I need advice and help.

Hi. I have a brand new BP I'm very fond of but according to the feed sheet I received from the pet store it hadent eaten the week previous to me getting it and it hasn't eaten in the two weeks I've had it.

I am fanatical about insuring the best possible climate for the BP and during the day its normally a nice 88-96 on the warm end and 80 to 86 on the cooler end.

Every time I try to feed it, it recoil from the offered food. I've been doing a ton of reading and I have a sneaky suspicion that it may be somewhat dehydrated but I'm careful to change the water at least every other day and I'm careful that the humidity is at least 50. He is only just over 50 grams and is certainly a juvenile. Is my snake sick? Please help me!

I will post pictures in just a moment.

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Originally Posted by Absorbentgene

Hi. I have a brand new BP I'm very fond of but according to the feed sheet I received from the pet store it hadent eaten the week previous to me getting it and it hasn't eaten in the two weeks I've had it.

I am fanatical about insuring the best possible climate for the BP and during the day its normally a nice 88-96 on the warm end and 80 to 86 on the cooler end.

Every time I try to feed it, it recoil from the offered food. I've been doing a ton of reading and I have a sneaky suspicion that it may be somewhat dehydrated but I'm careful to change the water at least every other day and I'm careful that the humidity is at least 50. He is only just over 50 grams and is certainly a juvenile. Is my snake sick? Please help me!

I will post pictures in just a moment.

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96 on the hot end seems high.

It could be a number of things. Posting a pic so we can see how the tank is set up could help us get things straight.

Also telling us how you are preparing and then presenting the feeders could help us see any issues with that.

Knowing those things would get us up and running.

First, relax.

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There finally have the pictures... As for the feeding, I have fuzzies for it, that I typically take out of the freezer the previous night, let it thaw in the fridge through the day, and put them into a glass of warm water (Just warm from the tap) and once it's all thawed out and decent temperature, I move the snake over to a small cardboard box and dangle it in front by it's tail using a pair of tweezers.

There is no need to move it. All it does is add stress.

Thawing like that is fine but it needs to be hot when presented to the snake. I accomplish this by using water as hot as it will come out of the tap.

A mouse body temp is just over 100F and the feeder need to reflect near the same.

I cant really see the tank pic. Its dark and my tablet hates photobucket's site.


Just from what you have said it seems the feeder is not hot enough.

When the snakes has refused what did you do with the feeder? Any time I thawed one and it was refused I would only refreeze it if it had only been out an hour or so. Any longer and Ill feed it to another snake or toss it. I will only refreeze once as well.

Are we talking about a mouse fuzzy ? If so, that is to small of a meal.

Granted, this snake is SKINNY. But if it had its normal girth, it could easily eat a small adult mouse.

I would offer a rat fuzzy. Also, do NOT move the snake out of the cage to feed. Best if its actually in its hide and you hold the fuzz right at the opening of the hide...move it around a bit, put its head in the hide. If the snake don't go for it, leave the fuzz laying half way in the hide and LEAVE IT. Move away. It might just eat once everything is dark and quiet (aka safe)

That snake seems majorly stressed. You might have to try a live fuzz. Only try every 3 days or so. I would say a week in between, but that snake desperately needs some food.

If NOTHING works, a visit to the vet might be in order to check for internal parasites etc. Assist feeding "may" need to be attempted. But that should be very last ditch effort and only done by someone experienced. Also, only after internal parasites have been ruled out and the husbandry double and tripple checked.

Good luck. Once he/she starts eating, they pack the weight on fast !

If you do want to try frozen thawed again, here is a trick...has worked for me every time. Thaw out in cold water. Should only take an hour at the most, at the size of that rodent. Then use hot water for 5 minutes. Pour out and use fresh hot water for another 5 minutes. When I say hot, I mean hot but not boiling...you don't want to cook the fuzz. Do the "hot/5 minutes" 3 times in a row, then rub the fuzz dry and immediately stick its head into the hide where the snake is. It has to feel VERY warm to the touch. If yours were wet and only lukewarm, they were actually cold by the time they are presented to the snake. Again, if not taken immediately, leave it and walk away and check in the morning !

