what percentage of ball pythons never eat

my girls is stressing me out .never had a pet b4 that wont eat .im hopeing once she gets hungry enough she will eat

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Originally Posted by motorcyclecowboy

my girls is stressing me out .never had a pet b4 that wont eat .im hopeing once she gets hungry enough she will eat

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How old is she? How long since her last meal?

I’m a newbie but everything i’ve read is that BP’s are notorious for going off food, for weeks and often months. I’ve even heard of an adult going 9 months off food, only losing a few grams of weight.

My new BEL refused his first rat i offered.


-Jason

Well, interesting question. I'd suppose the answer is 0%, of the ones that are living.

Not a question that anyone can answer. Snakes don't exactly fill out surveys, you know? A small percentage of all kinds of snakes may fail to thrive, but
with ball pythons, it's most often due to improper husbandry by owner. That includes caging mistakes & excess handling, even offering the wrong prey or
prey size.

Meanwhile, making sure that you're following recommended guidelines here will help keep you & yours out of that category.

The way snakes are portrayed in movies [especially horror movies] makes you think they are ravenous psycho-beasts, but in reality most ball pythons are more
like Steve Urkel. :rolleyes: (for you youngsters, he was the super-nerd on tv show "Family Matters")

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Originally Posted by bogertophis

not a question that anyone can answer. Snakes don't exactly fill out surveys, you know? A small percentage of all kinds of snakes may fail to thrive, but
with ball pythons, it's most often due to improper husbandry by owner. That includes caging mistakes & excess handling, even offering the wrong prey or
prey size.

Meanwhile, making sure that you're following recommended guidelines here will help keep you & yours out of that category.

The way snakes are portrayed in movies [especially horror movies] makes you think they are ravenous psycho-beasts, but in reality most ball pythons are more
like Mr. Ed. :rolleyes: (for you youngsters, he was Zina's horse on tv show "Mr. Ed")

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fify

not sure on her age she is like 82 grams ive had her 3 weeks or so and she has not aite for me

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Originally Posted by motorcyclecowboy

not sure on her age she is like 82 grams ive had her 3 weeks or so and she has not aite for me

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What’s your setup for her? Temps and humidity?


-Jason

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Originally Posted by gdawgs56

What’s your setup for her? Temps and humidity?


-Jason

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i have her setup pretty much exact as this https://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/a...articleid=2382

this is her most recent photos
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4etyVz9JwQouUcbu8

The real question here is why my BP does not eat? Most likely it is husbandry related which is affecting 90% of new owners.

At that size and age if well started BP are VORACIOUS.

So what are your options? Do this to a T and I mean to a T https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101

And please stop following advice from DR Foster and Smith while they are a great Pet Pharmacy, their regurgitated "knowledge" is not one I would recommend someone new to follow.

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Originally Posted by motorcyclecowboy

i have her setup pretty much exact as this https://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/a...articleid=2382

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I read the care sheet out of curiosity, towards the end they even recommend more then one ball python per enclosure. As long as the enclosure is big enough. Lmao

Yeah that care sheet isn’t very great looking...


-Jason

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Originally Posted by Sonny1318

I read the care sheet out of curiosity, towards the end they even recommend more then one ball python per enclosure. As long as the enclosure is big enough. Lmao

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Dang this is why I love math its rules are universal.

I hatched a lot of ball pythons last year.
While it is rare: I do have one remaining non-eater that still requires assist/force feeding.
3.5 Months old/Weight at 82 grams.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psyliu17rg.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psawgbn08q.jpg

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

I hatched a lot of ball pythons last year.
While it is rare: I do have one remaining non-eater that still requires assist/force feeding.
3.5 Months old/Weight at 82 grams.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psyliu17rg.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psawgbn08q.jpg

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Is that something they eventually grow out of?

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Is that something they eventually grow out of?

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Yes, my worst case was one that went to 300 grams before he started accepting food.

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Yes, my worst case was one that went to 300 grams before he started accepting food.

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Wow, my worst fear. Probably why I wouldn't mind starting out with juveniles instead of hatchings as most (I'd guess) are already good eaters and also on f/t.

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Yes, my worst case was one that went to 300 grams before he started accepting food.

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What morph is your problem eater? He/she is a beaut!

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Wow, my worst fear. Probably why I wouldn't mind starting out with juveniles instead of hatchings as most (I'd guess) are already good eaters and also on f/t.

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I buy non-eating hatchlings at expos because they have heavy markdowns (as a lot of breeders don't want to bother or assume they will die). So far I have 100% success ratio getting non-eating ball pythons to eat (eventually). Sometimes people think 'ooo discount snake' and they buy them without asking the breeder (imagining they scored a deal) and they have a miserable time...

The one pictured is nothing special: a Super Pastel Het VPI Axanthic male. I'm going to keep him around until he starts eating--I don't trust anyone else to do it.

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

I buy non-eating hatchlings at expos because they have heavy markdowns (as a lot of breeders don't want to bother or assume they will die). So far I have 100% success ratio getting non-eating ball pythons to eat (eventually). Sometimes people think 'ooo discount snake' and they buy them without asking the breeder (imagining they scored a deal) and they have a miserable time...

The one pictured is nothing special: a Super Pastel Het VPI Axanthic male. I'm going to keep him around until he starts eating--I don't trust anyone else to do it.

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And so another question that needs to be asked as there are obviously scumbag dealers out there.

Thanks for the morph name. Nothing special to you but a big fancy name to me...ha!