4 month old ball python not eating

Hello everyone, first post here. After finishing seems it was longer than I expected but wanted to give a detailed explanation about the situation so please bear with me and thanks in advance for taking the time to read!

I'm having an issue with my new 4 month old pastel ball python not wanting to eat. I have him in a 30cm by 25cm by 16cm tall tub with one hide on the hot end and a water dish on the cold end. As far as humidity goes, I'm from Costa Rica and humidity here doesn't go lower than 60% and inside the tub is between 60%-75% mesured by an exoterra analog hygrometer. Temp on hot end is 30-31°C I'm mesuring with a zoomed infrarred thermometer and newspaper for bedding. I got him november 29 and was told by the breeder he had eaten exactly a week before that day so to wait two days and offer food. I offered him a f/t weaned mouse last saturday whixh was 3 days after but he had no interest whatsoever in it. Had more interest in climbing up my hand to get out than to eat the mouse. He was very active which I took as a sign of hunger but seemed he was not used to his enclosure yet so I decided to give him time. I gave him the whole week with no handling or anythong other than providing water. He started using his hide more during the day and exploring on nights although he seems to always be afraid since his breathing is heavy and fast, even shaking sometimes by his breathing. He seemed calmer for the last few days, spending more time in his hide which was a good sign as I thought. Tried today with a live weaned this time and no luck. At first I just drooped the mouse in but after 15 min he didn't come out his hide so I took it off. When he saw the mouse at first he was terrified the breathing was even heavier, he was almost jumping with his breathing. Then he calmed down and he did go an smell it a couple of times but as soon as the mouse moved or turned to him he would get away. After an hour and a half of supervising I took the mouse out and check for RI sings but didn't have any. No bubble or mucus on lips or sides when pilling down on them and inside looks great as well, light pink color and no mucus or bubbles so as far as health he's great. He was veri active when i chose him and no signs of dehydration or anything. Was just a little bit thinner and smaller than his normal brothers but other than that just great. He's 72.6g and haven't measured him

He's not my first snake. I have a 5 months old aberrant BCI which I have had for a month and a half now from the same breeder and he's doing great. Ate the very next day he came and every week ever since other than a week he was in shed and did shed perfectly

I don't know what could be wrong with the python or my set up as for what I have researched and read everything seems on point. Even now he's chilling in his hide which i put back since he didn't eat.

I have done lots of research both for months before getting any snake and since I got them as well and my research was focused on ball pythons as it was what I wanted at first. I did have one before the boa but it died since it had some health issues that for my inexperience I didn't notixe when i got him and after fighting for over a month and even resurrecting her once she didn't make it. Then I got the boa as it was what was available at the time (snakes are very hard to legally acquire here for pets due to laws and regulations, only one legal breeder in the country) and took a preventine reptile medicine course to be better prepeared to tace care of them

Any Ideas on what could be wrong or what I could do to get him to eat? Any input will be greatly appreciated!

Okay so I'm typing this as I'm reading, first of all 60-75% is too high humidity needs to be 50-60% but if you are measuring it with an analog hydrometer than there's no way to tell if that's accurate. You need to get a digital hygrometer soon because the analog ones are crazy inaccurate. You also need to provide a hiding spot for the cold side, not just the hot side. What is your cool side temps? I am a little concerned about this "shaking" while he's breathing, and the heavy breathing, though I don't know what could cause that, even when my bp has been scared he's never had heavy breathing (at least I haven't noticed any). What do you mean by a weaned mouse? A hopper? A fuzzy? You might have to wait him out but if he continues to go without food for longer than a month and a half I might try assist feeding.


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Thanks for replying!

As far as humidity goes I'm not that concerned about it as I have read in several sources that even 80% is good and a local vet, not to say the only one but the most recognized and credible in reptiles here who works at a snake venom research facility taking care of those animals and also helped me with the first python even recommends 80-90% due to our country's conditions and snakes tend to do better that way but i still try to keep it lower than that. I don't mist the tub. Just the water dish and that's it. Same as the boa which is doing great, 100% healthy, full shed and has similar requirements.

The second hide is something I've had in mind and might try if after another week he doesn't eat although might be hard to fit in that size tub.

By weaned mouse might be what's called a hopper. Next step from a fuzzy. Just when the mouse stops nursing. And cold side temp is ambient between 22-24°C.

