problem

[WhiteTiger9188]

hi everyone

I got my first snake january 3rd. it is a ball python but he hasnt eaten yet and im getting worried. ive been trying to feed him live mice but he wont eat. this seemed like the best site online to get help. i went back today and asked what to do but the kid just said they go without eating sometimes and will die in about a year. this kid was a jerk and i know to stay away from there now. my snake seems healthy from what i can see but i dont know too much cause this is my first snake. i read as much as i could but everyone on this site knows what they are talking about. please help me out. i dont want my snake to die. :cry:

[CTReptileRescue]

Hi
I wouldn't worry too much about your snake passing away from starvation any time soon.
A couple of things you may want to get info on (or do):
1) when was the last time said snake ate? (maybe you can ask the store)
2) what's her weight, is she underweight?
3) vet, vet ,vet I cannot emphasize how important it can be to your snakes health and well being to get him vet checked, at least get a fecal sample in for them to exam. You want to make sure he / she is not having any problems internally IE parasites or worms etc.

Other then that there are alway tricks, You can try
dead prey
frozen thawed or pre killed
different colors (some people swear by that one)
*braining it (ussually a last resort)
or dunking the dead prey in chicken broth first (this may tempt your snake to eat)
there is a whole variety of things you can try. But I would first recommend the first three things listed.
Don't worry I bet your new guy will be fine.
I hope this helps somewhat, I'm sure others will have alot more sugestions!
thanks
Rusty
*Braining is a term used for when you expose the brain cavity on an already DEAD prey animal. ussually hightense the smell for your snake.

[NitroNostrils]

Also BPs are shy, when being moved the whole emotional state changes. Just let him/her settle in the new home and all will be well. Izabelle has moved several times(cross country moves), once she adjusted to her environment all was cool. But if there is ANY doubts hi-tail yourself to the vet for both the BP and your concerns.

[WhiteTiger9188]

the only thing about going to the vet is that all the vets around me i have bad experiance with and dont want to go back. my 4 year old dog came down with lyme disease a few months ago and they told me he would be fine after they do one thing and hed be home good as new in a few days. he had to stay there 2 weeks and by then they screwed my family over enough so the bill was near $1000. he died there the day they said we could take him home and they didnt even call us when we were home all day. they left a message on my stepfathers cell phone.

my aunt had an iguana that was like her child she took it in for surgery and it came out fine a few days after the surgerythe vets gave her a stronger medicine and it died the whole thing costed over $1000.

i just dont want to take any of my pets to the vets. if i have to ill call up vets in different citys and make sure they have experiance with snakes and wont screw me over.

[invadertoast]

I have to drive all the way to Portsmouth, NH for my reptile vet (I live in northern Mass, it's about an hour and a half-ish) and it's well worth it! I brought my BP there for an RI last year and she recovered quickly with no problems. Just make sure you find someone who works with reptiles and you should be all set. And don't worry about the eating thing... I'd leave her alone for a week, try again, and if it fails you could call a vet and have her checked out. BPs can go a long time without eating and remain healthy, mine hasn't eaten since December 9th and she acts perfectly normal. Just a winter time thing. Odds are she's just not used to her new home yet.
Good luck!

[CTReptileRescue]

I am so sorry to hear about your bad vet experiences, and it's always hard to lose a loved pet.

here is a link of ARAV DVM's that hopefully will help,
Just click on the link and then click on your state.
I hope you can find a qualified one.
http://www.arav.org/USMembers.htm

[WhiteTiger9188]

im still trying to feed him live mice for now....i leave them in the cage for about 10 minutes... is that enough time to leave them in there for or should i leave them in longer? i just dont want the mouse to be bored and start biting the snake. i try to feed him at night and during the day.

if i start trying to feed dead mice what should the time be to leave them in for before taking them out. i wouldnt want them to start smelling bad.

he took a poo the other day so im hoping he will be hungry soon.

[lastdoctor]

I have had my bp since the last week of December. I've tried to feed him a few times, but he just isn't ready I suppose. He hasn't lost any weight or anything. I was concerned at first, but after talking to the people on this site, I can see that bp's tend to be picky in how they go about things. Hang in there.

[Wizill]

as long as it isn't stressed, it will eat when it's hungry.

[Hoomi]

I currently have two ball pythons. My first one, Phil, has remained plenty active and feeds regularly, despite our cooler weather (I won't say "cold weather" since compared to Rhode Island, Tucson NEVER gets cold). Magellan, on the other hand, seems to be in a winter "sedentary" mode. He's only eaten once, and I rarely see him outside of his hide lately. However, since Magellan shows no sign of any health distress, I'm not worrying about him. I'm guessing when the spring temperatures start rising, he'll start showing more interest in exploring and eating.

One of the things I've read is that Ball Pythons can slip into one of two modes: Savannah or Jungle, based on their range in Africa. The BP's that live on the savannah tend to go into a winter hibernation mode, while the jungle residents tend to stay active year round because of the higher temperatures and year-round availability of food. Phil was bred here in Tucson, while Magellan was bred up in Flagstaff (a higher altitude and considerably lower temps). I'm guessing Phil is kind of "programmed" into the "jungle" mode, while Magellan is more into the "savannah" mode. Yours, also, might be in that seasonal mode, so simply keep an eye on him or her during your winter months, offer food from time to time, but don't get panicky yet.

One caveat: When feeding live food, ALWAYS keep a close eye on the situation. A live mouse and an inactive snake can spell serious injury potential for the snake. Mice and rats have been known to gnaw on "sleeping" snakes, and it doesn't take long with those rodent incisors to do a lot of damage to the skin and muscles on a ball python, especially if it's a young BP. This in one reason many of us always feed pre-killed prey.