Ball python not eating

Pythons are tough, they are evolved to kill rodents and other small animals. As long as you don't leave the rodent in the tank over night, there is very little chance of your snake getting harmed. IF THE SNAKE IS HUNGRY AND STRIKES, HE WILL WIN 99% OF THE TIME! I only had one injury ever, and it was from a rather large rat. My python got a bad bite, he usually bites the face, but he only got one leg in his mouth, and the rat scratched like crazy and scratched a scale off his head. The scratched scale healed back within a week. You can't even see the scar. All the other 100 times I fed him, he killed the rat super quick.
It was my fault for feeding a medium live rat to a subadult ball, that he got scratched. Yet he did kill it and eat it, like many other medium rats. I since have switched to only small rats or less when I feed live. Medium and large rats have bigger claws and teeth!:O A rat pup or younger is harmless.

Thanks for the tip!

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I'm a recent owner of a BP who was rehomded to me, he's 4.

I've been feeding him live as his previous owners did, and am in the same boat as you. I am going to attempt to switch him over, but currently I am just allowing him to get comfortable in his new home before attempting. Have you tried feeding live? And i agree you can buy the jumpstart thermostat for about 20$ and it works quite well (although it isn't necessarily meant for snake temps) but many use it including me and it works very well. Just make sure to have a temp gun and if possible just another general temp to monitor the heat because the jumpstart (and other cheap thermos) aren't the most accurate. I have mine set at 82 because all of my other temp monitoring shows that it's really about 89-90 when the jumpstart shows that.


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I have a thermostat keeping the cold side at about 25 and the hot end at 31

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I have tried to feed live but he ignored it, the previous owner fed black live rats so that's what I'm going to try next

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You may also try feeding a large adult mouse. I feed fresh killed euthanized with C02 and in most cases they will all eat jumbo mice (but I try to get them on bigger rats for faster growth). I usually try larger rats first and some won't eat, but I follow with mice and they usually will eat it.

Also, I currently have three 2 year old ball pythons that are on a fast going on several months that are in the 1000 - 1200 gram range. The more I read the more it seems that a several month fast each year is pretty much normal for adults and not to freak out. I didn't breed them this year so I'm guessing they went into breeding mode. I never feed live, I used to worry about them not eating but if your conditions are right they will all eventually go back on food. I use an ARS rack with 82F ambient and 90F hot spot with coconut husk chip substrate for my ball pythons. I even convert my live feeders by offering fresh killed every week, sometimes it will take a couple months before they eat but it works out in the end.

I actually breed my own rodents in an ARS rat breeder rack and an ARS mouse breeder rack. After I gas with CO2 I attempt to feed them off. If they don't get eaten I freeze them and sell them to other local breeders that feed frozen thawed. I never waste a single rodent. Also, I never force a snake to eat. I dangle the rodent and move him around for about 30 seconds max and then give up and go to the next snake. I don't even worry about it anymore. Most of my snakes will eat once or twice a week. If they take mice I may feed two or three in one sitting or do a second feeding mid week.

I think no need to switch him to frozen unless live rats not available for sale where you live, or for other personal reasons like finding frozen cheaper. If he is eating live and happy why to switch him?

Easier instead of having to drive and keep the rats. Having to catch the rat if he won't accept it. Plus he only eats live black rats so what if they weren't availible?

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