Still no sucess in feeding

Well still having issues. I tried slightly gutting my f/t and my ball wasn't even intrested. She is more intrested in attempting to climb on the edge of her tank. She is really starting to look thin, slight triangular shape in areas. If she is not even intrested in F/T should i try feeding her a live? or could that be a bad idea being that she may get injured by it. I think its time for a Vet trip. Anyone else have any suggestions for me?

Try live.

I am having almost exactly the same problem with mine. I open up the screen and he just wants to climb around the edge and then down behind the aquarium. Also, while presenting the F/T to him with tongs, he attempts to climb up the tongs and to my hand. I've even tried leaving the F/T in the tank with him on a paper plate for about an hour, and he never even thinks about eating it. Is there any helpful tips about feeding F/T that I may be over looking? It has been a month since I got him and still no success feeding. :(

He sounds stressed to me, give us a detailed explanation of your set-up, temps, how you handle etc.

Also, give us a detailed description of how you prepare the animal for feeding.

Do you prescent, have a set schedule, how do you warm the prey, all of these things will help us.

Honestly, if he just wants out, sound like he's stressed and has NO CLUE its feeding time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

He sounds stressed to me, give us a detailed explanation of your set-up, temps, how you handle etc.

Also, give us a detailed description of how you prepare the animal for feeding.

Do you prescent, have a set schedule, how do you warm the prey, all of these things will help us.

Honestly, if he just wants out, sound like he's stressed and has NO CLUE its feeding time.

---

My setup is:

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...0825_thumb.jpg

Since this photo I have removed the half log hide, and added two identical hides (dollar store bowls). I don't have a thermometer with a probe, so I only know what my ambient temps are. On the warm side they stay between 88-90 during the day, and 81-83 at night. On the cool side they stay between 83-84 during the day and 78-80 at night. I also have an UTH on the warm side. The humidity is usually in the mide 50's, but jumped up to 70% when the mulch was changed. It has been slowly dropping back down to the norm, but is currently in the low 60's.

I have reduced handling to almost nothing for about the last 2 weeks. The only time he is touched is if there is tank maintenance to be done, which is about once a week.

I don't have a set feeding day, but I have been waiting 5 days between feeding attempts. After thawing the food in warm water for about 10 minutes, I pre-scent for an hour by placing the F/T on top of the screen under the lamp. This keeps it warm, and puts it in the only place that there is air transfer. I thought this would be a good way to do it, but I don't really know too much about pre-scenting.

I have had him for a month, and the conditions have been pretty stable for three weeks of that. I'm hoping he isn't still stressed, but if there are any other husbandry issues I need to address please, oh wise forum, enlighten me!

How big is the snake? Mostly in girth. Thats not cedar bedding is it?

Ok, he's a pretty young snake, but I can't say that anything screams wrong with your husbandry. I would just get that probe so you can always know how hot his hot spot it. Just good to know and not guess that sort of thing.

Just a few more questions, does he sit in his hide all day, or have his body in with only his head sitting out of the entrance? Or does he hide somewhere else or move all around?

Just trying to narrow some things down. Also, what time of day do you offer prey?

This is my suggestions for certain answers:
If he does not hide all day, chances are he is stressed out. To remedy this, you can fill his tank with crumpled newspaper, papertowel, decorations etc. Anything that he can feel on all sides when he's moving around the tank. It may not look pretty, but security is number one with babies BP's.

Stuffing his enclosure will help him feel safe, you will be able to remove a piece at a time over the weeks as he continues to eat.

Go to a pet store and get some soiled rat/mouse bedding. Whatever you happen to be feeding. Put the frozen mouse/rat in a paper bag/ tupperware, anything that you can poke holes into that he can't get into. Put that into his enclosure an hour before he's going to eat, around 8:30-9 at night.

Make sure to leave him alone, you could even cover most of the front of his enclosure with paper or a towel to make it dark for him while your thawing the rat.

When it's thawed, probably around 9:30 pm, pull out the rat/mouse and bedding and heat the head under your heat lamp. Make it warm, so he has no trouble seeing that heat when you offer it.

Make sure it's quiet, dark, and offer him the rat/mouse. Do the zombie rat dance, make it twitch a little, get him interested in it.

When he strikes and has a good grip, tug the leg like the rat is kicking a little, he should tighten up his coil and get really into feeding mode.

If he does not strike, do not despair, leave him alone in the tank with the prey for a half an hour, pull out the rat again, heat up the head and offer again. If he resists your attempts, leave the rat in the cage over night. Check on it in the morning.

If it's gone, congrats, if not, try the exact same thing next week. If he continues, you may have to resort to live.
Hope that made some sense. :gj: Let me know how it turns out.

