Still won't eat and pics!

http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/t...ptiles0029.jpg


Monty still hasn't aten anything and it's been almost a month.Today I checked his mouth( most likely stressed him out though) just incase he had mouthrot or something but all's well. I have offered him live, freashly dead and frozen. He's not full grown so how long can he last.:taz:

What is your setup like? Does he have two hides? How big is his enclosure? Is he in a high traffic area?
You should check his weight every few days. If he is loosing weight then it is a problem but if he is maintaining a consistent weight then he should be fine.

He's in a 20 g tank with 2 hides, 2 rocks to scratch on and a small log. He has eco earth as a sub. His hot spot is 90 and the cool end is 75.I just ordered a digital therm since I heard those round ones don't do a good enough job. Humidity is at 50%. I taped paper over the tank but am going to paint it green other then the back which will be the front as he gets older. He's on a high shelf so he can't see anyone pass his tank I use a stool to check on him. .

Have you tried pre scenting the room to get him in the mood?
You could try a F/T and leave it in the tank over night. I have heard that sometimes does the trick.

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Originally Posted by rebeccabecca

He's in a 20 g tank with 2 hides, 2 rocks to scratch on and a small log. He has eco earth as a sub. His hot spot is 90 and the cool end is 75.I just ordered a digital therm since I heard those round ones don't do a good enough job. Humidity is at 50%. I taped paper over the tank but am going to paint it green other then the back which will be the front as he gets older. He's on a high shelf so he can't see anyone pass his tank I use a stool to check on him. .

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I'd boost the ambient temperatures to 80 (minimum). The analogs can be inaccurate up to eight degrees. So, it's a good thing you've ordered a digital.

Make sure his hides are tight fitting. They like to scrunch themselves in the hide, almost like a little turtle shell.

If he continues to refuse, I would take him to a vet for a fecal.

Sometimes bp's will go off feed for a while, they can go a long time not feeding. My normal 07 didnt eat for 3 weeks then he finally ate last week, now he didnt eat last night when I offered. He still hasn't ate this morning. He is in perfect health and not losing weight he will eat when he wants, I would not worry about it unless he looks like he is losing weight.

When you get your digital thermometer/hygrometer, report back what it reads that his temps are on the cool and warm side. I'd recommend buying some velcro, so that you can mount the thermometer at ground level on the cool side, and run the probe to sit inside the warm hide.

You want to measure ground temps, not 1/2 way up the enclosure (many keepers stick those dials on all the way at the top, or 1/2 way down and aren't measuring ground level temps).

Only offer food once a week. Don't handle him right now - watch his behavior - when he looks like he's lurking from his hide watching for food, then try offering a live mouse IN his enclosure.

If all else fails, you may want to consider moving him to a tub set-up. My very first ball python was housed in a 20 gallon tall then a 20 gallon long. I was determined to make it work. In the end, he fasted for 8 months. I moved him to a more appropriately sized tub and he ate the following week, and the week after that, and the week after that.

Tanks work in some cases, and in other cases, can be very difficult to achieve ideal temps AND humidity. If you use a lamp at all, you're probably misting several times a day to keep the humidity up.

Good luck!

has he ever ate with you in that setup?

how old is he? how big is he?
the pics are hard to tell but it could be the typical breeding season hunger strike.

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Originally Posted by nixer

has he ever ate with you in that setup?

how old is he? how big is he?
the pics are hard to tell but it could be the typical breeding season hunger strike.

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What's typical? None of mine - even the breeders are fasting.

I didn't ask how old he was but he's about 1.5 feet. Way to little to breed. If I moved him to a 10 g would that be better if he continues not to eat? heat pads don't seem to get hot enough for a ball.

If you aren't using a probe thermometer to measure how hot the heat pad is actually geting then you probably dont realize that is actually warmer than it needs to be. Especially if you are not controlling the heat with anything.

I have tried putting a dead rat in his tank overnight but he refused to even come near it. I just put a pinkie in with his as my rat had it's first litter and I was culling most of them for my corns I was nice and allowed her to keep 5;) .

ball pythons go off eating all the time its not uncommon for a ball python to go off eating for up to a year there have been 2 cases where BP's have gone off eating for 22 months which is almost 2 years, as long as ur BP isnt losing weight you have nothing to worry about i weigh my snakes before they are offered food that way if they dont eat the next time i feed them i can tell if they have lost any weight, i offer my yearlings (08's) an adult mouse every 5-7days and my 07's and older get food offered to them every 7-10 days if they eat they eat, again just make sure there is no weigh loss i hope this helps!!!

One of my het albinos has just finished her fast of 7 months, I tried everything from live mice to dead mice to live rats to dead rats... nothing.... she had not eaten for ma at all since I got her

I then tried a rat pup and she took that within 10 seconds, and then she took another one. Now she is taking 2 rat pups each week and I'm gonna try slowy to get her onto bigger prey.

Have you tried rat pups? Also I'd recommend putting Monty into a smaller enclosure with tight fitting hides, also when your digi-therm arrives make the necessary adjustments to get your temps spot-on.

It is frustrating, but play around a bit with hides, enclosure etc and you should find what rings his dinner bell....