YOUNG bp owners, I need your help.

I made an earlier post, got great advice. tried them and my bp still won’t eat. she has shed with me, but not eaten. last time she ate was 3-4 weeks ago ( not with me/ before i received her) she dropped one gram from 97. enclosure, temps, humidity, correct mice size, everything is on point.... the only one out of formation is my snake. she’s very sweet and gentle. she completed her shed last night. tried to offer her food today, she refused. she shows NO INTEREST in eating. if she could live off air and water..... she would.

for those wondering, from observations she likes her home, she knows the locations of her hides, and water. she also likes being handled.


for those with YOUNG bps , have you experienced this?


how long do i wait to reOffer her food? 2 days? week?


whats the longest your bp went without food? (young snakes only)
the way she refuses food makes me question if she even knows she a carnivore, and or I am being a human and over reacting.
thank you in advance!

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Originally Posted by BpShelly

I made an earlier post, got great advice. tried them and my bp still won’t eat. she has shed with me, but not eaten. last time she ate was 3-4 weeks ago ( not with me/ before i received her) she dropped one gram from 97. enclosure, temps, humidity, correct mice size, everything is on point.... the only one out of formation is my snake. she’s very sweet and gentle. she completed her shed last night. tried to offer her food today, she refused. she shows NO INTEREST in eating. if she could live off air and water..... she would.

for those wondering, from observations she likes her home, she knows the locations of her hides, and water. she also likes being handled.


for those with YOUNG bps , have you experienced this?


how long do i wait to reOffer her food? 2 days? week?


whats the longest your bp went without food? (young snakes only)
the way she refuses food makes me question if she even knows she a carnivore, and or I am being a human and over reacting.
thank you in advance!

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Yes

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Originally Posted by BpShelly

she also likes being handled.


for those with YOUNG bps , have you experienced this?


how long do i wait to reOffer her food? 2 days? week?


whats the longest your bp went without food? (young snakes only)
the way she refuses food makes me question if she even knows she a carnivore, and or I am being a human and over reacting.
thank you in advance!

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1. Baby ball pythons are docile yes, but the "likes being handled" is totally anthropomorphizing. That's just a fact, and you need to stop handling her for at least a week to let her have a better chance of being low-stress enough to eat.

2. Once you stop handling her, I would offer food in 5-6 days.

3. Bp's under 500g or so honestly shouldn't be going "off food", that is not normal for their size at all... Especially at 90g. Whatever is wrong with their husbandry or in this case probably your over-handling, it needs to be fixed/stopped and allow them to start eating asap. You really shouldn't be thinking "how long can they go without food" at this age, because they really shouldn't at all. And if they are, 99% of the time it is because of new owner errors.

It may have been said before in this case you can post a link, but what is your setup like?

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Yes

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Mr Snakes, I'm wondering why you so often reply to question threads that is often unhelpful and you haven't even owned a single snake yet... haha

If you have not already do this to a T https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101 because at that size you need to get things on track ASAP before it becomes a vicious circle.

I am only doing what I was told in regarding handling. but this new information is being accepted within my knowledge and I will change things up. thank you for the information that was shared on this thread. as well as the link for new owners.

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Originally Posted by BpShelly

I am only doing what I was told in regarding handling. but this new information is being accepted within my knowledge and I will change things up. thank you for the information that was shared on this thread. as well as the link for new owners.

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As far as this goes, I'm guessing that what you were told regarding handling was that ball pythons are a good snake if you want to take them out and handle them often. Which is true, most put up with handling very well. But this is after they are established and feeling secure in their new homes, are confident enough to eat, and aren't stressed by you. Until that happens, understand that this young little guy was just moved to a new place, and is trying to figure out if there are any predators around, where it can go to feel secure, etc.

That might not have been what you meant when you said "I am only doing what I was told in regards to handling", and if not, sorry for misinterpreting. Best of luck

There are 2 major reasons why a young BP won't eat:

1) husbandry is off
2) stress

Since we've already established that you're handling the snake, we can already determine your snake is stressed and you need to refrain from handling until your snake is well acclimated and eating consistently. I highly recommend waiting until the snake has eaten three consecutive meals WITHOUT refusal before any handling.
At this point, food needs to be TOP priority. You'll have 25+ years to handle the snake, be patient and get it eating.

