Not Eating, HELP!!!

So my roomates and I bought a medium-small sized rat on Sunday amd tried to feed her that night, but she wouldn't take it. we tried again tonight, but again same thing. the rat is pure white, but she's eaten white ones before. Temp: 85-89F Hum: has been dipping below 50, but we've made adjustments and it's back up between 50-60 also her setup hasn't been changed at all...she also seems to be interested in the rat, and even goes right up to it, but just as you think she's going to strike, she turns away. any advice? thanks.

Could be the rat is too big. Even a fully mature BP only needs a small-small rat. Or there could be other stressors besides temperatures involved, such as a lack of security. Offering food too frequently also often causes more harm than good. After a refusal, wait a full week before offering again.

How long have you had the snake? Maybe it's going into shed. They won't eat sometimes when they go into shed.

well...it's been about 3 weeks since her last shed, and we've had her since mid-february about...she's been acting normal, so we can't figure it out...she did this when we first tried to feed her, but she took it the very next day...and it's not the size for sure because she's taken one bigger than the one we're trying to feed her now.

Wow, you bought her on Sunday and tried to feed her that night?

It sounds like your setup is okay, but you will want to give your snake a period to adjust to her new environment.... usually 1-2 weeks. If you bought a medium sized rat it sounds like you bought a decent sized Ball. Sometimes the older ones need a little longer to adjust to their new environment, so don't be surprised if your snake doesn't eat for a few weeks, especially if she had been eating medium sized rats before.

Give her time to settle in and don't handle her until she starts to eat. If her environment is comfortable for her, she'll eat eventually.

Good luck!

also the problem with waiting a week is that we don't have any housing for the rat besides our bathtub, which it's currently pooping and peeing all over right now, lol...we buy our rats from the local pet-store every week, and she's eaten quite well ever since the first time we tried...is there any particular foods i should feed the rat to keep it alive? it's been eating the bread i've been dropping in...and it has a little homemade water bowl too...

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Originally Posted by xdeus

Wow, you bought her on Sunday and tried to feed her that night?

It sounds like your setup is okay, but you will want to give your snake a period to adjust to her new environment.... usually 1-2 weeks. If you bought a medium sized rat it sounds like you bought a decent sized Ball. Sometimes the older ones need a little longer to adjust to their new environment, so don't be surprised if your snake doesn't eat for a few weeks, especially if she had been eating medium sized rats before.

Give her time to settle in and don't handle her until she starts to eat. If her environment is comfortable for her, she'll eat eventually.

Good luck!

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haha...i meant the rat, and she's 6 years old...a little over 3 feet.

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Originally Posted by xdeus

Wow, you bought her on Sunday and tried to feed her that night?

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I think you got confused. They bought the Rat on Sunday, not the snake.





How big is your snake?

How ofter do you feed? (what day of the week, or how many days in between)

What size do you normally feed?

Do you have other snakes?

You could try taking the rat back to the pet store tomorrow and see if they'll take it back for store credit. Some will and some won't. OR...you could just go and buy a small rat cage to keep it in until you can feed it off. That's what I do.

Here's a link with great info about what to feed 'em:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28391

If you feed a ball-python a larger prey item, it may very well stop eating for an indefinite amount of time....simply because it takes them awhile to "get hungry" again.

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Originally Posted by nlankas

haha...i meant the rat.

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:oops: Sorry, I read that too fast. If you have been feeding medium rats every week, she's probably just "full" and may take a while to catch up before she's hungry again.

