stopped eating :confused:

[sniper]

i have a female wild type she was born in may of this year. she wieghs 1.18lb and she has been eating small/med live rats (45gr-60gr) twice a week. my female rat had 9 pups i started feeding them off when they got 3.5 weeks old after two week she stopped eating them won't even look at them.i know that some BP's go through the winter without eating but thats when they reach sexual maturity. At night she is ver active and looking for a rat . nothing has changed in her tank the temp is 90 hot side day and 82 cool side day , night it 75 with humidty at 60% and 12hrs of dark and light, and she seems to be drinking plenty of water.maybe thinking ofstarting off with smaller rats, just had another litter of 5 from a different female maybe styart off with a 2.5 week old pup. or if anyone can give me any ideas .

thanks everyone.

[Ezekiel285]

Try a smaller one and try at night if she seems more interested then.

[Lolo76]

Sometimes they just don't feel like eating, and part of owning BPs is not getting nervous when they fast - LOL. But it would help to see your setup, as there could be something making her unhappy... she was eating previously, though, so that's probably not the case. Any signs of illness, like wheezing/popping, breathing with her mouth open, or mucus?

[Lolo76]

P.S. Ball Pythons only need to eat once a week (if that), so maybe she's just full? I also noticed you said she was eating small/med rats, then pups, and now you're thinking of going even smaller? I would recommend going bigger instead, back to the original size she was eating.

[sniper]

Sometimes they just don't feel like eating, and part of owning BPs is not getting nervous when they fast - LOL. But it would help to see your setup, as there could be something making her unhappy... she was eating previously, though, so that's probably not the case. Any signs of illness, like wheezing/popping, breathing with her mouth open, or mucus?

no changes in the setup and no wheezing or breathing problems

[sniper]

P.S. Ball Pythons only need to eat once a week (if that), so maybe she's just full? I also noticed you said she was eating small/med rats, then pups, and now you're thinking of going even smaller? I would recommend going bigger instead, back to the original size she was eating.

ok i just thought a little bite of something to kick start the eating again

[loonunit]

Sorry man, that's just what juvenile ball pythons do. It's not just ball pythons at sexual maturity: they usually do it first when they hit 500-800 grams. Every single one of my guys and gals has done it. And sometimes the juvenile fast can be a pretty extreme.

So, it's the normal thing. She might only eat one rat every other week until spring, or she just might not eat at all for a few months... it's perfectly normal. If she continues to refuse food, I'd drop to offering every 10 days, or even every 14 days, just to save your sanity. Don't sweat it if she doesn't eat even then.

Sounds like she's throwing your rat breeding plans for a loop, though.

Keep an eye on her weight--if she drops more than 25-30% of her current weight, then you can begin worrying.

[sniper]

Try a smaller one and try at night if she seems more interested then.

i'll try anything to get her back to eating

[sniper]

Sorry man, that's just what juvenile ball pythons do. It's not just ball pythons at sexual maturity: they usually do it first when they hit 500-800 grams. Every single one of my guys and gals has done it. And sometimes the juvenile fast can be a pretty extreme.

So, it's the normal thing. She might only eat one rat every other week until spring, or she just might not eat at all for a few months... it's perfectly normal. If she continues to refuse food, I'd drop to offering every 10 days, or even every 14 days, just to save your sanity. Don't sweat it if she doesn't eat even then.

Sounds like she's throwing your rat breeding plans for a loop, though.

Keep an eye on her weight--if she drops more than 25-30% of her current weight, then you can begin worrying.

i was going to give another week and then take her to my vets to get her weight 3 week ago she was over 1lb. and
thanks

[loonunit]

It'll take several months of not eating for her to lose 25% of her current weight. She'll be fine. Don't do anything extreme until then....