wont eat

[Marc from CT]

i have a baby ball that ive had for 3 weeks that wont eat.he was 70 grams when i got him now hes 69g she is in a rack with 3 other snake the eat just fine.i tryed the paper balled up and left the hopper in her tub all night,no luck even live no luck ..should i assist feed or wait..thanks

[stevepoppers]

Not losing much weight. You've got time yet. What are your temps and with what are you measuring them? Tub size? Hides? Are those other 3 snakes also hatchlings you've had for 3 weeks? Does he have a lot of privacy?

Maybe just keep offering live. I haven't dealt with a lot of feeding issues, but that's what comes to mind.

[Mrgbb]

dont worry about it..... its only 3 week... whene i got my first bp she didnt eat for almost 2 months and than out of the blue she took the mouse. just keep offering the mouse and he/she will eventually take it.


goodluck!!

Mike H.

[Marc from CT]

2 of my snakes are older 1 is almost a year old.my temp are right on,just pick up a tem gun eveything looks good.as far as the tub goes shes in a small tub 1 hide that i put inside the the bigger tub in the rack..i did it for my last little guy and it worked out good but if thats not good i will switch it up...lots of privacy.at what point should i assist feed.70g now 69 g how long and at how many grams ...thanks

[sho220]

dont worry about it..... its only 3 week... whene i got my first bp she didnt eat for almost 2 months and than out of the blue she took the mouse. just keep offering the mouse and he/she will eventually take it.


goodluck!!

Mike H.

This is a hatchling...you don't want a hatchling going 3 months without eating...


What was his hatch date and date of first shed? He hasn't really lost any weight yet. Just keep an eye on him and keep trying to feed maybe every other day or so.

I have a Lesserbee that hatched out on July 3rd and hasn't eaten yet. Weighed 70 grams out of the egg and weighed 68 grams a day ago. Why are the hot ones always such a pain?

I would definitely hold out on assist feeding. You have a some time yet...do you have any pics?

[stevepoppers]

The older snakes are already established eaters, so the fact that they're eating has little bearing on whether or not he's eating. Husbandry sounds good.

70-69 grams is absolutely nothing. You've even got to give a decent margin of error for water intake/output. My cinny started at 59 grams, ate a 22 gram mouse, and was 92 grams 2 days later. The only place that 11 extra grams could have come from is water, so they can fluctuate quite a bit just from that.

I can't say exactly when you'd need an assist feed, but I'd say it's a looong way off. Especially taking the above poster's post into account.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Does the baby have a hide? If not, add one. Try a live mouse hopper.

[Marc from CT]

yes 1 hide and live hoppers.should i try every 2 days or go longer .also tryed the dead hopper over night but no luck.

[j_h_smith]

Give him a week to 10 days without bothering him. Don't do anything with the snake. At that time, try to feed again. I would try to feed live first. He's probably just stressed out from the move.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

[WingedWolfPsion]

Guys, this is a TINY hatchling. Advice appropriate for older ball pythons is NOT appropriate for a snake this size. After 3 weeks without food, 10 days is too long a period of time to wait. While the snake hasn't lost a dangerous amount of weight yet, I would give it only one more week, period, before assist-feeding would be called for.

Honestly, given this snake's size, I wonder if it has EVER eaten.

Did you buy this snake from a breeder, or from a pet store?