Still not eating...losing weight

My bp is still not eating. It's been about 7 weeks now and she lost a few grams since the last weigh in about a week ago. I'm at a loss now. Any help is appreciated. I was thinking of trying to feed live as a last resort. Any other ideas? She's still quite young, as I got her in May and they said she was about a month old then.

Before this she was eating weekly unless she was in shed. She was on mice then I switched her to rats. The only change I made before she went off feed was I made her a new cave, as she outgrew her old one. Now I've given her old one back, as she fits into it again.

TIA for any help.

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Originally Posted by jenaero

My bp is still not eating. It's been about 7 weeks now and she lost a few grams since the last weigh in about a week ago. I'm at a loss now. Any help is appreciated. I was thinking of trying to feed live as a last resort. Any other ideas? She's still quite young, as I got her in May and they said she was about a month old then.

Before this she was eating weekly unless she was in shed. She was on mice then I switched her to rats. The only change I made before she went off feed was I made her a new cave, as she outgrew her old one. Now I've given her old one back, as she fits into it again.

TIA for any help.

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Are you feeding it a prey item as large as the biggest part of the snake? Try feeding smaller, sometimes snakes can become intimidated by larger prey. Do you currently feed p/k, f/t or what? Feeding live is nowhere near as bad as some people make it out to be. What are your temps like?

When she was eating I'd feed the size of her girth. Now that she's gotten thinner, I've switched to mice that are a little smaller. I switched to mice because they're cheaper and I got sick of throwing out rats at $6 a piece. I feed f/t and have since I got her. Warm side is 90-92 cool side is about 80.

about how old is she? it could be she is ready to breed and just went off for a bit trying to mate? but definitly let us know a lil more info as far as temps and such.

99% of the time when an otherwise healthy ball python is refusing to eat the problem is a husbandry issue ... Temps, security, lighting, etc ... this is especially true for balls less than a year of age.

1. Temps should be 82-84 on one side, 92-94 on the other and measured with a good digital thermometer.

2. The snake should have plenty of small tight hides that it can retreat to and feel it's body touched on all sides.

3. Humidity should be 50% - 60% measured with a good digital hygrometer.

4. Handling should be kept to an absolute minimum until a solid pattern of eating is established.

-adam

EDIT: Yo ucan disregard this... i didn't know it has eaten f/t before :P



2 words lol "Feed Live." Sound like your bp is starving itself... I have heard that some bps never make the trans. to f/t. You might have to feel live if you want your bp to put back on the weight and continue to thrive!

Just to add to Adam's excellent post.....she was eating mice, then you switched to rats, now you are back to mice? Have you also been switching feed methods and weekly feeding routines on this snake? Sounds like you also have been messing about with her housing taking hides out and changing them up and so forth. Quite honestly I'm not surprised the snake is refusing. All this has got to be causing incredible amounts of stress for your snake and stressed snakes generally do not eat.

Any tips for live feeding? What if she still doesn't take it? What size should I get?

I'm about to lose my mind here. I know that going off feed is normal for balls but it's not normal for me and it doesn't suit her personality because she was such a good eater before this.

She does have a good tight hide now. I'll work on bumping up the temps too. Humidity is also good. She just had a nice clean shed last week. I haven't handled her in about a month besides to take her out to clean and such.

One hide or two? Please fully describe your snake's housing (pics are nice!), the snake involved (age, weight, etc.), how long you've had it, it's feeding history (type and size of prey and method of feeding) before and since you've owned it, if this is a breeder purchase or pet store purchased snake, etc. Without knowing full details it's difficult for the members to give specific information appropriate to your situation.

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Originally Posted by jenaero

I know that going off feed is normal for balls

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Actually, it's not normal at all for such a young animal ... you have a husbandry problem.

-adam

You may not know 100 but you know your balls Adam! :D

I thought I've been doing everything right. She's got a hide on each end in a 20gal tank. Red lamp for heat. Easy access to water dish. Substrate is paper towels. She's been burying herself in it lately, in her warm hide. She was climbing the walls quite often last month but has since settled down.

