Ball python not leaving cold hide/eating

Hi all,

Having some trouble with our 2 y/o male Royal. He's been a pretty good eater since we got him at about 6 weeks old and has always been very curious and would often be out and about in his Viv. Since Christmas though he's not been eating and has been spending pretty much all his time in his cold hide. It's worth noting that it's been unseasonably cold here in the UK for the time of year, I don't know if that has something to do with it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we're not too sure what to do!

Thank you!

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Originally Posted by Jdelaney

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we're not too sure what to do!

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We're happy to help. To advise you, we need specific information: basking and cool side temps, humidity, and a description of your enclosure (size, heating elements, thermostat, hide placement). Pics of your set up and your BP would be a big help. This thread will show you how to post them: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures. Thank you.

Basking: 29-32°c
Cool end: 25°c
Humidity: 65-75%
Enclosure is 4by2by2ft, warmed with a heat lamp, large water bowl and hide at warm end, 2 further hides and humidity box at cool end. Lots of clutter and hiding places. It is a very large glass front so we do cover half as otherwise it gets a lot of daylight which we were concerned about. Pictures:

pythons.net/gallery/files/9/0/0/6/6/screenshot_20230322-192011.png
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...322-192028.png
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...322-192000.png

For those of us who "speak Fahrenheit", the basking temperatures are 84-89.6* F, & the cool end is 77*F. Which sounds perfect to me for a BP. Humidity is a bit high for routine, but good for when your snake is in shed.

How much handling do you do? When he's not in his own "perfect world" & if your house feels cool to him, that might explain his lack of appetite & attempt to brumate.

Your snake is beautiful- he has a good body weight- but why is he soaking? Does he do that often?

Looks good to me. So, your bp is hiding and not eating. Well, they do that. They're famous for it. Your bp looks good, so I wouldn't worry. Two years old? Could be the dreaded 1000 gram wall.

By the way, what are you feeding him and how frequently?

As Homebody said, it's possible that your BP is just being a normal young adult male- fasting is pretty common in these snakes- but it never hurts to ask & review the essentials.

Hi all,

Thank you for all your advice and comments, it's been incredibly helpful.

We are handling him less than we used to, as we were concerned about the impact it would have on his feeding, but usually we try to handle him every other day. He was soaking in that picture as he'd just shed so we'd given him a bath to get some stuck bits off, he doesn't soak regularly.

He's eating small weaners, every 10-14 days usually - though we have been wondering if the food is a problem, so any advice on that would be welcome.

Thank you all again!

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Originally Posted by Jdelaney

He's eating small weiners, every 10-14 days usually - though we have been wondering if the food is a problem, so any advice on that would be welcome.

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I'm so glad I asked. Weiners? Please elaborate. Small weiners conjures up images of those canned vienna sausages we used to eat in the 70's.
https://i.imgur.com/VnsSWfV.jpg
That would not be an appropriate diet for a ball python. Most keepers feed rats. Some mice. I also feed weiners, but the Reptilink kind.

Weanling rats? That sounds a bit small to me... Most of my boys are eating small rats every 2weeks. But your boy looks pretty good regardless! And males are so varied in size.

Could be like the others mentioned, the wall... Or just this is typically the time of year that some males that age just start thinking about breeding more than feeding. Especially if he seems a little more pushy or jumpy if handled.

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Originally Posted by Homebody

I'm so glad I asked. Weiners? Please elaborate. Small weiners conjures up images of those canned vienna sausages we used to eat in the 70's.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/VnsSWfV.jpg
That would not be an appropriate diet for a ball python. Most keepers feed rats. Some mice. I also feed weiners, but the Reptilink kind.

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:rofl: I guess we think alike, Homebody. I actually laughed, then edited the spelling in the above post before I got to your (this) post. :D

BTW, the image you posted doesn't even say "weiners", which is why I envisioned this: > > >

https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/922...2&odnBg=FFFFFF

And just to be clear, folks- neither of these are snake food- :colbert: LOL

:hijackd: Let's re-focus on helping the OP.

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Originally Posted by Jdelaney

...We are handling him less than we used to, as we were concerned about the impact it would have on his feeding, but usually we try to handle him every other day....

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I suspect it's the frequent handling that's hurting his appetite, especially since you're only feeding at a fairly long interval. Just remember that snakes are not domestic animals, even when captive-bred. They rely on their instincts to survive, & the only thing that picks them up in the wild is normally a predator about to eat them. I think you can see how that might negatively-impact one's appetite, right? ;)

I'm not saying to never handle your pet, but try to put his needs first- try NO handling for several+ days prior to feeding. Another HUGE variable is that "handling" doesn't mean the same thing for everyone. There's a big difference between sitting down & holding a snake near you so they feel sheltered (not out in the open where they are vulnerable to predators) & mostly during evening hours when he'd normally be active, versus handling him out in the open, going from person to person, or in ways that he cannot relax or feel safe. There's also a big difference between the intuitive ways most adults handle a snake, and the way children do. If handling means watching him crawl around on the floor, that too is quite scary for a snake- try to put yourself in his height-challenged "shoes".

Also, handling should not be rushed- the most stressful times are when you first remove him from his home & when you are putting him back- I know this because that's often when snakes bite people, because they feel they're under threat. So if you only "handle" a snake for 20 minutes, let's say, he's barely recovered from the stress of being taken from his place of feeling safe, & never quite learns to relax with you. :snake:

And just to be clear- you said you "try to handle him every other day"? There's no need to "try" to handle him so often- I'm pretty sure he won't miss any skipped sessions. BPs spend most of their time hiding, not roaming around, since they're ambush predators. Remember they're most active in the evening/night hours too- meaning that handling during the day when he'd rather sleep might not be as comfortable for him either.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

For those of us who "speak Fahrenheit", the basking temperatures are 84-89.6* F, & the cool end is 77*F. Which sounds perfect to me for a BP. Humidity is a bit high for routine, but good for when your snake is in shed.

How much handling do you do? When he's not in his own "perfect world" & if your house feels cool to him, that might explain his lack of appetite & attempt to brumate.

Your snake is beautiful- he has a good body weight- but why is he soaking? Does he do that often?

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The humidity fits the ARAV care guide and my veterinarian's advice. I know I used to believe that it was too high of a range but experience and research has taught me otherwise. As long as things aren't constantly moist and the air isn't stagnant it should be fine.

However, that's just my two cents, and just because there's two different ways to do something doesn't necessarily mean they are wrong :)

Also, I agree handling should be kept to a minimum for now. Try slowly increasing how often you hand and how, and by slowly I MEAN slowly. Getting your snake to at least "tolerate" handling means that it will be easier for you or a veterinarian to inspect for health issues.
Again, DO NOT RUSH IT!!! Just remember slow and steady wins the race ;)

Ah prime example of why I shouldn't be speed typing whilst at work! He was on large weaning rats but we did then move to small when he stopped eating as we wanted to see whether the size was an issue for him, but again, advice is greatly appreciated on this, he's our first snake and this is the first issue like this we've really encountered so we're not fooling ourselves into thinking we're experts!

Thank you again ☺️

Sorry I hadn't seen the handling posts, we've been very much leaving it for quite some time now as we've not wanted to stress him, only getting him out if we need to clean the vivarium etc. Definitely noted what you've said about handling, we haven't for a while like I said but agree we need to "step back" from that for some time and then slowly reintroduce him to it - last thing we want to do is scare him or make him uncomfortable! The first year we had him was when we were handling him much more regularly, but it hasn't been as often as that for quite some time now.