Not Eating.

I have had my baby bp for a month now and she still has not eaten for me. I've tried feeding her 3 times so far (f/t), but no luck. :( The pet store that I got her from was honest and said that she hadn't eaten for them yet, but they did say that she IS captive bred. A local pet store owner said that if she doesn't eat for me soon that I should force feed her, because it isn't good for her to go for this long without eating. But almost everything that I've read says that they can go for long lengths of time without eating and still be ok. How long is too long? How do I know when it is an actual problem? I really don't want to force feed her because I don't know how and I'm afraid that I will hurt her. And I don't want someone who knows how to force feed her to do so, unless it is absolutely necessary. I know I wouldn't like someone to shove something in my mouth against my will! I am going to try to feed her live tonight...I just hope that it works. Any advice will be a help.

Are you double sure that your set-up is correct? 90ish warm side, 80ish cool side, two identical, tight-fitting hides, 50-60% humidity, not a gigantic enclosure, etc. Also, is his enclosure in a high-traffic area of your house? If so, try moving his enclosure to a quieter area if he doesn't eat tonight.

Other than that, if you don't want to do a bunch of crap to the mouse to trick him into eating, I'd try a live hopper (or whatever is appropriate for your snake to be eating). If he's the one in our avatar, I'd say that 3-4 weeks isn't too detrimental to his health, but it's good to get him eating anyway. ;)

You might need to make a trip to the vet with her to have her checked out...and get a good idea based on her age and weight for how long she can be stubborn before you must resort to drastic measures. No one on the Internet can say with certainty how long a baby bp can go without eating. And the vet can also hopefully rule out any illness or parasites as a reason for not eating.


All that being said...husbandry issues are almost always the cause for a baby bp to not eat. They need the proper temperatures...humidity...and security. That last one can't be stressed enough. A baby bp who doesn't feel safe will not eat.

my first ball took about 3 months to take food for me, and i have had one ltc that took almost 2 years to get feeding. i don't force feed anything, very stressfull for the animal, but some people may disagree with that, what size rodent are you offering? it may be to big or to small?, and you may want to try live first untill it gets a few meals in it before trying f/t.

Her temperatures are stable and the humidity also. I have her in a basic tub setup (just the necessities). She has two identical hides, but she isn't using them much (that I've noticed). But I recently put them in. The hides she used to have weren't identical....Maybe she just doesn't feel secure enough right now...If she won't eat for me tonight I'll try moving her somewhere else in the house.


As far as what size food. The f/t that i offered were mouse fuzzies. I asked my husband to try to get an adult mouse from the pet store for me and he came back with a baby hampster...I guess I'll give it a try. Not what I was expecting though.

i would stay away from the hampster all together, fuzzies i feel are to small for balls, hoppers on up depending on size. but i would try live first for a few times to get it started then try the f/t, also i would not move it around your house leave it in one spot. just moving the cage can stress it out to not eat.

I have seen several people suggest crumpled up newspaper to other members. That is one thing I haven't tried yet. Do you think that would be a good idea? Especially since I haven't seen her using her hides much. She doesn't seem stressed, but she can't talk so it's hard to tell...she's draped across one of her hides right now sound asleep (she must be because she hasn't moved for about an hour or so)

that i would not know i have never tried crumpled newspaper, usually i kept them in smaller enclosers so they felt a little more secure.

Hannah, Try this. just before its time for the lights to go off at night. put a live hopper mouse in with the baby bp.dont keep looking to see if it ate, leave it alone till morning. more than likely you will discover a lump in your bp in the morning. if that dont happen, you got problems. good luck :)

Sounds like a plan...my only concern is that I've heard that you need to monitor live prey closely to make sure that no harm comes to the snake, but I'm sure you have more experience than I do.

yes you should keep an eye on it, but hopfully it wont be but a few moments till your snakes decides to take it. if it does not take it soon you can try putting a little food in a far off corner for the hopper to eat.

Ok. Thanks for your help. Does anyone think that I should try adding newspaper to her enclosure? She is in a sterilite tub that is a little bigger than shoe box size.

it wont hurt it none, but if you do you may want to wait a few days to try feeding though.

Hmmm ok. I'll try to feed her like I had plans on and if I don't have any luck I will try the newspaper. :)

just don't try the hampster though you do not want it to like them cause that will get costly if your snake decides it likes them.

Hmmm I don't know what to do about that. I really want to feed her as soon as possible...I guess I'll have to call the pet store in the morning.

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Originally Posted by snake_lady83

Hmmm I don't know what to do about that. I really want to feed her as soon as possible...I guess I'll have to call the pet store in the morning.

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ball have been known to be very picky eaters, if you can at all cost avoid gerbals, hampsters, etc, it is best, this is however your choice, it may be a problem or it may not be an issue. but i think your snake will be fine till morning till you can get a hopper.

usually when someone resorts to gerbals and hampster they are usually dealing with wild caught snakes. i know my one ball was so picky i had to purchase rodents from a peticular pet shop and they had to be males. he would refuse them if got from another store or they where females. just my personal experience.

Wow that is a very picky snake! How can they tell the gender of their meal? :confused:

males and females give of diferent sents, i guess he liked the male sent better.

Oh...I guess that makes sence. Your snake goes to the extremes when it comes to being picky lol.:)

it took me a long time to break him of that, but i still like to baby him, and will go the extra to get him something he likes.

I agree. Good boys and girls get good things (pets included):D You've gotta love them.

When do I get to see a picture of your picky eater?:P

about a year ago:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ale_ball11.jpg

and him a few weeks ago:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...lsbreeding.jpg

Oh cool I didn't know that he's a Daddy (or Daddy to be). :carrot: He looks very healthy. Looks like he's a really good eater now, very handsome and filled out. He's lucky to have a caring well educated owner. :)

i did alot of reading, he eats with no issues now, just took 3 months when i got him to figure out what he wanted, gave it to him for a bit then broke him of that habbit. oh and that is is first hunny and he seems to like her. fingers are crossed.

I'll cross my fingers for you! Keep us updated. :)