Not sure of age, approx 6 months. She was a pet store purchase. Unsure of sex.

She was eating 1 mouse every 7 days (f/t) since I bought her. Switched to rats shortly after and she was eating every 5-7 days unless in shed up until 7 weeks ago. Each rat/mouse was as large as her girth. I offered them with tongs and she'd strike immediately and eat within 10 or 15 min. She'll only eat brown/black rats. If they have any white on them she won't touch them. She used to gain about 60g a month, gained 18g last month and lost a few this month.

I'm still new to this so if there's anything I've missed, please ask.

She was at the vet about 2 months ago and got a clean bill of health, including a fecal.

If she is in a tank with a screen lid and a heat lamp, I'm not sure how you are keeping good humidity levels.

I keep her in my turtle room which has a 125gal tank in there and that keeps the humidity up in the entire room. I also provide a humid hide and mist the tank to bump it up a bit during shed.

My guess would be that she's too cool and from what you've described, possibly overfed.

-adam

A question and a suggestion...

How often are you trying to feed her now? Quite often when a Ball goes off feed, their owner will offer food more often which will actually stress out your snake even more and continue the fasting.

Wait a week without handling your snake at all, then place a live rat pup in his cage about an hour after sunset. You can leave it in there overnight if you'd like.

Good luck!

I haven't handled her in a few weeks besides cleaning the tank and such.

Before trying to feed last week, I waited about 2 weeks since the last time.

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Originally Posted by tmlowe5704

Are you feeding it a prey item as large as the biggest part of the snake? Try feeding smaller, sometimes snakes can become intimidated by larger prey. Do you currently feed p/k, f/t or what? Feeding live is nowhere near as bad as some people make it out to be. What are your temps like?

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i got absolutely TORN apart on rtb.net for feeding live

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Originally Posted by bchapman

i got absolutely TORN apart on rtb.net for feeding live

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they are all nuts there. I try not to ask advice from there. That tends to be a bandwagon site, where one person says something and all the others jump on. There is one main person who is anti-live feeding and it is all because of a rescue BCi she got that was all torn up. Most likely the previous owner left the snake alone with an oversized prey for days, and did not feed properly.

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Originally Posted by bchapman

i got absolutely TORN apart on rtb.net for feeding live

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It's a shame that in a day when 8 out of every 10 Americans when polled say that they would have absolutely no problem if exotic pets (including reptiles and amphibians) were unilaterally banned on a federal level that we are so divided within our own community over something as simple as how an individual chooses to responsibly feed their own animals.

Nice.

-adam

i didnt even tell them that i fed live, i was in a discussion with someone else and they drew the conclusion that i had fed live.. they literally blew up and practically chastised me

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

It's a shame that in a day when 8 out of every 10 Americans when polled say that they would have absolutely no problem if exotic pets (including reptiles and amphibians) were unilaterally banned on a federal level that we are so divided within our own community over something as simple as how an individual chooses to responsibly feed their own animals.

Nice.

-adam

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Are you kidding me?!?!? :O That number is shocking. I can't believe that many people would willingly ban ALL exotics on a federal level. I'm completely stunned. :O

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

Are you kidding me?!?!? :O That number is shocking. I can't believe that many people would willingly ban ALL exotics on a federal level. I'm completely stunned. :O

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Me too. Adam do you have a link to the survey? It would be an interesting read.

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

Me too. Adam do you have a link to the survey? It would be an interesting read.

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I'll see if I can dig it up ... It was a poll conducted by Barringers old lobbying group ... pre-PJIAC ... forget what he called it.

It's not that 80% actively wanting exotics banned, it's 80% that are indifferent one way or the other.

-adam

Whew. I read it as 80% had an active dislike of exotics. I'd love to see that as well, if you find it.

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

Whew. I read it as 80% had an active dislike of exotics. I'd love to see that as well, if you find it.

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Sent Jeff B an email ... I'll let you know as soon as I hear back. ;)

-adam

Thanks, you're an angel. ;) :8:

i know about rtb.net....i've alway been careful about not revealing i fed live