Ball python not eating

Hi guys, I've had my BP for about 5 weeks now and I've tried multiple times to try and convert him from live to frozen thawed. But no luck so far, I tried exposing the brain or blood and also tried leaving it in the cage for 1 day but still no luck. Seems like I've got a picky eater on my hands. Maybe he's still a bit stressed or uneasy.

Any suggestions or tips?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Is it because he's flighting during his "fight or flight"? Does he show no interest at all, or run away? Do you hold the prey?

Sent from my SM-G920R4 using Tapatalk

You can:

Mess around with temps. We have some snakes who will take a F/T without warming it and others who need it to a specific degree

Feeding under a red light. Then you can see the snake and prey but the snake (a nocturnal hunter) is closer to its instinctual hunting pattern

Don't offer for 2 feeds. Refusal can become a pattern.

Those are our 3 most successful methods!

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

I hold the rat with tongs and try to mimic a live one. He just looks at it and then ignores it

Sent from my SM-T815 using Tapatalk

Do you guys suggest trying a live one or not

I don't like the idea because of the disastrous effects that could happen like the death of a snake but I am willing to try

Sent from my SM-T815 using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by William Snakespeare

Do you guys suggest trying a live one or not

I don't like the idea because of the disastrous effects that could happen like the death of a snake but I am willing to try

Sent from my SM-T815 using Tapatalk

---

did you correct the husbandry issues we covered in your last post?

did you get a thermostat and are your temps regulated? this is most likely a husbandry issue and you need to correct your husbandry before trying anything else.

Not yet, the guy that sells thermostats is out of stock but that is right at the top of my list right now. I am now checking the temps regularly

Sent from my SM-T815 using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

I am now checking the temps regularly

---

That is usually what people with animals suffering from a burn will say, if you do not have a way to control your temps you MUST unplug your UTH. A temporary solution is a lamp dimer from lowes or home depot and that can be bought TODAY.

If you do not provide proper husbandry and the animal has never ate for you, you will not make progress any time soon.

Husbandry is VERY important and with an animal that ate live for most of it's life switching will not happen overnight, it may not even happen.

Your best chance is before converting him is to have him eat for you, a well established animal will switch better than one that is not so I always recommend to feed the same prey as previously offered 5 consecutive times before switching. Switching can take MONTHS just like getting an adult to eat for you for the first time can take months as they can take longer to adjust.

Quote:

---

I don't like the idea because of the disastrous effects that could happen like the death of a snake but I am willing to try

---

Based on whose experience, graphic pictures no depicting responsible live feeding that are floated around to scare people off without educating them?

I have been feeding well over 25000 live preys over the last 10+ years without issue, the key is to be educated on the subject and feed responsibly. Feeding should be done based on the size of that 3 YO, knowing that a male even the largest one in the 1500 grams range does not need anything larger than a 75 grams rat.

Keys for live feeding

Never feed an over sized prey

Pre-scent the room by leaving the feeder near the enclosure

Feed and hydrate the feeder prior to being fed off

Do not stress, or stun the feeder

Open the enclosure, drop the feeder, supervise feeding and remove after 20 min if uneaten.

If your husbandry is off then definitley wait before switching. Where I live F/T is the ONLY option. So when we get snakes flown in that require a switch we do it. There cannot be a never for us. If the snake won't switch it will die. So far we haven't had a snake that won't switch. We have even gotten our babies to start live on F/T....not an easy feat!! But no switch should happen if your temps are off. If the guy who sells thermostats is unavailable Amazon will have something and be here in 2 days with Prime.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

Great info, thanks guys. Good news I got the temperatures regulated with thermostat, now the feeding part.

Sent from my SM-T815 using Tapatalk

Pythons are tough, they are evolved to kill rodents and other small animals. As long as you don't leave the rodent in the tank over night, there is very little chance of your snake getting harmed. IF THE SNAKE IS HUNGRY AND STRIKES, HE WILL WIN 99% OF THE TIME! I only had one injury ever, and it was from a rather large rat. My python got a bad bite, he usually bites the face, but he only got one leg in his mouth, and the rat scratched like crazy and scratched a scale off his head. The scratched scale healed back within a week. You can't even see the scar. All the other 100 times I fed him, he killed the rat super quick.
It was my fault for feeding a medium live rat to a subadult ball, that he got scratched. Yet he did kill it and eat it, like many other medium rats. I since have switched to only small rats or less when I feed live. Medium and large rats have bigger claws and teeth!:O A rat pup or younger is harmless.

Thanks for the tip!

Sent from my SM-T815 using Tapatalk

I'm a recent owner of a BP who was rehomded to me, he's 4.

I've been feeding him live as his previous owners did, and am in the same boat as you. I am going to attempt to switch him over, but currently I am just allowing him to get comfortable in his new home before attempting. Have you tried feeding live? And i agree you can buy the jumpstart thermostat for about 20$ and it works quite well (although it isn't necessarily meant for snake temps) but many use it including me and it works very well. Just make sure to have a temp gun and if possible just another general temp to monitor the heat because the jumpstart (and other cheap thermos) aren't the most accurate. I have mine set at 82 because all of my other temp monitoring shows that it's really about 89-90 when the jumpstart shows that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a thermostat keeping the cold side at about 25 and the hot end at 31

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

I have tried to feed live but he ignored it, the previous owner fed black live rats so that's what I'm going to try next

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

You may also try feeding a large adult mouse. I feed fresh killed euthanized with C02 and in most cases they will all eat jumbo mice (but I try to get them on bigger rats for faster growth). I usually try larger rats first and some won't eat, but I follow with mice and they usually will eat it.

Also, I currently have three 2 year old ball pythons that are on a fast going on several months that are in the 1000 - 1200 gram range. The more I read the more it seems that a several month fast each year is pretty much normal for adults and not to freak out. I didn't breed them this year so I'm guessing they went into breeding mode. I never feed live, I used to worry about them not eating but if your conditions are right they will all eventually go back on food. I use an ARS rack with 82F ambient and 90F hot spot with coconut husk chip substrate for my ball pythons. I even convert my live feeders by offering fresh killed every week, sometimes it will take a couple months before they eat but it works out in the end.

I actually breed my own rodents in an ARS rat breeder rack and an ARS mouse breeder rack. After I gas with CO2 I attempt to feed them off. If they don't get eaten I freeze them and sell them to other local breeders that feed frozen thawed. I never waste a single rodent. Also, I never force a snake to eat. I dangle the rodent and move him around for about 30 seconds max and then give up and go to the next snake. I don't even worry about it anymore. Most of my snakes will eat once or twice a week. If they take mice I may feed two or three in one sitting or do a second feeding mid week.

I think no need to switch him to frozen unless live rats not available for sale where you live, or for other personal reasons like finding frozen cheaper. If he is eating live and happy why to switch him?

Easier instead of having to drive and keep the rats. Having to catch the rat if he won't accept it. Plus he only eats live black rats so what if they weren't availible?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk