dull" in color, like not as bright as you're used to seeing him/her. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine! Just keep trying, warm up the mouse a bit more, or try live if this continues much longer. Good luck!

My ball python is about 4 months old and has already gone through its shedding, it likes to eat small fuzzy mice and I always defrost it well and keep it pretty warm, it has a heat lamp and the temperature is always at 78-80 degrees, it has a bowl of water and aspen shavings really nice setup

I haven't figured out how to weigh it and I'm unsure of its gender, other than that it has no ill side effects

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

As I just said to someone on iHerp, welcome to the world of Ball Pythons! :D

They can and will go off feed sometimes, usually for no reason at all - and as adults, can easily fast for multiple months (one of mine went 10-11 months) without any ill side-effects. But if you notice OTHER symptoms, like wheezing, mucus, lethargy (hard to tell with BPs, lol), etc, or if they lose a LOT of weight, that is when you really need to worry.

Any chance the baby is going into shed? That's the most common reason for a sudden disinterest in food, as most BPs prefer to abstain during the pre-shed and shedding period. If you're not sure, look to see if the belly is pink... they should also look a bit "dull" in color, like not as bright as you're used to seeing him/her. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine! Just keep trying, warm up the mouse a bit more, or try live if this continues much longer. Good luck!

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How do I find out if it needs a live mouse? And where can I obtain one?

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Originally Posted by NH93

The age old question... "why won't my ball python eat?"

Have you changed anything in the vive set-up lately?
What are the temps at, and how are you measuring and controlling them?
What weight is your BP? What size/weight prey do you offer it?
How do you offer it?

Soooo many possible reasons for a BP to go off feeding. There are a TONNE of threads out there just like this :) do a little searching around with the search bar at the top right corner of the page, read some other threads, and you might find your answer quickly. It could be a very simply fix! Or, it could be a stubborn ball python.

Best of luck!

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What's a good way to offer my ball python the defrosted mouse?

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

I haven't figured out how to weigh it and I'm unsure of its gender, other than that it has no ill side effects

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Any digital scale and a good vet can sex it for you.
Sex is my first question................Male??
You also should up your food size, fuzzy mice are way too small........most hatchlings start out on small hopper mice or fuzzy rats.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Any digital scale and a good vet can sex it for you.
Sex is my first question................Male??

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I'll go purchase a digital scale and I'll look for a good vet thanks for the info on that

I added to my post at the same time you posted LoL
You might also try and find a member in your area that knows how to pop or probe to sex for you.
What city are you in?

Have you been handling him-her a lot lately. Any sign of stress like hissing , being afraid, balling up while handling? Did you try offering the food and let it sit in the enclosure overnight? I just let it sit in there underneath the heatmat and he do his business later.

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

My ball python is about 4 months old and has already gone through its shedding, it likes to eat small fuzzy mice and I always defrost it well and keep it pretty warm, it has a heat lamp and the temperature is always at 78-80 degrees, it has a bowl of water and aspen shavings really nice setup

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Do you have a warm side? Or is the whole setup 78-80?
Fuzzy mice are way to small at his age, he may be looking for something bigger, try a small adult mouse.

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I second that ^
You will need a heat mat purchased from a pet store, and a thermostat set at about 90F (example: http://www.amazon.ca/Jumpstart-Digit...art+thermostat - works good for one snake)... but definitiely keep that heat lamp on. Is it a red bulb, black bulb, heat emitter, or something else? Keep in mind all of those I just said can and SHOULD be left on 24/7. If you are only using a day bulb and turn it off at night that is not good. BPs need a steady heat source with no night time drops (if you can help it)!

When was the last shed?

You should be feeding to the widest part of the snakes body (as in, the rat - and I would say rat because they are often suggested to be fed to BPs rather than mice - should be almost equal in width to the widest part of the snake, but no more) if you do not have a scale as of yet.

"It has a bowl of water and aspen shavings, really nice set up"
- How many hides do you have?
- How large is the vive (gallons or inches - LxWxH)?
- What are you using to measure the heat and the humidity?

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Do you have a warm side? Or is the whole setup 78-80?
Fuzzy mice are way to small at his age, he may be looking for something bigger, try a small adult mouse.

