ARGG i am so frustrated!!

Really atm i feel like quitting the hobby and giving away my bp's.....

I am so Frikkin frustrated

everyday iof the week my bp's just lay still move a little at night and lay still again, on feeding day at evenings they show a lot of activity but then when i offer them prey they don't take it.

they have all eaten here before and now some of them already havent eaten for weeks some eat 1 week then skip the next 2 weeks.

I just don't know what to do anymore. I tried everything.

switching the tubs, different substrate, play with the temperatures a bit, change the humidity up and down over the past few weeks, tried F/T (wich they used to take), tried live, tried mice, tried rats.

I am having no more fun in the hobby anymore especially because they wont eat no matter what i try and i don't get to hold them, hell i dont even get to look at them as they are in tubs and opening the tubs would disturb them (ofc i have opened the tubs, to clean/fresh water/ get temps with temp gun)

I'm sorry that you're losing passion for your balls but try and be positive. It's probably a rough patch that you'll get through, don't lose hope

Welcome to the joys.
If they have eaten then don't worry too much.
I have 2 albino females that are the same age, 1 will be breeding now and the other just broke 500g..............

Let's just say, I don't have ball pythons because they are fun to play with and great display animals that never refuse a meal..... Even my best eaters have their moments. This is why as much as I adore and love my bps, my collection is becoming a larger percentage of animals that are great eaters, have more personality, and don't mind the handling!

Just stick in there, everyone has rough patches. :D

Its rough sometimes, keeping ball pythons. Don't give up, they will eat sooner or later. How often are you offering food ? I've had problem feeders that would not eat. So I stopped offering food to them every week. Some times if you offer them food often. They seem to train themselves not to accept food. So space the offerings out more and they may eat for you. Also try keeping a different type of snake say maybe a boa. Those guys eat and interact well.

I have had Boa's and reticulated pythons and i know both usually eat very well or at least the ones i had did.

but i just do not like Boa's that much (the color and looks) the boa morphs out there aren't doing much for me either, the only morph of boa i do kinda like is the salmon, Reticulated Pythons i do like very much and i really like the Purple Albino Retic's but i live alone now, and it isnt very smart to handle a snake that big when you are alone and i simply just do not have the space for them atm

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Originally Posted by Girlnextdoor

I'm sorry that you're losing passion for your balls but try and be positive. It's probably a rough patch that you'll get through, don't lose hope

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lol I have great passion for my balls...

Hang in there man just be patient they'll eat eventually. My bee hit the 1000 gram wall back in December and has barely eaten for me since then, my vanilla cream started a fast about 3 months ago right above 1200 grams. Talk about being disappointed when I had a female that was so close to being my first breeder sized snake stop eating on me! It sucks at times but I just keep on moving and feeding when I can trying all the tricks and one day I'm sure something will work. I have picked up some other snakes that are monsters come feeding time like my bullsnake pair and my boa. Those keep me smiling on feeding day but I'll always love my balls for their amazing looks and breeding possibilities

I think we've all had bps that won't eat or do anything for us. I have a Mojave that I thought would never get to size. But she did after 4 years and had some eggs for me and made me a beautiful bel

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...bda2bec6c2.jpg

Don't give up on them. Children will be children :)


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Originally Posted by Solarsoldier001

I think we've all had bps that won't eat or do anything for us. I have a Mojave that I thought would never get to size. But she did after 4 years and had some eggs for me and made me a beautiful bel

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...bda2bec6c2.jpg

Don't give up on them. Children will be children :)


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that indeed is a beautiful BEL.

If it was only one or two that wouldn't eat or if they where around that 1000 gram wall i wouldn't feel like this, but out of the 10 bp's i have only 6 ate today and 1 of them was my Leopard female who ate for the first time in over 2.5 months but that was after i wrote the first message in this thread.

Ofcourse I am very happy now that she ate but i am scared to be to happy about it as my super fire ate for the first time after 2 months about 4 weeks ago then she had 2 meals and now she hasn't eaten for 2 weeks again, same goes for my clown male, after a fasting period i finally decided to eat agin he ate for 3 times in a row and now skipped 2 in a row again

I've been tossing the idea of carpet pythons. They get big but not overly big. From what I understand they EAT really well, and make great display animals. They are also smaller than reticlated pythons. Just something for you to think about. Just hang in there it will get better.