And now to husbandry... you say all is good, but without details we can't help you. I'm not saying you're wrong, just saying you may have been misinformed (as you were about handling).
Soooo.....the more you tell us, the better we can help you and your snake.

- what type/size enclosure?
- what are your temps?
- How and where are you measuring the temps?
- how are you heating the enclosure???
- are ALL HEAT SOURCES regulated by a THERMOSTAT?
- how many hides are offered and are they proper hides?

-

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Mr Snakes, I'm wondering why you so often reply to question threads that is often unhelpful and you haven't even owned a single snake yet... haha

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Wonder no more. I was raising and breeding gopher snakes before most of you were born (and it was written in my intro to the Forum). But I am thankful for the information available here and the advancement in husbandry over the years. It's just amazing to me the number of people that ask the same questions here without researching the multitude of threads here that have answered the same question, over and over. And most usually in a panic. Hope this adds to your knowledge. Cheers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Yes

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Wonder no more. I was raising and breeding gopher snakes before most of you were born (and it was written in my intro to the Forum). But I am thankful for the information available here and the advancement in husbandry over the years. It's just amazing to me the number of people that ask the same questions here without researching the multitude of threads here that have answered the same question, over and over. And most usually in a panic. Hope this adds to your knowledge. Cheers

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Perhaps you have had some experience, but in this case the OP isn't overreacting. His/her questions are valid, their snake is stressed and corrections need to be made. So advice is needed here, not a dismissal.

Sometimes it's better to take a pause as a relative newbie and watch how threads develop before chiming in.

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Originally Posted by hilabeans

Perhaps you have had some experience, but in this case the OP isn't overreacting. His/her questions are valid, their snake is stressed and corrections need to be made. So advice is needed here, not a dismissal.

Sometimes it's better to take a pause as a relative newbie and watch how threads develop before chiming in.

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And sometimes it is advisable that thread posters at least take 5 minutes to find the multitude of like threads before posting another one.:D

MR Snakes r u being cheeky?

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

And sometimes it is advisable that thread posters at least take 5 minutes to find the multitude of like threads before posting another one.:D

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Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

And sometimes it is advisable that thread posters at least take 5 minutes to find the multitude of like threads before posting another one.:D

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(apologies for the brief derail, OP)

This is one of, if not THE, most active reptile forums out there. It's heavily supported with new threads daily, tons of member content, old timers and newbies, and yes - many of our new threads are repeat subjects. But if you are tired of seeing the same questions raised, then don't contribute to that thread.

One of the beautiful features that sets us apart from the many repulsive Facebook pages is that we are a SUPPORTIVE community here because we love our animals and want to help and encourage each other. We don't answer every thread with snark and sarcasm. We don't chase off new and inexperienced members. Even criticism is constructive, not demeaning.

OP is an admittedly "young" bp owner who needs help. If you don't want to help, then don't answer on this thread and stop being so aggressive.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Mr Snakes, I'm wondering why you so often reply to question threads that is often unhelpful and you haven't even owned a single snake yet... haha

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Yes

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

And sometimes it is advisable that thread posters at least take 5 minutes to find the multitude of like threads before posting another one.:D

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It would be more helpful to post links than to give wrong or bad advice. Peace.

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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

MR Snakes r u being cheeky?

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

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Both cheeky and truthful.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hilabeans

(apologies for the brief derail, OP)

This is one of, if not THE, most active reptile forums out there. It's heavily supported with new threads daily, tons of member content, old timers and newbies, and yes - many of our new threads are repeat subjects. But if you are tired of seeing the same questions raised, then don't contribute to that thread.

One of the beautiful features that sets us apart from the many repulsive Facebook pages is that we are a SUPPORTIVE community here because we love our animals and want to help and encourage each other. We don't answer every thread with snark and sarcasm. We don't chase off new and inexperienced members. Even criticism is constructive, not demeaning.