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No only one side the other side is cool, ok I'll try getting bigger mice

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Originally Posted by NH93

I second that ^
You will need a heat mat purchased from a pet store, and a thermostat set at about 90F (example: http://www.amazon.ca/Jumpstart-Digit...art+thermostat - works good for one snake)... but definitiely keep that heat lamp on. Is it a red bulb, black bulb, heat emitter, or something else? Keep in mind all of those I just said can and SHOULD be left on 24/7. If you are only using a day bulb and turn it off at night that is not good. BPs need a steady heat source with no night time drops (if you can help it)!

When was the last shed?

You should be feeding to the widest part of the snakes body (as in, the rat - and I would say rat because they are often suggested to be fed to BPs rather than mice - should be almost equal in width to the widest part of the snake, but no more) if you do not have a scale as of yet.

"It has a bowl of water and aspen shavings, really nice set up"
- How many hides do you have?
- How large is the vive (gallons or inches - LxWxH)?
- What are you using to measure the heat and the humidity?

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It's a 30 gallon long tank looking to upgrade in a bit, I also gave a heat reader and humidity reader, I have one hide. The last shed was about a week ago, I also have a daylight bulb that emits heat and a heat mat but it doesn't have a controller

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

No only one side the other side is cool, ok I'll try getting bigger mice

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Your temps are too low.... hot side of 87-90 and cool side of 77-80. That is probably why its not eating. They need the higher temps to digest properly and for overall health. Get your temps up asap, then get bigger prey

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

I added to my post at the same time you posted LoL
You might also try and find a member in your area that knows how to pop or probe to sex for you.
What city are you in?

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I'm in Worcester, ma

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Originally Posted by JiBster816

Have you been handling him-her a lot lately. Any sign of stress like hissing , being afraid, balling up while handling? Did you try offering the food and let it sit in the enclosure overnight? I just let it sit in there underneath the heatmat and he do his business later.

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No stress what so ever it loves being held, I do offer the food and nothing I'll leave it there and it won't do anything and the mouse ends up dried up

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Your temps are too low.... hot side of 87-90 and cool side of 77-80. That is probably why its not eating. They need the higher temps to digest properly and for overall health. Get your temps up asap, then get bigger prey

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Ok I'll work on getting the temp higher what size prey should I get?

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Any digital scale and a good vet can sex it for you.
Sex is my first question................Male??
You also should up your food size, fuzzy mice are way too small........most hatchlings start out on small hopper mice or fuzzy rats.

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Small hopper mice? How big should the rat be?

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

Ok I'll work on getting the temp higher what size prey should I get?

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Get an ir temp gun/therm, if you have an unregulated heat mat chances are your hot side is higher than you think... or get a probe digital thermometer
Get prey size equal to or a lil wider than the widest part of your snake.

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

Ok I'll work on getting the temp higher what size prey should I get?

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I already mentioned that if you don't have a scale you can feed to the widest part of the snake's body...

There is no way for us to tell you, you'll have to figure it out on your own unless you offer a photo with some sort of comparison.

Once you fix the vive (get an actual hot spot with a thermostat, add in one or two more hides - especially for a 30 gal. assuming it is glass, cover 3 sides with paper if it is glass, and get a larger size RAT) then your snake may eat.

To offer it, once the rat is thawed (which you can do by letting it sit out on the counter until it is the same temp as the air and there are no hard lumps in the middle) run it under some hot tap water either in a baggy or not, put it in some feeding tongs - you can get those at a pet store - and offer it that way. Try doing a little "zombie dance" or bobbling to entice your snake. Only offer once a week, no more. Even if s/he doesn't take it.
DON'T shove it in her face or tap her with it!

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Originally Posted by NH93

I already mentioned that if you don't have a scale you can feed to the widest part of the snake's body...

There is no way for us to tell you, you'll have to figure it out on your own unless you offer a photo with some sort of comparison.

Once you fix the vive (get an actual hot spot with a thermostat, add in one or two more hides - especially for a 30 gal. assuming it is glass, cover 3 sides with paper if it is glass, and get a larger size RAT) then your snake may eat.

To offer it, once the rat is thawed (which you can do by letting it sit out on the counter until it is the same temp as the air and there are no hard lumps in the middle) run it under some hot tap water either in a baggy or not, put it in some feeding tongs - you can get those at a pet store - and offer it that way. Try doing a little "zombie dance" or bobbling to entice your snake. Only offer once a week, no more. Even if s/he doesn't take it.
DON'T shove it in her face or tap her with it!