Also, the tub is not in a rack and it is clear. I would post pictures and a video to show the breathing but I'm not able to post attatchemnts. Maybe because I'm new here or something like that

I could be completely wide of the mark here but I'm wondering if he's just too warm and that climbing your hand is just his way of getting out to find somewhere cooler !?!
Now I'm Aspergers & dyslexic so it's quite a struggle to read through so many solid blocks of text so I've scanned the main points that jumped out at me .. if your dimensions are correct the snake is in a tub measuring 12 " x 10" x 6" which is far too small for a Royal in my opinion . That's about the size of an ice cream tub and I don't see how he can have a suitable heat gradient in something that small tbh ..

I have no idea what that gadget is you're using to read temps !? Is that another name for a digital temperature gun ?

So moving on .. it's generally accepted that Royals need two identical hides - one one warm area the other in the cool side ... you say it's due to the size of the container which again raises the issue of the tub being too small .

Now you mention a temp for the warm side but then give an ambient temp for cool side .... trouble with taking an ambient temp for the cool side is that the surface temp will presumably be a lot higher thanks the ambient temp so that is also an issue to my mind . Apart from anything else I think the poor little fella is just too warm to be honest - just for starters .. hense the heavy breathing and not feeding .

Apologies if I've misread or misunderstood something ...



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Originally Posted by OneEyedFox

Okay so I'm typing this as I'm reading, first of all 60-75% is too high humidity needs to be 50-60%


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I have to disagree with humidity. 60-75% sounds perfectly fine (especially for shedding) as long as the cage is sanitary. In some of their natural environments such as Ghana humidity is sometimes as high as 90% so I hardly see 75% in the realm of "too high". I don't think it's an issue unless cleaning isn't regularily maintained, substrate is over saturated and there is visible condensation. I'd say 75% is a good cap.

I can't post pictures or maybe I just don't know how but I did use this thread for refference:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101

There is a pic of the recommended set up. The tub is larger than the one shown there ans the hide I use is very similar in dimensions. It is a dark green plastic small container that's mostly used for food that i just cut a hole in and placed upside down. I was never used for food as it was where I was given the snake to bring him home

I do measure the cool end through the day and it's 21-24°C being the lowest at the early morning

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Originally Posted by luisg877

I can't post pictures or maybe I just don't know how but I did use this thread for refference:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101

There is a pic of the recommended set up. The tub is larger than the one shown there ans the hide I use is very similar in dimensions. It is a dark green plastic small container that's mostly used for food that i just cut a hole in and placed upside down. I was never used for food as it was where I was given the snake to bring him home

I do measure the cool end through the day and it's 21-24°C being the lowest at the early morning

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Isn't the tub you're using 12" X 10" X 6" ??

I just don't see how you can provide a safe heat gradient in something that small .... It's ok as a temp housing for a hatchling Corn snake as they're smaller and pretty much bomb proof but Royals/Balls are a different challenge altogether at that age ..

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Well the UDH is very small. It's 10x12.5cm or 4'x5' and it's also not in direct contact with the tub's bottom, the tub is lifted up a bit, about 2cm so it's really just a small part that really is at 30°C, measuring temp around 5cm from the hotspot starts to drop and around half of the tub towards the cool end it's already the cool temp.

This is what I use to read temp

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0053...RXL&ref=plSrch

Something I forgot to mention is that my boa was in the same tub and conditions for a few weeks and he fed and everything without a problem even the very next day after getting him. But I do understand ball pythons are more timid.

Yep ... Royals : Balls play to their own set of rules sadly .

When you get a good feeder though they are possibly the perfect snake tbh


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I had to clean the tub as he made a mess with the water by going in an out several times so had to change the newspaper and I weighted him given I had to take him out. Nov 29 when he arrived he was 72.6g and today he was 70.0g. He looks a bit thin. Is that weight loss at that age something to start worrying about? I'll offer again tomorrow and see what happens

A photo or two would be useful .. use the free app TapaTalk for uploading photos easily


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Originally Posted by luisg877

I had to clean the tub as he made a mess with the water by going in an out several times so had to change the newspaper and I weighted him given I had to take him out. Nov 29 when he arrived he was 72.6g and today he was 70.0g. He looks a bit thin. Is that weight loss at that age something to start worrying about? I'll offer again tomorrow and see what happens

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It is healthy and normal for royal pythons to grow rapidly in their youth. I would guess something is wrong.