I plan on ordering a herpstat soon, so that should put my mind at ease as for as temp control goes.

As far as hiding goes, he sort of rotates where he is at. He does hide in both of the hides, and sometimes he just curls up under a branch and a fake plant that is in there. Sometimes in the morning or at night I notice him partially hiding with his head/neck out on a branch or something similar to that. After the black light comes on at night he is all over the place, especially interested in the opening that is in the aluminum foil.

A freind of mine has two pet rats, so I can get some used bedding from him. My snake is quite small still, so I'm not quite sure what it is that I should be feeding him. The last thing I tried was a fuzzy mouse.. and it seemed to be just smaller than my BP is around. If the pet store was feeding him pinkie/fuzzie rats and I'm trying to feed fuzzy mice, would he not recognize the scent as food?

Are there any specific techniques with the "zombie dance"? I have pretty much just been dangling it close to the ground by the tail.

I'm feeling like I don't know what I'm doing at all!

Quote:

---

As far as hiding goes, he sort of rotates where he is at. He does hide in both of the hides, and sometimes he just curls up under a branch and a fake plant that is in there. Sometimes in the morning or at night I notice him partially hiding with his head/neck out on a branch or something similar to that. After the black light comes on at night he is all over the place, especially interested in the opening that is in the aluminum foil.

---

Sounds like normal behavior to me, active at night, sleeps during the day with some thermoregulating

Quote:

---

If the pet store was feeding him pinkie/fuzzie rats and I'm trying to feed fuzzy mice, would he not recognize the scent as food?

---

Yes, it is quite possible. Were they feeding him mice or rats? I would stick with whatever they were feeding him and trying to switch him later on when he has some size to him. Also, it will be harder to switch him to FT if he was being fed live.

Quote:

---

Are there any specific techniques with the "zombie dance"? I have pretty much just been dangling it close to the ground by the tail.

---

That's pretty much it, act like a rat i guess. lol, make it as believable as possible, read him and look for signs that he's going to strike and is interested. :gj:

Quote:

---

I'm feeling like I don't know what I'm doing at all!

---

Don't worry! Asking means your willing to try!

Littleindiangirl always has great advice. If your snake still won't take the F/T, do try a live animal. My snake won't even think about taking the F/T for 30 minutes of effort but in less than 10 seconds she'll pound a live. She just looks at the F/T as says, "Get that mess out of my face crazy woman!"

You can then try offering P/K then try the F/T a few feed days later and see what happens. I am trying that tonight because I'd love to get the little bugger on F/T! Driving in Atlanta rush-traffic once a week to get a mouse is just NOT on my list of ways I like to spend my time.

I know what you mean. It would be about a 40 minute drive to the nearest pet store to get live feeders for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ChrisBowsman

Try live.

---

i agree let its instincts kick in... and make its meal smaller than normal. live mice worked for me in a situation similar to this. good luck!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by andwhy6

i agree let its instincts kick in... and make its meal smaller than normal. live mice worked for me in a situation similar to this. good luck!

---

Wouldn't a "smaller meal than normal" imply that there have been normal meals before this? :P

I guess I need something about the size of the fuzzy I've been trying. It is definitely smaller than his girth, and seems to be the size I should be shootin' for. I'm just worried that he isn't going to be interested in eating, and I'm going to have to keep the little b*stard feeder as a "pet".:rolleyes:

How long have you had your snake.
Is it CB or WC.
I was in a similar situation with a WC last year, it eventually started feeding after 15 weeks.
I had tried everything I could.
I was at the point where I thought that I would have to force feed (a last resort) then to my amazement she took the mouse straight out of my fingers, coiled and then swallowed it.
She has fed reguarly ever since.
I think the best advice is from Philippe de Vosjoli (author of The Ball Python Manual) Don't Panic !

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BLOCK 213

How long have you had your snake.
Is it CB or WC.
I was in a similar situation with a WC last year, it eventually started feeding after 15 weeks.
I had tried everything I could.
I was at the point where I thought that I would have to force feed (a last resort) then to my amazement she took the mouse straight out of my fingers, coiled and then swallowed it.
She has fed reguarly ever since.
I think the best advice is from Philippe de Vosjoli (author of The Ball Python Manual) Don't Panic !

---

I have had him for about a month

I was told it is CB

I don't think I would consider myself in a state of panic, but in a state of frustration. I'm sure after 15 weeks you were quite frustrated, and can relate.

I would stick a live rat chubby or fuzzy in the cage and let him have at it. Do this while he is camped out in one of his hide spots and not cruising the cage. Before you do this though, stick the rat chub in a bowl or something near his tank for a while, maybe and hour or so to let the scent get to him, then just drop the rat in near him. Maybe 8 inch in front of him so the wriggling will get his attention and just leave the room for a while.