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Ok thank you I appreciate the information

I purchased a hopper mouse and it is a decent size way bigger than a small fuzzy mouse, for some reason the guy I bought it from told me to let the mouse sit in chicken broth does this work?

Did he eat it? Small fuzzy mouse live or frozen thawed?

About the chicken broth I have read people dip it in chicken broth. Dry it so its just scented with chicken broth. I have never tried it before but I would definitely not rely on one source for that matter.

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Originally Posted by JiBster816

Did he eat it? Small fuzzy mouse live or frozen thawed?

About the chicken broth I have read people dip it in chicken broth. Dry it so its just scented with chicken broth. I have never tried it before but I would definitely not rely on one source for that matter.

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No he didn't eat it and I'm confused I don't know what to do another wasted mouse

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

No he didn't eat it and I'm confused I don't know what to do another wasted mouse

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Get a live mouse, I bet he'll eat it. Some just won't do f/t. I stopped waisting my money and went to feeding live and never looked back

Where can I purchase a smaller mouse than petco, a petco associate supposedly told me their mice would be too big for my ball python

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

How do I find out if it needs a live mouse? And where can I obtain one?

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It doesn't need live. It has only been few weeks and the snake has eaten f/t before, so there really is no need to feed live.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Sex is my first question................Male??
You also should up your food size, fuzzy mice are way too small........most hatchlings start out on small hopper mice or fuzzy rats.

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We are talking about a baby here. The sex is irrelevant at this point. You are right about the food size though :)

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

It's a 30 gallon long tank looking to upgrade in a bit, I also gave a heat reader and humidity reader, I have one hide. The last shed was about a week ago, I also have a daylight bulb that emits heat and a heat mat but it doesn't have a controller

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How long you have had the snake? Your enclosure is way too big for a baby if you ask me. Too big and open enclosure will cause the snake not to feed, because it doesn't feel secure. You can try to make it feel more secure by adding multiple hides and covering the sides of the tank. And like many others have said, get your temps right.

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

No stress what so ever it loves being held, I do offer the food and nothing I'll leave it there and it won't do anything and the mouse ends up dried up

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It is a snake. It does not LOVE anything. Leave him alone for couple of weeks, no handling, just changing the water and feeding attempts once a week, nothing more.


This is how I see your situation:
You have a baby ball, living in a quite large enclosure. The temps have not been quite right and you have been (?) handling it often. Also the food has been too small. So basically you have been making all the common mistakes. You have had many good advice in this thread. Read it carefully, do as you're told and wait. It might take few weeks, but when circumstances are right, the snake will eventually eat.

It has only been few weeks, and the snake has shed recently, so I don't think you have too much to worry about yet. Just too as youä're told and everything will be fine.

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Originally Posted by jaded

We are talking about a baby here. The sex is irrelevant at this point. You are right about the food size though :)

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Four months is no longer a baby. Sex is still relevant. Then again I guess my 6 month old that went off feed and started locking when paired doesn't matter either??

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Four months is no longer a baby. Sex is still relevant. Then again I guess my 6 month old that went off feed and started locking when paired doesn't matter either??

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Either way, whether the sex is relevent or irrelevent to whomever, it doesn't really change the situation all that much simply because the other husbandry issues haven't been taken care of - to the best of our knowledge.

The way I see it (and just my opinion) is that, if you put a young animal in a situation where it can mate... it will! :P Doesn't matter the species (especially for males who produce sperm much earlier than females become fertile).

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Originally Posted by Machetelopez

Where can I purchase a smaller mouse than petco, a petco associate supposedly told me their mice would be too big for my ball python

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You may have already posted this, but how much does your snake weigh?

I doubt a petco mouse is too big unless you have a tiny hatchling.

The food should be about as wide as the snake is at it's widest point. If you are still unsure, get a scale and weigh both the snake and the food and post the weights here...someone can tell you just from the weights if it's far too big or far too small for the snake.

There has been a lot of good information given, most regurgitated but still good none the less.
Hands on real world experience plays a huge factor.
There are many things that will get your snake off of feed but it will not let itself starve either.
Thee are plenty of snakes that are in oversized housing and unregulated temps that still feed.
There are also plenty of keepers that don't use any heat other than ambient temps between 80 to 90 degrees.
I will say what works in one persons house might not work in anothers.
Im going to leave this be for the betterment today.