I don’t see anything too terribley wrong with your setup, humidity is fine, they actually do quite well at higher humidity as long as you keep things clean. The size is fine at this age, usually when they are this small, you can keep them in something very small and it acts similar to a hide itself, ex: breeder racks never have hides in them and can be quite small tubs for new hatchlings and they do very well in these setups. The issue is having a gradient in such a small area can be challenging. What works well for me is keeping the ambient temp a touch on the cooler side, like 73-75 degrees and then the uth should only be on a small area at the far side of the enclosure at 90. They can regulate their temp then as long as the enclosure is large enough for them to fit on one side completely off the uth.

With all that said, I’m not entirely sure it’s your setup causing him not to eat unless the ambient is too hot which I didn’t see. But it could just be he is still stressed or just doesn’t like what has been offered enough to start feeding again. Do you know what it was eating previously? If your trying to feed f/t, you may just need to try a live hopper mouse. Sometimes they just need that movement to get them interested enough to strike and then they usually get back on track. Continue with live then for at least a few meals until it gets to a healthy weight and then you can try switching back to f/t.

Thanks for the tips. He was feeding on hopper mice. Was told he ate both live and f/t. I had offered a live hopper last week but it scared him and even tried to bite him once. Will try a fuzzy instead or something that won't try to bite him.

Thanks for the idea of using tapatalk. Here are some pics.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...74992f2014.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4dbbefddc4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...25e9796295.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...61a733098a.jpg

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I also did a change regarding ventilation. The tub had a few big holes I drilled and worked fine when the boa was there but this guy was trying to push his nose through so I closed them from thebinside using adhesive plastic and used a small soldering iron to open up several holes both on the lid, top and mid section and believe it or not since I did that he seems calmer.

Great news! He finally ate a 12.5g rat fuzzy and a 3.5g mouse pinky I had gotten just in case I had to assist feed him in a few weeks since after the fuzzy he was all around the tub looking for morehttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3efa79cb3c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d1c45e0e55.jpg

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Only concern is that he could eventually get stuck to the adhesive if its inside the tub. Snakes are notorious for peeling tape off things and getting stuck to it

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Originally Posted by Starscream

Only concern is that he could eventually get stuck to the adhesive if its inside the tub. Snakes are notorious for peeling tape off things and getting stuck to it

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Yeah, it is on the inside. However I did round them up pretty good not to leave any pointy edges that would be easily peeled off. Still, will be part of my regular inspection to make sure they are not coming off and replace if necessary.

Also this is a temporary set up just until the little fella gets bigger. I do plan on getting him a decent terrarium but didn't want to spend twice on one as getting a big one right away could have also contributed to stress and no eating as a baby.

That’s great he ate for you!
Looking at your setup, the one thing that stands out to me is it’s too open and that could definitely be stressing him out and taking him longer to settle in. I would cover three sides, you can leave one open for viewing, it will help him feel more secure and more likely to eat regularly.

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Originally Posted by rufretic

That’s great he ate for you!
Looking at your setup, the one thing that stands out to me is it’s too open and that could definitely be stressing him out and taking him longer to settle in. I would cover three sides, you can leave one open for viewing, it will help him feel more secure and more likely to eat regularly.

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Concur. Definitely too exposed. Cover some of the sides, and provide more hides/cover.

Great news that he's had food !!!

As they said above but I MUST STRESS that any tape in a viv or rub is a NO NO !!

I'd remove it IMMEDIATELY- use BluTac or better still a hot glue gun .

Snakes slither repeatedly when they're active and it's not a case of if but WHEN and then it's probably too late .

Check online and google snakes injured by tape .


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Thanks for all the comments. I was so happy when he ate that I almost jumped off my chair. Not wanting to disturb him held me back though. Will get into changing thebway the holes are blocked

BUT! Now another concern has rised. I took him out to check he was looking good and I noticed his belly is swollen and you can even see like a dent on the vent.

I did get him in barely warm water (26°C) for around 20-30min and lightly massaged his belly as recommended by a friend and also read on several places.

However he didn't poop (which makes sense if he hadn't eaten for 3 weeks before). Just two small bubbles of gas came out and swelling decreased a bit.

When massaging him there was nothing solid or solidified urates that can happen by dehydration but he's fine regarding that. I could even take a picture of him drinking today. Still seems he's accumulating gas for some reason.

I'm already considering taking him to the vet but want to know if it's something common with an easy fix. Any Ideas?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b24bf0f19a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c7c9fefc73.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...72238186c5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...909c51bd0f.jpg

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