If you can't return the rat, you can keep it in a ventilated cage and just give it food and water while trying to feed it to the snake once a week. Rats will eat pretty much anything, but cereal, raw pasta, dogfood, fruit, scraps, etc. will work. A ceramic water bowl should work fine, too. Just keep in mind that rats LOVE to chew, so if you have anything chewable in the cage consider it gone. :P

First, you're feeding her too much food on a weekly basis, so it's not surprising that she's refusing, as she fasts to catch up. She doesn't NEED any larger than a small/small rat a week. See how big this girl is? She gets a small/small a week. Just because she CAN eat larger, doesn't mean she needs to.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...8&postcount=15

When you feed live, you should be prepared to house any refusals properly. A 10 gallon aquarium with screen lid, water bottle and this food mix is perfect:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28391

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Originally Posted by nlankas

also the problem with waiting a week is that we don't have any housing for the rat besides our bathtub, which it's currently pooping and peeing all over right now, lol...we buy our rats from the local pet-store every week, and she's eaten quite well ever since the first time we tried...is there any particular foods i should feed the rat to keep it alive? it's been eating the bread i've been dropping in...and it has a little homemade water bowl too...

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Try killing the rat and freezing it. It'll be good for a long time that way. You might be able to switch your snake over to F/T after she starts eating again.

Edit: F/T is also cheaper and MUCH safer for your snake.

wow...i can't keep up with u guys, but thanks for the advice :) she usually eats at the beginning of every week, right around sun-downish...she has been taking rats around the same size as this one too.

sounds like we have a pet rat for the next week...yeah, and about killing the rat...i'm pretty sure none of us are willing to do that...i looked into buying F/T rats before, but i could only find sites where u could buy BIG bulk sized amounts, so we opted to buying a live one every week...it had been working well.

and rabernet, your BP's are gorgeous :) can't wait till my baby hits that size someday.

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Originally Posted by nlankas

sounds like we have a pet rat for the next week...yeah, and about killing the rat...i'm pretty sure none of us are willing to do that...i looked into buying F/T rats before, but i could only find sites where u could buy BIG bulk sized amounts, so we opted to buying a live one every week...it had been working well.

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To each his own. For me a risking the welfare and life of a snake over killing a $5 rat that's going to die anyway is not worth it.

I personally switched my live feeding snake over to fresh killed after she ate twice for me, then to F/T soon after that. The F/T was for money, but the fresh killed was for the snake.

I don't have a problem killing them either. You could make a Co2 chamber that uses a refillable Co2 tank from a paintball gun. It's Humane, quick and I'm sure less painful than the snake squeezing it to death. Also better for the snake.

check this one out. It looks real simple to make.

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Originally Posted by smasharama13

To each his own. For me a risking the welfare and life of a snake over killing a $5 rat that's going to die anyway is not worth it.

I personally switched my live feeding snake over to fresh killed after she ate twice for me, then to F/T soon after that. The F/T was for money, but the fresh killed was for the snake.

I don't have a problem killing them either. You could make a Co2 chamber that uses a refillable Co2 tank from a paintball gun. It's Humane, quick and I'm sure less painful than the snake squeezing it to death. Also better for the snake.

check this one out. It looks real simple to make.

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should there have been a link smasharama...

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Originally Posted by nlankas

should there have been a link smasharama...

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Shoot I must have forgot to paste it after finding it. sorry

It's down at the bottom.

Here: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...t=44423&page=2

I guess feeding off about 40 live mice a week to 17 Ball Pythons, each and every week(with a break here and there), with NO incidents other than a teensy toenail lightly scraping the surface of the snake's skin, doesn't mean anything. Do you think I would feed live to my Yellowbelly pair if I didn't think it was safe?

Whether feeding live, pre-killed or frozen-thawed, each has its own pros and cons. I feed live because my snakes eat more consistently and I'm not having to throw wasted mice in the trash(Would you throw a $20 bill in the trash? Yeah, didn't think so :) ).

Feeding live prey is very safe if done properly, just like f/t or pre-killed. I pre-scent the room for a good 30 minutes to an hour, so all of the snakes know what is going on. I also make the room dark so they feel more comfortable. I then go around to each tub, in a specific order, and drop a mouse in on the opposite side the snake is on. I move on to the next tub until everyone has a mouse(and the boa has a guinea pig or rabbit). I leave the mice in the snake's tub for 15-20 minutes and if they don't show interest or haven't struck in that amount of time, the mouse is returned to the cage.

Juvies get 1-2 small adult mice as do males, sub-adults get 2-3 medium adults(the number gets varied each week), and adults get 3 adult mice.