Hopefully this will trigger him :)

I thought about that.. but I'm quite worried about him taking in some mulch with his meal. Will live prey stay on a plate/piece of cardboard if I place that on top of the mulch?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sneakerpro

I thought about that.. but I'm quite worried about him taking in some mulch with his meal. Will live prey stay on a plate/piece of cardboard if I place that on top of the mulch?

---

It might wriggle off the plate. Then again a white plate may blend in with a white rat... I have seen pics and vids of snakes eating on the mulch and even cypress mulch with out problems but every so often we will see a post here about a snake getting some bedding stuck in its mouth. It can be removed but tricky. I never had to do it myself since I use news paper for bedding.

You could always remove the animal and place him in a seperate box and feed him there. Just stick him in a vented shoe box like a sterilite 6qt (I think, its been a while since I used em so I am not sure of the numbers) with a live rat chub in a dark area for a couple hours and see if that works

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Ok, he's a pretty young snake, but I can't say that anything screams wrong with your husbandry. I would just get that probe so you can always know how hot his hot spot it. Just good to know and not guess that sort of thing.

Just a few more questions, does he sit in his hide all day, or have his body in with only his head sitting out of the entrance? Or does he hide somewhere else or move all around?

Just trying to narrow some things down. Also, what time of day do you offer prey?

This is my suggestions for certain answers:
If he does not hide all day, chances are he is stressed out. To remedy this, you can fill his tank with crumpled newspaper, papertowel, decorations etc. Anything that he can feel on all sides when he's moving around the tank. It may not look pretty, but security is number one with babies BP's.

Stuffing his enclosure will help him feel safe, you will be able to remove a piece at a time over the weeks as he continues to eat.

Go to a pet store and get some soiled rat/mouse bedding. Whatever you happen to be feeding. Put the frozen mouse/rat in a paper bag/ tupperware, anything that you can poke holes into that he can't get into. Put that into his enclosure an hour before he's going to eat, around 8:30-9 at night.

Make sure to leave him alone, you could even cover most of the front of his enclosure with paper or a towel to make it dark for him while your thawing the rat.

When it's thawed, probably around 9:30 pm, pull out the rat/mouse and bedding and heat the head under your heat lamp. Make it warm, so he has no trouble seeing that heat when you offer it.

Make sure it's quiet, dark, and offer him the rat/mouse. Do the zombie rat dance, make it twitch a little, get him interested in it.

When he strikes and has a good grip, tug the leg like the rat is kicking a little, he should tighten up his coil and get really into feeding mode.

If he does not strike, do not despair, leave him alone in the tank with the prey for a half an hour, pull out the rat again, heat up the head and offer again. If he resists your attempts, leave the rat in the cage over night. Check on it in the morning.

If it's gone, congrats, if not, try the exact same thing next week. If he continues, you may have to resort to live.
Hope that made some sense. :gj: Let me know how it turns out.

---

What does it mean when they keep their body inside the hide and stick only their head out? He appears to do that a lot..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by b8byjenny

What does it mean when they keep their body inside the hide and stick only their head out? He appears to do that a lot..

---

For my snakes, when they have their head out of the hide, they are in hunting mode. BP's will keep their body in the hide, and wait for prey to come along.

When snakes sleep, their pupils contract down to just a sliver to minimize the amount of light going in. They don't flick their tongue and are quite literally on a hair trigger if are disturbed.

It's instinctive for them to strike at whatever disturbs them when they are sleeping because chances are it's a meal!

A lot of snakes use this ambush method, and sometimes it's good to know how they sleep and why they strike for tough feeders like yours.

Why not next time he's "sleeping" with his head out of the hide (dont matter what time of day), dangle that extra warm stinky rat next to him with no warning. Hopefully you can spur his instinct to strike and constrict. :gj:


If that doesnt work, have you considered feeding him in a separate container? I don't totally condemn feeding in separate containers, I just think the reasons people do it are pretty false.

My corn snake has tried live, and lately he's been refusing FT (which we always fed him till we ran out a few weeks ago) We pulled him out, wrangled him into a tub, threw in a chubby rat (fuzzy) and put the lid on. Took him to a quite room, threw a blanket over it and let him alone for a half an hour.

Came back, rat was gone. Some BP's will eat if they are in a small container like a 12 qt, and you put that rat in there. Make it quiet, dark, and no real way for him to avoid crossing paths with the rat.

Always worth a try if several attempts at feeding in the enclosure just aren't working. If not still, you should probably try live. :)

We originally tried a seperate container with F/T mice, and it didn't work. Today I went to the store and purchased the smallest live mouse they had, and will be attempting to feed tonight. I'm worried that the mouse is to big, it is about the same if not a tad bit bigger around than Slyder is.