Ball Python will not eat

[Machetelopez]

My baby ball python has not eaten in 2 weeks, it has always eaten frozen mice and now it seems like it's not interested. It smells the air goes near it and just keeps going occasionally it will nip it but not completely devour it, is there something wrong with my ball python?

[Crazymonkee]

It could possibly be that the prey offered is not warm enough. