YOUNG bp owners, I need your help.

I made an earlier post, got great advice. tried them and my bp still won’t eat. she has shed with me, but not eaten. last time she ate was 3-4 weeks ago ( not with me/ before i received her) she dropped one gram from 97. enclosure, temps, humidity, correct mice size, everything is on point.... the only one out of formation is my snake. she’s very sweet and gentle. she completed her shed last night. tried to offer her food today, she refused. she shows NO INTEREST in eating. if she could live off air and water..... she would.

for those wondering, from observations she likes her home, she knows the locations of her hides, and water. she also likes being handled.


for those with YOUNG bps , have you experienced this?


how long do i wait to reOffer her food? 2 days? week?


whats the longest your bp went without food? (young snakes only)
the way she refuses food makes me question if she even knows she a carnivore, and or I am being a human and over reacting.
thank you in advance!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BpShelly

I made an earlier post, got great advice. tried them and my bp still won’t eat. she has shed with me, but not eaten. last time she ate was 3-4 weeks ago ( not with me/ before i received her) she dropped one gram from 97. enclosure, temps, humidity, correct mice size, everything is on point.... the only one out of formation is my snake. she’s very sweet and gentle. she completed her shed last night. tried to offer her food today, she refused. she shows NO INTEREST in eating. if she could live off air and water..... she would.

for those wondering, from observations she likes her home, she knows the locations of her hides, and water. she also likes being handled.


for those with YOUNG bps , have you experienced this?


how long do i wait to reOffer her food? 2 days? week?


whats the longest your bp went without food? (young snakes only)
the way she refuses food makes me question if she even knows she a carnivore, and or I am being a human and over reacting.
thank you in advance!

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Yes

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BpShelly

she also likes being handled.


for those with YOUNG bps , have you experienced this?


how long do i wait to reOffer her food? 2 days? week?


whats the longest your bp went without food? (young snakes only)
the way she refuses food makes me question if she even knows she a carnivore, and or I am being a human and over reacting.
thank you in advance!

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1. Baby ball pythons are docile yes, but the "likes being handled" is totally anthropomorphizing. That's just a fact, and you need to stop handling her for at least a week to let her have a better chance of being low-stress enough to eat.

2. Once you stop handling her, I would offer food in 5-6 days.

3. Bp's under 500g or so honestly shouldn't be going "off food", that is not normal for their size at all... Especially at 90g. Whatever is wrong with their husbandry or in this case probably your over-handling, it needs to be fixed/stopped and allow them to start eating asap. You really shouldn't be thinking "how long can they go without food" at this age, because they really shouldn't at all. And if they are, 99% of the time it is because of new owner errors.

It may have been said before in this case you can post a link, but what is your setup like?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Yes

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Mr Snakes, I'm wondering why you so often reply to question threads that is often unhelpful and you haven't even owned a single snake yet... haha

If you have not already do this to a T https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101 because at that size you need to get things on track ASAP before it becomes a vicious circle.

I am only doing what I was told in regarding handling. but this new information is being accepted within my knowledge and I will change things up. thank you for the information that was shared on this thread. as well as the link for new owners.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BpShelly

I am only doing what I was told in regarding handling. but this new information is being accepted within my knowledge and I will change things up. thank you for the information that was shared on this thread. as well as the link for new owners.

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As far as this goes, I'm guessing that what you were told regarding handling was that ball pythons are a good snake if you want to take them out and handle them often. Which is true, most put up with handling very well. But this is after they are established and feeling secure in their new homes, are confident enough to eat, and aren't stressed by you. Until that happens, understand that this young little guy was just moved to a new place, and is trying to figure out if there are any predators around, where it can go to feel secure, etc.

That might not have been what you meant when you said "I am only doing what I was told in regards to handling", and if not, sorry for misinterpreting. Best of luck

There are 2 major reasons why a young BP won't eat:

1) husbandry is off
2) stress

Since we've already established that you're handling the snake, we can already determine your snake is stressed and you need to refrain from handling until your snake is well acclimated and eating consistently. I highly recommend waiting until the snake has eaten three consecutive meals WITHOUT refusal before any handling.
At this point, food needs to be TOP priority. You'll have 25+ years to handle the snake, be patient and get it eating.

And now to husbandry... you say all is good, but without details we can't help you. I'm not saying you're wrong, just saying you may have been misinformed (as you were about handling).
Soooo.....the more you tell us, the better we can help you and your snake.

- what type/size enclosure?
- what are your temps?
- How and where are you measuring the temps?
- how are you heating the enclosure???
- are ALL HEAT SOURCES regulated by a THERMOSTAT?
- how many hides are offered and are they proper hides?

-

Quote:

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Mr Snakes, I'm wondering why you so often reply to question threads that is often unhelpful and you haven't even owned a single snake yet... haha

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Wonder no more. I was raising and breeding gopher snakes before most of you were born (and it was written in my intro to the Forum). But I am thankful for the information available here and the advancement in husbandry over the years. It's just amazing to me the number of people that ask the same questions here without researching the multitude of threads here that have answered the same question, over and over. And most usually in a panic. Hope this adds to your knowledge. Cheers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Yes

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Wonder no more. I was raising and breeding gopher snakes before most of you were born (and it was written in my intro to the Forum). But I am thankful for the information available here and the advancement in husbandry over the years. It's just amazing to me the number of people that ask the same questions here without researching the multitude of threads here that have answered the same question, over and over. And most usually in a panic. Hope this adds to your knowledge. Cheers

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Perhaps you have had some experience, but in this case the OP isn't overreacting. His/her questions are valid, their snake is stressed and corrections need to be made. So advice is needed here, not a dismissal.

Sometimes it's better to take a pause as a relative newbie and watch how threads develop before chiming in.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hilabeans

Perhaps you have had some experience, but in this case the OP isn't overreacting. His/her questions are valid, their snake is stressed and corrections need to be made. So advice is needed here, not a dismissal.

Sometimes it's better to take a pause as a relative newbie and watch how threads develop before chiming in.

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And sometimes it is advisable that thread posters at least take 5 minutes to find the multitude of like threads before posting another one.:D