Snake hasn't ate in a month...

[jjrhythm]

I bought 2 ball pythons from two different breeders, the one eats fine always strikes the thawed mouse pretty much as soon as she recognizes it. The other bp that I have, hasn't ate since I bought her and its been almost 5 weeks and I'm not sure what to do... I was thinking of trying live today? Since I've only been trying to feed it frozen/thawed and she has no interest in it at all. Any incite on what I should do would be great, thanks!

[Rorschach]

A month of not eating is not unheard of. BP's are picky eaters, I've had one go as long as three months and have heard of others going almost a year.

No need to fret, but if it would make you feel better that he/she is eating, try live. No guarantee though, I've had em refuse live as well. If it's your first time trying live, do not leave the mouse/rat with your python. Try to feed using tongs. Otherwise your python may get injured severely. And keep in mind, the first time you consider trying live you may try to talk yourself out of it, but you'll be fine.

Try pre-scenting the enclosure.

Goodluck!

[iCandiBallPythons]

I bought 2 ball pythons from two different breeders, the one eats fine always strikes the thawed mouse pretty much as soon as she recognizes it. The other bp that I have, hasn't ate since I bought her and its been almost 5 weeks and I'm not sure what to do... I was thinking of trying live today? Since I've only been trying to feed it frozen/thawed and she has no interest in it at all. Any incite on what I should do would be great, thanks!

How old are they?

[steveboos]

Yeah age makes a big difference. I had a friend whos ball python didn't eat for 6 months, he was an adult male and it was winter time so he was in breeding mode. Now he is a ferocious eater and will eat anything in his path.

If it's a very young ball python, now you need to start trying different routes, Try a live rat or mouse and watch over for about 15 minutes, if you don't see anything, you might want to put a fresh killed rat or mouse in there. I know it's not humane, but sometimes snakes want something that is basically fresh and live, but not moving.

I actually just had my new rescue who is about 50 grams eat a fresh killed hopper yesterday and he wont even touch frozen thawed or live. Just leave the rodent in the cage and cover the tub/cage with a towel or dark blanket and let them do work. Completely darkness is definitely a big help.