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Originally Posted by nlankas

and rabernet, your BP's are gorgeous :) can't wait till my baby hits that size someday.

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Thank you! Wish those were mine - but they are Adam Wysocki's snakes.

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Originally Posted by smasharama13

To each his own. For me a risking the welfare and life of a snake over killing a $5 rat that's going to die anyway is not worth it.

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Can you elaborate about risking the welfare and life of your snake? I'm not sure I follow you.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Feeding live prey is very safe if done properly, just like f/t or pre-killed. I pre-scent the room for a good 30 minutes to an hour, so all of the snakes know what is going on. I also make the room dark so they feel more comfortable. I then go around to each tub, in a specific order, and drop a mouse in on the opposite side the snake is on. I move on to the next tub until everyone has a mouse(and the boa has a guinea pig or rabbit). I leave the mice in the snake's tub for 15-20 minutes and if they don't show interest or haven't struck in that amount of time, the mouse is returned to the cage.

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I agree - I feed both live mice and rats and calculated I have over 2000 live feedings with nary a scratch on any of mine. With rats, I'm not feeding anything larger than a small/small rat. I've had one try to bite me, and the teeth were too soft to even hurt, much less break my skin which is much more fragile than snakes' scales.

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Originally Posted by smasharama13

Shoot I must have forgot to paste it after finding it. sorry

It's down at the bottom.

Here: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...t=44423&page=2

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haha...that contraption looks pretty nuts...i'll think about making one of those, but for now, i'm good with the live feeding...i mean, no rats have ever tried to hurt her yet, so until that happens, i think my roomates and i are fine with our current strategy...i guess we'll also downsize the rats from now on too.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Thank you! Wish those were mine - but they are Adam Wysocki's snakes.

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haha...sorry, didn't read the post, only saw the pictures...but still, that BP's huge!!!

so i was trying to tell my roomates to wait a whole week until feeding her again, but because they're stubborn and own Aurora too, i really can't put up much of a fight...but guess what, she took a shot at the rat, unlike last time, but she missed :( she then continued onto behaving how she was on Sunday night and Monday night...now they're convinced we have to wait longer to feed her, lol. hopefully they'll listen to me more next time.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I agree - I feed both live mice and rats and calculated I have over 2000 live feedings with nary a scratch on any of mine. With rats, I'm not feeding anything larger than a small/small rat. I've had one try to bite me, and the teeth were too soft to even hurt, much less break my skin which is much more fragile than snakes' scales.

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This is good to hear. You read so much anti-live stuff but I'm always suspicious because these people feel the need to make such long detailed arguments. For some reason, I'm really set on live feeding. I think someone has every right to feed dead prey but it seems like the anti-live people exaggerate the risk to the snake. I would like to hear more about pre-scenting...

But, to the point of the thread. I did just start a thread about lower activity levels in my BP a little earlier tonight. I realized that this also coincided with a switch to much larger prey. My BP is just shy of two feet and due to lack of choice I have settled into feeding him small adult mice. He always eats but I've suspected that perhaps being better fed does lower his activity levels.

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Originally Posted by nlankas

so i was trying to tell my roomates to wait a whole week until feeding her again, but because they're stubborn and own Aurora too, i really can't put up much of a fight...but guess what, she took a shot at the rat, unlike last time, but she missed :( she then continued onto behaving how she was on Sunday night and Monday night...now they're convinced we have to wait longer to feed her, lol. hopefully they'll listen to me more next time.

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Sounds like the strike was more of a defensive strike than one of interest in the rat. Is this still a medium rat? Can you take it back to the pet store for credit and get a small/small one a week from now (since they tried last night).

Get your roommates to join this forum as well. At some point, someone is going to need to be an advocate for Aurora and speak up and set boundaries on her care so that everyone is on the same page.

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Originally Posted by bearhart

I would like to hear more about pre-scenting...

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I believe one of the most important things about live feeding is setting routines. Pick one day of the week for feeding. Do the same things each time. For example, I feed mine in the same order each week, I feed at the same time of day each week, etc.

