Won't eat update

This is an update to this post:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...eding-question

seperated "Cheapy " and "pricey" Saturday. Offered
them a meal last night and as usual Cheapy ate but pricey showed no interest. Since they are now in separate enclosures I was able to leave the mouse in the enclosure overnight and sure enough it was gone this morning. What a relief. The mice are f/t.

Thanks for for all of the advice given regarding this.

Dean

Well he hasn't eaten since and I have even downsized his enclosure to a 10 gallon aquarium which is wrapped all around for seclusion. 90 degree belly heat and 80 on the cool side with humidity right now at 42%. He is active at night while staying in his cool hide during the day. Trying to feed f/t small adult 15g mouse which has been heated under a CHE to 100 degrees before offering. Once refused I leave the mouse in the enclosure overnight just to throw it away the next morning. Weight loss doesn't seem to be an issue at this point. Any ideas or should I just be patient and offer a meal every 5 days or so and outlast him?

Ten gallons is still very large for such a little snake. An enclosure half that size would be the outer limit on size, unless it's utterly crammed with filler to take up the space - and then you'd never be able to find your snake under it all! Mine are in 16 quart enclosures, and for my little guy, about 150 grams now, I still have to clutter it up quite a bit for him to feel secure at all. My largest female, who weighed in at 644g last night (pooped yesterday, but still just ate, so she's not really that heavy) is in the same size enclosure, and still isn't comfortable without a secure hide to cram herself into.

Note - 16 quart = 4 gallons.

So you think this is too large? Large enough to cause the refusals?
he was under a hide which I removed for the picture.

[IMG]http://i949.photobucket.com/albums/a...E48272AFD4.jpg[/IMG]

Add a couple more hides.

Some fake vines might work.

Too big. Get a bin half that size. Get the hummidty fixed, 42 is too low.

That thing is fine in size. I had my 90g 12" worm in a 40g breeder and she did fine. The key is you need to clutter the cage up. In your case, throw another hide on the side she is sitting on now, throw in a couple paper towel tubes and hang up some silk vines you can get from craft stores like Michaels. Having hides isn't the only thing, you need to make them feel secure when they move from warm to cool hides. They need stuff inbetween.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Terminal

90 degree belly heat and 80 on the cool side with humidity right now at 42%.

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Where are you getting your readings from? Is it from the very bottom under the substrate by probe? The reason I ask is because I have only ever used two hygro/thermo meters at the top of either side of my tank and most times my humidity is reading between 30%-35%, higher during a shed as i mist more often. I have never seen any signs of any respiratory problems at that reading and each shed he goes through is one full piece, like a balled up sock. Thats just relative humidity though. I personally find it easier to go by the clumping substrate rule of thumb. Basically just keep your substrate moist enough that if you squeeze it, its able to hold its shape but not leak a whole bunch of water. Also you could try setting his/her water dish on the warm side of his tank to increase humidity.


You will definitely want more objects such as silk vines/plants, fake stone objects such as pillars or outcrops. If you would like I can try to get a picture of my tank setup for you to see, possibly give you some ideas as to what you can do to change the layout of your tank a bit. I have only had my BP reject a feeding once and that was only because the feeder had gotten some freezer-burn.

The other thing you could try is live food (if you haven't already), it may trigger that feeding response better than the F/T. If you do try this though, NEVER leave your snake unattended with live food as it could result in injury or even death for your snake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

That thing is fine in size. I had my 90g 12" worm in a 40g breeder and she did fine. The key is you need to clutter the cage up. In your case, throw another hide on the side she is sitting on now, throw in a couple paper towel tubes and hang up some silk vines you can get from craft stores like Michaels. Having hides isn't the only thing, you need to make them feel secure when they move from warm to cool hides. They need stuff inbetween.

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Good point! But it can go anywhich way with balls. I had a banana ball,won't eat for months. No more than ,,300 grams. Moved to 28 qt for cleaning and offer food....solid eater from then on. 1" of aspen to bury in is sufficient. Add your decor and hides and you should be ok

D- I don't keep BPs anymore, and every snake is different, but I don't think the enclosure is the issue. A little more clutter would be cool but I don't know if that's what's causing him not to eat. I don't believe your ambient humidity is a problem either but you may want to boost it when he sheds. You said you have 2 hides and the temps are dialed in. Maybe he's just a slow starter or perhaps he's just doing what BPs do :). I'd try a small live feeder and see if he takes that. If he refuses I'd keep offering food every 7-10 days until he catches on. The hunger always wins in the end regardless of whether the animal is in a 1 gallon or 1000 gallon tank. I haven't seen a healthy snake starve itself to death yet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sensei345

Where are you getting your readings from? Is it from the very bottom under the substrate by probe? The reason I ask is because I have only ever used two hygro/thermo meters at the top of either side of my tank and most times my humidity is reading between 30%-35%, higher during a shed as i mist more often. I have never seen any signs of any respiratory problems at that reading and each shed he goes through is one full piece, like a balled up sock. Thats just relative humidity though. I personally find it easier to go by the clumping substrate rule of thumb. Basically just keep your substrate moist enough that if you squeeze it, its able to hold its shape but not leak a whole bunch of water. Also you could try setting his/her water dish on the warm side of his tank to increase humidity.


You will definitely want more objects such as silk vines/plants, fake stone objects such as pillars or outcrops. If you would like I can try to get a picture of my tank setup for you to see, possibly give you some ideas as to what you can do to change the layout of your tank a bit. I have only had my BP reject a feeding once and that was only because the feeder had gotten some freezer-burn.

The other thing you could try is live food (if you haven't already), it may trigger that feeding response better than the F/T. If you do try this though, NEVER leave your snake unattended with live food as it could result in injury or even death for your snake.

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the readings are from the acurite digital thermometer seen in the picture and the readings on the temperatures are what the herpstat is set for. I live in Laporte tx so low humidity won't be a problem.
Back to the temperature readings, everyone hails a infared thermometer as the holy grail for temp readings but unless you spend som money on one of the high end models their accuracy is + or - 4 degrees f. That's no good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

D- I don't keep BPs anymore, and every snake is different, but I don't think the enclosure is the issue. A little more clutter would be cool but I don't know if that's what's causing him not to eat. I don't believe your ambient humidity is a problem either but you may want to boost it when he sheds. You said you have 2 hides and the temps are dialed in. Maybe he's just a slow starter or perhaps he's just doing what BPs do :). I'd try a small live feeder and see if he takes that. If he refuses I'd keep offering food every 7-10 days until he catches on. The hunger always wins in the end regardless of whether the animal is in a 1 gallon or 1000 gallon tank. I haven't seen a healthy snake starve itself to death yet.

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Im with you ziggy. I think eventually he will eat the f/t offering, after all he has taken one during all of this and I really hate to give into offering live if I don't plan on continuing with that.
On a side note, shag completed his shed last night and also consumed a rat pup. This is the first rat I have ever fed anything. Sadly Edith refused a fuzzy mouse even though she seemed quite interested in it but I'm not too worried because she has only been with me since Wednesday.