Going for the kill...but that's it

Hi, It has been two weeks since my young female firefly actually ate a meal. She has a killer reflex when it comes to striking and wrapping around her previously thawed and warmed up mice...but then when she is done squeezing the "life" out of it, she doesn't eat. She has done this 4 time in the last two weeks. She just doesn't eat.

Has anyone else experienced this? Should I be worried at all? She used to pound mice like a champ, but now all she does is kill and leave it. What does it mean?

I appreciate your advice.

The meal isn't too big is it??

Is the rodent thawed all the way through?

How long have the mice been in your freezer?

M Pied is the same way. I find that reheating the thawed rodent, letting her strike and coil again, then pulling on its leg or tail for a minute to have her "kill" it again works. Its annoying I have to do it at least twice every feeding but as long as she eats thats the important part. This happened after switching to f/t recently so im hoping after a while she'll just take it the first time.

The mice are all recently bought. And they are thoroughly warm and squishy. They are the medium mice so they are not full grown. She doesn't even try to swallow. Just coils and drops. I also keep shaking the mouse a bit so it feels like its still struggling while she attacks. i will wait five more days and try again. If she doesn't eat at that point, do I try live, or would she just kill and drop that too?

My smallest ball refuses to eat if he's aware of me or I'm being too loud. He'll kill and drop if I'm moving around the room, or if my neighbors are being especially loud. Have you tried covering enclosure so the snake feels more secure? That's worked for me a few times.

I have the same issue with my male champagne baby. I'm pretty convinced he is special, even by ball python standards lol

He would kill the tongs if he could but often abandons "kills". I've had good luck slightly upping the meal size and leaving the room promptly after playing tug-o-war with him. His problem is that any distraction will cause him to forget about his meal.

How much does your BP weigh? Medium mice sound small to me... for even most young balls. Have you thought of trying a rat to see if she prefers that? Sometimes they can be picky with the drop of a hat!
But then again, two weeks without eating is nothing in the ball python world :P it's definitely confusing if yours has never done that before, but it happens all the time. ALL the time.

I'd say just double and triple check temperatures and the enclosure, making sure she feels secure and that all equipment is working properly. If you have a hatchling (i.e. under about 300 grams - a breeder or two on here had mentioned that as a good weight to think about as hatchlings, give or take) the prey should be the same width as the widest part of the ball's body, or 10-15% of their body weight.

If the item is too small it can have the same effect as too large in that they may not take it.
When my guy went into a long shed, I offered him his usual food but he kept refusing. Even after he'd finished his shed! He would get in hunting position, get ready to strike, then stop. Then kind of quiver. Did this about 4 or 5 offerings. I bumped down the rat a size (definitely smaller than he'd normally eat, and in fact he should be up one size from the one I originally offered) and BAM he took. So they really do care ;)

Other than that, I'd say not to stress yourself over it. Although perhaps more common for males but still very typical in general for balls.

All the best!

Make sure it's fully thawed
Make sure it isn't cooked
Make sure it hasn't gone bad (if it thawed and got refrozen it may have gone bad)
Leave the room and make it dark immediately after it strikes and coils
Tug on the food a little after it's coiled so there is a struggle. You'll feel the snake clench down further


GL!

Thanks for the advice.
I recently graduated her to regular mice. She was hatched in September 2013, so she is not really a baby anymore. I like to put her in a 5 gallon bucket to feed her. I play a little tug of war and then leave her alone for 10 minutes. She usually eats it or drops it by then. Her enclosure temps and humidity are within nominal ranges.

I will try again in another day or two and make her eating area dark after she kills. I will let you guys know if she takes or refuses again.

Leave her in her enclosure and feed her. No need to move her. That's probably your problem. She's probably stressed.

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Originally Posted by Greengirl

Thanks for the advice.
I recently graduated her to regular mice. She was hatched in September 2013, so she is not really a baby anymore. I like to put her in a 5 gallon bucket to feed her. I play a little tug of war and then leave her alone for 10 minutes. She usually eats it or drops it by then. Her enclosure temps and humidity are within nominal ranges.

I will try again in another day or two and make her eating area dark after she kills. I will let you guys know if she takes or refuses again.

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Agreeing with DooLittle posted above, try feeding in the enclosure rather than stressing her by moving her. Like I said, med. mice sound awfully small to me. I have a corn snake eating something about that size or larger, and she's no where near the weight of my small-for-size ball python hatched in July. But then again, you haven't yet mentioned the weights of your mice or ball python.

Definitely feed in the enclosure like DooLittle said. Feed her where she lives since she's most comfortable there. Also how are you thawing your f/t rodents? Once you feed in her enclosure, if she drops it again I would leave it in there for a while to see if she will eat it once she feels completely safe. I remember accidentally scaring my bp when she was eating and she dropped it but after I left the room for a while and came back she was gobbling it down. So once you feed, especially since your feeding f/t, you can just leave the room and wait and come back a while later to see if she's eating. If not I've also had success with heating it back up with a hair dryer which is why I was asking about your thawing method. Hope this is helpful, and I hope we can get her chowing down! 😊


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Thanks everyone. But I'm a little surprised to hear your advice about feeding her in her home. I was told by many people not to do that so she doesn't accidentally think my hand is food and bite me as I reach in to hold her. But if you all say it is ok, I will give it a shot.

I warm the mice up by pulling them out of the freezer and thaw them in the fridge from the morning until I get home from work. Then I warm up some water and soak the mouse for a few moments so the body is nice and warm. Then I dry it off a bit, and then she pounces within seconds of dangling it in front of her. Her strike reflex has never failed. She just stopped eating. Does this thawing method sound reasonable?

Many if not dang near all of us have been told in the begining to not feed in their home for that reason. Its not true! Moving and handling your snake before feeding could be adding stress to her pryor to eating. Plus you can have a better chance of getting bit trying to move her back to her home due to being in feeding mode.

She ate just fine over the weekend. I still put her in her bucket but I put a towel over it and turned off the lights. Thanks for all the advice.

Glad she ate for you. I know it has been said but c'mon......would you rather eat on the couch watching a favorite movie all snug or secure or would you rather eat in a bucket but a towell over your head?

I'm glad she finally came around to eat for you!! :D and your method sounds fine for thawing.


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