Pre-scenting is having the prey item in something like a Critter Keeper and setting it near the enclosure for about 1/2 an hour before offering it to your snake.

I also feed all of mine in their enclosures and do not remove any "furniture" from the enclosure (IE, hides, etc)

Mine are usually hitting and constricting before I've moved to the next tub beneath then.

thanks rabernet...i'll try to get them to join...wish me luck, but yeah, i think i'm just gonna go back and get a smaller rat, we'll see how that goes.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I believe one of the most important things about live feeding is setting routines. Pick one day of the week for feeding. Do the same things each time. For example, I feed mine in the same order each week, I feed at the same time of day each week, etc.

Pre-scenting is having the prey item in something like a Critter Keeper and setting it near the enclosure for about 1/2 an hour before offering it to your snake.

I also feed all of mine in their enclosures and do not remove any "furniture" from the enclosure (IE, hides, etc)

Mine are usually hitting and constricting before I've moved to the next tub beneath then.

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interesting... I've been using a seperate enclosure due to warnings that you run a bigger risk of getting bit when sticking your hands in their main enclosure. I a big rubbermaid storage tub that is similar in size to his 20 gallon tank. I put him in there and give him about 30-60 seconds to orient. Then when I feel like he's at least looking somewhat in the right direction I drop the mouse in on the opposite side. He's usually looking up the walls and then suddenly he turns his head and you know he's seen it. Then he lowers down, gets in strike position, and waits. The mouse eventually bumbles his way into strike range and bam! its game over. Its been working well but I'm concerned about my guy being in a bad tactical position initially. Eventually I'll have to move to rats and I hear they are more formidable foes...

I did a few times feed them in another container...but then realized thanks to alot of folks here who live feed IN the snakes cage and feed multiple snakes at a time that that many people couldnt be wrong...I started feeding our 6 in the tubs and havent had a problem. I also house the rats/mice in the same room as the snakes...We have a couple on fast's right now and one that just broke a 6 month fast...no one has lost weight...are all acting normal..shedding etc...temps are right on and so on...


So just wait it out...no need to keep offering her the rat or a rat back to back after she refuses...she wont starve to death in 1 week...she will only become more and more stressed..and inturn not it...so if your roomates cared they would listen to the people on here who havent been wrong yet and follow some good advice...they havent let me down yet :D

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Originally Posted by bearhart

interesting... I've been using a seperate enclosure due to warnings that you run a bigger risk of getting bit when sticking your hands in their main enclosure. I a big rubbermaid storage tub that is similar in size to his 20 gallon tank. I put him in there and give him about 30-60 seconds to orient. Then when I feel like he's at least looking somewhat in the right direction I drop the mouse in on the opposite side. He's usually looking up the walls and then suddenly he turns his head and you know he's seen it. Then he lowers down, gets in strike position, and waits. The mouse eventually bumbles his way into strike range and bam! its game over. Its been working well but I'm concerned about my guy being in a bad tactical position initially. Eventually I'll have to move to rats and I hear they are more formidable foes...

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If you're going into the enclosure to clean the enclosure, refreshen water, etc, then he's not going to associate his enclosure with food, because you're not going in there to feed every time you're there.

I personally would not want to handle any of mine on feeding day, they are locked and loaded!

Rats are not more forbidable, and since your snake will never need anything larger than a small/small rat (4-5 weeks old approximately), their teeth are softer than adults and quite honestly, I've personally not met a rat or mouse yet that even has a chance to figure out that the snake is even a predator.

I have to admit its always a bit scary reaching into the tub to pull him out after he's done... But, since I reach into his normal enclosure and pull him out for handling daily I'm also comforted by the fact that he has never seen a mouse in his cage. Hmmm....

I agree that the mice are usually clueless. The most I've ever seen them do is kind of avoid the snake - but then they'll eventually bumble over there. I can't smell my snake at all. It seems like the mouse has only his vision to go by (say versus a cat which would have a definate scent signature)

I duh know to me it just made more sense...why it had never crossed my mind before to feed in there homes is still a mystery... in the wild they eat where they live..there not air lifted to another location to eat lol.