I have over 30 bps. I have a calico that is the most pickiest eater in the world she'll never getting size. And then a cinna that is just as bad. Most of my breeder girls aren't eating and my males are not eating either. Then I have a female normal that was a great eater. And now I can't believe how long it's been since she's eaten. I think it's about a year now I have to check my records. At least it feels like that. Bps go off feed. I use to get stressed and frustrated and worry. But I've come to terms that bps are just this. Unreliable eaters. You'll have some monster eaters and then you'll have okay eaters.


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yeah i will, i'll just keep trying.

I have been looking at Morelia Spilota Cheynei and Morelia Spilota Bredli for a while now .

The store where i get my F/T mice/rats from have 2 or 3 Cheynei's but i do not realy trust them with live reptiles, i mean the F/T stuff they get in from a rat breeder so that's ok, but some of the reptiles they sale really look bad.

I feel your pain. My male Pied, who was pounding a small f/t rat every other week, has decided to only eat 1 live mouse and not every week, he seems to skip some weeks. The normal I have also refuses f/t and gets fed a live mouse every Sunday, and now my HRA Super Pastel Lesser is insisting on live mice. At least the normal and the HRA never refuse and if the pied decides he's not going to eat one weekend I have a whole rack full of other BP's that will take a live mouse in a heartbeat.
Hang in there you have a sweet assortment of BP's to start dumping them.

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Originally Posted by Solarsoldier001

I have over 30 bps. I have a calico that is the most pickiest eater in the world she'll never getting size. And then a cinna that is just as bad. Most of my breeder girls aren't eating and my males are not eating either. Then I have a female normal that was a great eater. And now I can't believe how long it's been since she's eaten. I think it's about a year now I have to check my records. At least it feels like that. Bps go off feed. I use to get stressed and frustrated and worry. But I've come to terms that bps are just this. Unreliable eaters. You'll have some monster eaters and then you'll have okay eaters.


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yeah,

I guess I know and knew before got my BP's that they could be very picky/reluctant feeders it's just that this is my first period that it is this bad.

different question,

I can get my hands on a +/- 650 gram 2013 female Lavender Albino they are asking 500 euro's (+/-560 dollar) just out of curiosity is that a fair price?

atm not i do not really think about getting a new snake though getting a new beautiful snake might wash away the blues:P i am just wondering if that is a fair price

Well I saw a male on the classified for sale at $750 at the same weight


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Originally Posted by Solarsoldier001

Well I saw a male on the classified for sale at $750 at the same weight


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hmm....

maybe i should have a talk with the one offering that 13 female haha

I had my snakes eating great and then they all started being hit or miss. I rechecked everything and found their tanks to be a couple of degrees cooler than usual. Tweeked them back to were I wanted them to be. And bam we're eating like monsters. Just my two cents, hang in there man.

Maybe


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Originally Posted by Tigerhawk

I've been tossing the idea of carpet pythons. They get big but not overly big. From what I understand they EAT really well, and make great display animals. They are also smaller than reticlated pythons. Just something for you to think about. Just hang in there it will get better.

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Originally Posted by ARBallMorphs

yeah i will, i'll just keep trying.

I have been looking at Morelia Spilota Cheynei and Morelia Spilota Bredli for a while now .

The store where i get my F/T mice/rats from have 2 or 3 Cheynei's but i do not realy trust them with live reptiles, i mean the F/T stuff they get in from a rat breeder so that's ok, but some of the reptiles they sale really look bad.

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I highly recommend carpets. Definitely more of a display animal than BPs. They are certainly more aggressive feeders also, but they will indulge in winter time fasts at times, though nowhere as frequently or as long as BPs.

Avoid the pet shop animals since you have some doubts, buy from a reputable breeder. If you're in the Euro zone, check out Paul Harris at http://www.ukpythons.com/. This is one of the best carpet python breeders there is. In the U.S., try Will Bird at http://www.ectotherms.net/, Nick Mutton at http://inlandreptile.com/ or http://www.australianaddiction.com/. There may be limited availability at this time of year, you might want to wait for the 2015 clutches.

should you go for Cheynei, keep in mind the babies do not have the bright yellows of adults, they start out brown and go through a color change up until about 2 years. Pics of the parents will give you a good idea of what to expect (no guarantees though!). All of the above breeders have excellent lines and produce top notch animals. This is true of jungles as well as other morelia.ssp.

hey thanks:)

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Originally Posted by ARBallMorphs

my super fire ate for the first time after 2 months about 4 weeks ago then she had 2 meals and now she hasn't eaten for 2 weeks again, same goes for my clown male, after a fasting period i finally decided to eat agin he ate for 3 times in a row and now skipped 2 in a row again

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If they're only averaging eating every other week, just offer every other week.

I had the same problem with a few of mine. Eat twice, skip, eat, skip twice, eat three times, skip twice, etc. They were erratic.

