idk what's wrong...

[cydneyx3]

so i got my ball python about a month ago and since coming home, she hasn't eaten. the first week or so she was shedding so i offered food once or twice but i kind of let her go after that. after she shed, i've offered food 6-8 times (i don't want to keep trying and stress her) and she refuses. they fed her f/t in the pet store and i feed her what i bought there. i've tried feeding her in and out of her enclosure, at night and during the day, i've covered her up, i've left the fuzzy overnight, i've poked a hole in the head, i've wiggled the fuzzy, i always warm up the fuzzy in hot water and she seems more scared of the mouse than interested in eating it. i'm afraid to try live for that reason.. she either ignores the mouse or gets frightened when i move it. i dont want a live mouse to hurt her.

as far as my husbandry goes, the temps and humidity are right according to the thermometer and she also explores her whole viv almost every night. she stays in her hide during the day and at night she spends some time on the cool side and some time basking on her branch. she's pretty active and i've definitely noticed an increase in her activity this past week or so (maybe i finally got her temps up to a good level or maybe she's just getting used to her environment). we handled her a bit at first (prob a bad idea), but the past week and a half i've let her go completely not even trying to take her out to feed her (i really didnt want to feed in the enclosure but i gave in and tried so i didn't increase the stress).


she's also about a foot and a half long. she doesn't look like she's lost much weight and her skin doesnt seem loose but i'm just nervous that she's starving. according to the feeding chart, at the pet store they attempted to feed her every 4 days (she didn't always eat the first day but, unless she was shedding, she almost always ate the 2nd day in a row they offered food) could she just have been overfed and she's not hungry? it's been over a month since she's eaten and i'm really starting to worry. when is it time that i take her to a vet?

[wolfy-hound]

What is the enclosure? Pics? What do you use to measure temps and humiidty? What is the heat source?

Trying to feed 6-8 times in a 2-3 week period is a lot. Also you said you tried to feed 2-3 times in the first week or so.

If she has a lot of hides and 3 sides of the cage are covered so it's private and she doesn't feel exposed and the temps are correct, then leave her alone without changing the stuff, moving her around or bugging her about eating for a while so she can settle in. Babies are often nervous and need some time to settle in and from what you've said, you've been messing about with things a lot trying to make it perfect for her.

There's a ton of tricks for helping her be comfortable enough to eat. First is to make certain she has lots of hides, the proper heat/humidity and you might end up having to offer live to get her eating, then switch to F/T. Maybe you need to heat the FT a bit more? Can you use a hair dryer to heat the outside up mroe before you offer it?

Post up what kind of enclosure and heat and temp sensor you have, and I'm sure that folks will have plenty of suggestions you can do!

[LGL]

Is she round or more triangular shaped? If she's round she should be fine without food for a while.

How long are you waiting between feeding attempts. It sounds like she's still stressed since she's acting scared of the rat. This may be due to offering her food too frequently (which 6-8 times in the last 3-4 weeks is far to often). If she refuses food, don't offer food for an entire week. The next week offer food again.

Good job on leaving her alone for now and leaving her in her enclosure for feeding attempts. That should definitely reduce stress.

Usually I'd suggest offering live since most Ball Pythons will readily accept live when refusing F/T, but it sounds to me like she's just stressed, so live wouldn't help that issue at all. A live rat would probably just cause additional stress.

[DZ Reptiles]

LGL said it. Stress can be extremely harmful to your snake. Let her be for about a week. This also means no handling. Cage cleaning is an exception.

[cydneyx3]

my set up is a 20 gal screen top with aluminum foil on one side and a light on the other (blacklight for night and bluelight for day) and another basking light focused on her branch on the side of the viv. hide is half on the cool and half on the hot side. i have an UTH that stays on medium (my apartment is about 68-70 degrees so low doesn't raise the temps enough). i use a sponge and spray water for humidity. water dish is on the cool side. the thermometer is on the back wall (hot side) close to the ground. the temp reads between 83 and 90 all the time (fluctuating a few degrees, mostly at night). i don't know the exact temp, but the basking area is concentrated under a light so the temp is a bit higher there (not too much though because the light isnt strong and it's on the other side of the glass). the cool side is 75-80 because it's under the aluminum foil to keep the heat in, but there's no direct heat source.

[LGL]

my set up is a 20 gal

Besides frequent feeding attempts, this would be the other problem. If she's roughly 18 inches, she's a hatchling. A 20 gallon tank is far too large for a hatchling. I'd suggest something smaller until she has a chance to grow out of it. Maybe something like a Kritter Keeper or even a 10 gallon tank. The cage should be downsided though. Once you switch cages, wait 7-10 days before offering a meal. If she refuses, wait a week and try again. That should solve the problem right there. Best of luck! Keep us updated.

[Jeo123]

I went straight to a 20g tank and mine was about the same size when i got her. The important thing is to make sure she has a good secure hide.

For the longest time, mine loved this log that to me looked almost flat, but there was just enough room under it for her to squeeze under. She loved that, so it was kind of sad when she out grew it and I had to replace it. She went roaming all over until I finally found a new hide she liked.

Snakes that don't feel secure will roam a lot and usually won't eat. Exploring isn't always good.

[wolfy-hound]

On first thought, cover the sides and back of the tank with black paper. If the thermometer is a dial that you stick on, get rid of it and get a digital. Your temps may be too high with 3 heat sources(two lights and a UTH) or even if it's just a single light and a UTH.

Add in a hide so that you have a fully enclosed hide on each the cool and hot sides of the tank. Half logs don't feel as secure, so make sure it's a bowl with a door type, like a little den that encloses her, no so big that another snake could fit in with her.

If the temps are too high, and with a basking light AND a lamp AND a UTH, it's very possible, that would account for her being stressed and not eating etc. The stick-on kinds are notorious for giving wildly false readings. If it's just too much heat, it's an easy fix too.

You should be able to have her fixed up in no time.

[cydneyx3]

i feel like she's starting to look like she needs to eat now.. she's looking a little triangular and the skin is a bit looser.. not drastic but it's been over a month and i'm just really worried. how do i know when it's time to take her to the vet? or should i try live before i take her to the vet? or is feeding her live (considering her lack of interest/fear of the f/t food) a really risky idea?

[Zedd]

Feeding live isn't an issue as long as it is supervised. You don't want the mouse/rat to take a note out of your snake. Just have a chopstick ready to stick in its mouth if needed.

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