And if its done same time..same day each week they wont assume your going to feed them every time you reach in there...I've never gotten a bite from our 6...I take that back...I have one that is a complete maniac...and when moving her to her new tub I got a snap a couple times...that was sweet of her.

Although for me atleast and I know alot of people disagree...I do have to remove the hides and water from the tubs on a few to get them to eat...I drop the rat in and it goes into one hide while the snake sits on the other just hanging out...but once I remove the hide it pounces and were done...never had any problems with it. Where as another will grab the rat without coming out of her hide and before it hits the ground *shrugs* to each his own...the goal is to have happy and healthy snakes and so far so good. :)

I just didnt like the idea of moving them around after they ate (to get them out of the feeding container and back into the cage) they get stressed easy and I had alot refuse to eat that way...now I know better for sure...I know I would much rather eat where I'm comfy...not in some sterile environment thats new to me...

Usually those ive talked to that feed in tubs, leave them in there till the next day. But i am with you, i think they are more confy eating in a familiar place that they know, and can go sit in there hide white hunting, and after eating. Ive been thinking of things to do, so he maybe can associate the difference between, just taking him out or cleaning, to when its feeding time, like takeing him out for a few min, pre scenting the tank ect. Plus, who has the room for an extra set of tubs for each reptile?


oh, make sure your hands dont smell like there food, that will usualy help save from a bite :)

rabernet, OMG that girl is huge!! mind if I ask some measurements for comparison? they are lovely though. the yellowish one is beautiful

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Originally Posted by Gurgie

rabernet, OMG that girl is huge!! mind if I ask some measurements for comparison? they are lovely though. the yellowish one is beautiful

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You'll need to ask Adam - that's his post and his animals! I think he's said the size of her in other posts, the yellow one is a lesser.

Like many here I feed live and I feed in their home enclosure. We've never had a feeding accident, never had a rodent nail the snake and never had a food related bite. Like Robin, we have routines we follow and the snakes pretty quickly figure out what is going to occur. They are creatures of habit so they catch on pretty quick when you do something the same way over and over and over again. We have a routine for handling, another for cage maintenance and a third on feeding day. Usually on the day of feeding (we feed in the evening) they are all primed and ready to go by early afternoon. Some are lurking, peeking out of their hides, others are on top of the hides waiting for a rodent to wander by, others are out in plain sight and coiled in a very alert posture. A few of them spend awhile staring at the exact place they know that I unclip their lids from LOL. Smart snakes!

A few things to consider when you live feed. Don't feed an overly large live prey item, smaller is better....feed a prey item that is itself well fed and well hydrated, they tend to be less aggressive and make a healthier meal for your snake....consider buying live feeders a few days early and feeding/hydrating them yourself....never put live prey directly in your snake's face, introduce it furthest away from your snake so the snake has time to set up it's strike....monitor but do not hover over the snake, that tends to put them off as you are in "predator" position over them which scares them especially the young ones...never leave a live prey item with your snake for more than 20 minutes, if they haven't struck by then, they probably aren't going to.

hey everyone! i just switched up the rats at the pet store, and got a much smaller rat than the one previously purchased...Aurora took it in literally less than a second :) i'm sooo happy right now...one thing, she seemed to have taken in a lot of substrate this time...she usually isn't this messy, but i was just wondering if it's okay?!?! please get back to me, so i can do something if it needs to be done, thanks...oh, and it's ECO EARTH by zoo med...(compressed coconut fiber expandable substrate).

Congrats!! I know what a relief it is when they finally eat again!!

I wouldn't worry about the bedding. Her stomach acids are gonna break down the bone and fur and gristle of that rat....so a little coconut fiber isn't going to bother her. ;)

also...i've heard of owners feeding their BP's more than one rat at a time...having never fed her this small of a rat, how do i know if she's full or not?

One small/small rat a week is more than her African cousins get in a year - she's had enough. :)

ok thanks for all the advice :)