I would typically refreeze it once and try to feed it again. I don't think warming it up is an issue. I'm using the hottest tap water possible, and I've actually boiled water and then left the fuzzy in it afterwards, letting it cool off with the water. I've tried heating it up, leaving it next to the heatlamp and letting that heat it up...

To hot of water and re-using can actually speed up cell degeneration, "spoil" it. We might not actually realize it yet, but the snake does.

If you do not think the heat is the issue, then the factor that you take the snake out of its enclosure might very well be the problem. He feels exposed and unsafe. Try waiting till the Ball is in its hide and presenting the food by sticking its head into the hide.

Try live.

Again, are they mouse fuzzies ? if so, try rat fuzzies or at least mouse hoppers.

Yeah they're mouse fuzzies not rats. I haven't tried feeding it within it's own tank. I want to try to avoid using live as well. supposedly it was fed using thawed fuzzies prior to my acquisition of it.

If the water actually comes to a boil that is much too hot. Boiled water starts cooking meat. This can also occur being under a heat lamp. If the meat of the feeder gets cooked your snake will not be able to digest it correctly.

As Zina10 said your snake may know something it not right with a feeder if it has started to spoil. Thawing and leaving it out all day and then heating gives the feeder plenty of time to start the break down of the feeder.

I thaw all of my rats at one time in a small tub. These are feeders from small rats to XXL rats. I add how water to start the thaw. In 45mins to an hour I refresh the water with fresh hot water. At this point most all the feeders are ready but the XXL usually needs a bit more. After that second time I give it another 45mins or so and then again change the water to make it hot again. I then go feed. I carry the tub with the rats and some hot water into the snake room and feed straight from the tub.

Your small feeders would take no time at all to thaw and then warm.

I wouldn't trust that petstores word on anything when it comes to that snake eating.

It looks like it hasn't eaten in a long while...

I know you don't want to feed live food. I don't either. But sometimes, just to get one started, you have to. You have to do whatever it takes. That includes a possible vet visit.

However, for now...try some of the other tricks. I feed frozen/thawed just like KMG. The only difference, I "dry" the rats off a bit. Well...I don't actually dry them. I have a few "rat" towels (only used for that purpose) I put the hot/wet rats in the towel, roll them up and by the time I'm in the reptile room and unroll the towel, the rats are mostly dry. I like it that way because my snakes are on substrate, and this way less substrate sticks to the rats. I only have 6 to feed, though, so its not to much trouble.

Try a nice fresh frozen thawed one. Defrost it quickly using cold water, then the hot water (NOT boiling) a couple times...and def. try the holding the fuzz's head into the hide. Or leaving it if no strike. If you can, get a rat fuzz, too. Mice fuzzies are seriously tiny and I find that snakes have a harder time moving something tiny down their throat, as they cannot "walk" their teeth along it.

If none of that works, though...time to move it up to live or vet visit...

Good luck :)

Most of my snakes are on substrate as well. I used to dry the rats off a bit but over time I found the rats didn't really pick up much substrate and now feed them after letting the water drip off briefly before offering them. I think what usually happens is when my snake strikes the rat they quickly wrap them up and squeeze the water off of them. By the time they start eating the rats have had most of the water squeezed off.


How often have you been offering food? Trying often can add to stress and turn them off even more. I always stuck to the regular feeding schedule.

i have a 55 gallon aquarium that is 36 by 18 by 24 tall but I'm trying to figure out the heat bulb watt size and a heating pad for heat before i get anything any ideas

i have a 55 gallon aquarium that is 36 by 18 by 24 tall but I'm trying to figure out the heat bulb watt size and a heating pad for heat before i get anything any ideas it would really help looking into a bp and need to know something to setup

I would lower the hot side as it seems a bit high. I don't like saying this as it can be hard to know for sure that nothing is medically wrong, but I usually don't worry about a Ball Python not eating especially right after acquiring it. They can be picky anyways and adding the stress from the move can make it worse. Just monitor the snake and make sure it isn't losing weight. If it is then consult a reptile veterinarian. Continue to offer feed on a routine basis whether it eats or not.

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