I cut back on the size of the food, and started offering those ones food every 14 days instead of 7. It's not a magic fix, but those ones are eating much more consistently than they were.

Ball pythons specialize in frustrating their owners. He worst culprits for me see to be the ones that I want to grow the fastest. I even have a girl from the same clutch as 3 others, and she is barely more than a third the size of her siblings. They all al be ready to breed size wise next season, the way she's going it may be her 4th before I can attempt with her. I would try backing the feeding attempts on any who aren't eating down to very couple weeks, or even once a month. So long as thy aren't losing a ton of weight, they're just being stubborn, so you have to be more so. Hang in there, it does get better eventually. Like when that first head pokes out of an egg you finally managed to produce. Or even just getting those eggs.

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I am having no more fun in the hobby anymore especially because they wont eat no matter what i try and i don't get to hold them, hell i dont even get to look at them as they are in tubs and opening the tubs would disturb them (ofc i have opened the tubs, to clean/fresh water/ get temps with temp gun)

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It sounds like you're worried about getting your BP's up to size for breeding, but what you really want from the hobby is a breedable pet. Unfortunately most BP's do well at one or the other. I found that I enjoy mine more when I stop worrying about the breeding aspect and focus more on the keeping side.

So, your collection has decided - much to your chagrin - that now would be a good time to join Jenny Craig and drop those winter pounds so they'll look good in a bikini this summer. They're telling you they're not hungry. Fine. Feed them less often, and/or feed them smaller meals. Most snakes in captivity are overfed. If it means that your females take a few extra months before they're at breeding weight, so be it. They'll go on their timeline, not yours.

Our Ginger didn't eat a thing for 5 months! She ate her f/t mice and then rats religiously every weekend. Then, nothing..... Offered her a f/t every 3 weeks - wouldn't eat it.

I finally decided to feed her live and now she can't get enough. I put the cardboard container with the mousies inside to tempt her appetite before I feed them to her. Ha! She broke in to the container and started munching on mice when I left the room for several minutes!




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One more quick thought......if a BP really is on a fast, then they won't eat frozen or live. Given that you have a few snakes, implementing live might not be a bad idea. It's harder for us because we only have our one precious girl, and have to get her supper at PetCo every week since breeding rats isn't a good option.


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hey,

last night i had a small victory,

my normal ph. Hypo female finaly ate, she is already with me for about 5 weeks and she wouldnt eat, the guy i got her from told me she only eats live rats so that is what i had been trying. But this little girl is a very stressy animal as soon i open the tub she balls up or gets really tense and every time the rat came close to her she freaked out so last week i thought lets throw in a f/t rat and leave it there over night, next morning the rat was still there right where i left it. So last night i threw in a live one again when i noticed a couple of the other tubs where Messy so i started cleaning those and after a while i heard a sound that made me very happy, i heard a dull bang (against the side of the tub) and some sqeeking right after, and i knew she grabbel the rat i was so happy! After an hour i finaly dared to open the tub and she ate it :D

what i did realise though is that i left the rat in with her for about 25 minutes before she took it where i normally take it out after 5 to 10 minutes max. So i guess the trick with this stressy female is to give her more time to actually get from tensed and balled up to feeding mode;)

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Originally Posted by ARBallMorphs

hmm....

maybe i should have a talk with the one offering that 13 female haha

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Hey chief , it sounds and looks like you have a lot of experience and you should just weather this storm. Maybe you do need a bit of a change in your collection but don't let a few non feeding bp's drive you crazy. We all are going through the picky feeders. It comes with the territory. You know that! Get happy and monitor your husbandry and make sure no one is sick. Then, keep it moving. We need your expertise! Stay in peace and not pieces. :gj: Remember, these are snakes. They are made to go long periods of time without food. That is one of the benefits of having them as pets. Or breeders or both.

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Hey chief , it sounds and looks like you have a lot of experience and you should just weather this storm. Maybe you do need a bit of a change in your collection but don't let a few non feeding bp's drive you crazy. We all are going through the picky feeders. It comes with the territory. You know that! Get happy and monitor your husbandry and make sure no one is sick. Then, keep it moving. We need your expertise! Stay in peace and not pieces. :gj: Remember, these are snakes. They are made to go long periods of time without food. That is one of the benefits of having them as pets. Or breeders or both.

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Haha, true

and thanks!

Woo had a small victory tonight too! my vanilla cream finally took a live small rat, hopefully it continues I really want her to get to weight for next year. The rest of the group was so so some ate some didn't the normal feeding day