Won't eat, will not eat, refuses to eat, doesn't want to eat...blah blah blah

A ball python with a feeding problem, what a shocker...;)

Anyways, I've had my BP for around 2.5 months now. She has shed 3 times since I've had her, yet has only eaten once. The original owner of the snake was feeding her live gerbils, but I felt like I should try to switch her to rats. The only feeding she has had for me was the 1st gerbil that came with the snake. I have a live feeder rat right now, it's a pretty good sized one, but nothing I don't feel my snake can't eat (4.5-5' long). When I put the rat in the tank, all my she does is flee from it, not even attempting to strike or show any signs of aggression. I've tried feeding morning, afternoon, evening, late night -- with no luck.

My question is, should I just try to wait this out and continue trying the rat? Or should I go to the pet store and purchase a gerbil (do they even sell these as feeders?) and see if she will eat that?

Also, I know some people feed their snakes in a different tub and such, and was wondering if maybe that would actually help prompt her to feed? I don't see how it could, just curious and desperate for SOMETHING.

Thanks for reading checking out another "my BP won't eat" thread! :P

Temps, humidity, hide boxes, size of tank???

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Originally Posted by bpkid

Temps, humidity, hide boxes, size of tank???

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Everything is basically right on target with the B-P.net care sheet.

Well, I've heard they can get hooked on gerbils easily. You might have to just be very patient.

If the environment is alright and there are no internal parasites, waiting it out is all you can do as long as there is no weight loss on the snake.


I have an 02 female that is 800 grams. She is nice and plump but there are times she goes 6 months without eating, then eats once, then goes 3-4 months.
She drives me nuts. :mad: Recently she has eaten 3 weeks in a row. That's a record but it is coming up on winter so I expect the fast will start soon.:(

Have a stool sample brought to the vet, make sure the environment is setup correctly, and if all is well, just keep offerring food. Eventually she'll come around. They can handle fasts a lot better than the keepers.:D

The Southern Ag here sells live or frozen feeder gerbils for the same price as rats of a comparable size. I offered one to my snake once when he was fasting and he took it well. I've only had him for a year though, so I can't say if that's actually advisable or not.

Question for the regs: Do snakes who are fearful of a specific type of prey animal ever come around?

Smartest thing to do is start out with captive bred in the USA ball pythons and you wont have feeding problems. The thing with feeding them gerbils is that they get a taste for those and thats it for the rest of the snakes life, gerbils. :)

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Originally Posted by ECLARK

Smartest thing to do is start out with captive bred in the USA ball pythons and you wont have feeding problems.

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Nice well started CH babies from reputable dealers also do well (mine have been purchased from Will Bird, EBN and Ballroom Pythons South). Never had a feeding or parasite issue from any of them. The key is getting a well started baby - CH or CBB.

If it was eating Gerbils without any problems before You got it, You should try feeding it Gerbils again, maybe throwing the rat in te cage just after it eats the gerbil to see if it eats it too. Remember that changing a Ball Python`s from one owner to another could be a little stressful to the snake, and it may take a little time before she eats again. When I bougth my BP it took me 9 months before she ate here first meal with me, and she hasn`t stop eating since then. Good luck.

Hi Grish! First, I see you're new - Welcome! Second, I just noticed your signature and it got me curious. You bought a pastel from someone who couldn't tell you their sex?

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is to try scenting a rat with gerbil smell. Find someplace that has gerbils and ask for some soiled substrate. Let the rat live in that overnight and then try feeding the rat to your snake.

One thing I'm a little concerned about - You said the snake is 4.5 - 5 feet long (an adult), its only eaten once in 2.5 months, and has shed THREE times? An adult won't usually shed that frequently unless there's something wrong. Does she have any injuries? Have you checked for mites?

Steve