OP is an admittedly "young" bp owner who needs help. If you don't want to help, then don't answer on this thread and stop being so aggressive.

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Well stated. Thanks:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BpShelly

I made an earlier post, got great advice. tried them and my bp still won’t eat. she has shed with me, but not eaten. last time she ate was 3-4 weeks ago ( not with me/ before i received her) she dropped one gram from 97. enclosure, temps, humidity, correct mice size, everything is on point.... the only one out of formation is my snake. she’s very sweet and gentle. she completed her shed last night. tried to offer her food today, she refused. she shows NO INTEREST in eating. if she could live off air and water..... she would.

for those wondering, from observations she likes her home, she knows the locations of her hides, and water. she also likes being handled.


for those with YOUNG bps , have you experienced this?


how long do i wait to reOffer her food? 2 days? week?


whats the longest your bp went without food? (young snakes only)
the way she refuses food makes me question if she even knows she a carnivore, and or I am being a human and over reacting.
thank you in advance!

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To get back on topic, here is my $0.02. (Largely agree with other replies here) I'm not familiar with the other post, so I may be missing info.

Only 1g weight loss is a positive sign. That is relatively small, so not super concerning overall. Also means she isn't suffering illness/disease causing her to refuse food as those typically cause larger weight loss.

Might help us to go ahead and post your enclosure, temps, etc. Since this is a new thread, it will give the needed info for anyone not seeing the other thread first.

Since this is a pretty clearly shy baby (sweet and gentle at this size pretty much means very shy, possibly too shy to show defensive behaviors), you may have one of the cases where it is needed to go smaller on the enclosure or the temps may be slightly off somehow. Can't know that unless you post them, though.

Some snakes don't show interest in food the day after a shed in general, so that could contribute. She might be resting from the effort of shedding and not want the food just yet.

In general, you should be doing 0 handling outside moving the snake if needed to do cleaning and putting back straight after. This snake has not eaten for you, therefore needs more time to settle in and get eating before you handle.

BPs are mostly easy-going, even when actually stressed, so it may appear she likes handling, but... that's not how snakes work. Other replies explain this already.

You say you offered mice, is that what she had been fed before? Did the previous owner offer live, pre-killed- or frozen, and is that the same as what you tried?
Getting the snake to eat is more important than swapping to frozen or pre-kill for the first few meals, especially when they're small like this. (Also, offering at night, in dim lighting, and keeping yourself still or out of sight also help shy eaters)

Offer once a week, no more often. Too much will add stress and refusals. And definitely do not handle for the week following a refusal and double check the temps/humidity.

My similar experience with refusals:
One of my last hatchling BPs I bought was 60g and fed live mice with the breeder. She did not eat for me for about 3 weeks (1 week before meal 1 and 2 weeks between feeds 1-2 and 2-3).

My first offer was a f/t mouse since the local store I have to get live from was out of any mice or rats of a size she could handle (if no mice, I planned to try a live rat as live was more likely to work in either species than frozen, but mice would have been best by far).
The 2nd was a live mouse that she refused to take. She balled up and hid from it in her hide. All 3 weeks without food were spent in QT in a 16qt tub with the coolest temp at 76-78 and hot spot of 88-90, 2 identical hides and water with a 12 hour on/off lamp nearby for day and night light cycle.

Some just need time to settle in. Mine was handled once after refusal #2 to get a weight to make sure she hadn't lost too much (first weight from day of purchase before placing into her tub initially), she hadn't lost much weight, and otherwise not at all. She did not pee or poop in this time and needed no cleaning. She's still my most infrequent pee/poop BP, but has gone several times and has tripled in size since then.




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Every ball python is just a little bit different from another
Some start off eating right off the bat while some take a little bit longer to adjust.
And I truly believe that snakes do pretty much just tolerate us handling them BUT, some of them go a little bit further than tolerating it . I think they enjoy it somewhat as they get to see and smell new things.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

Yes

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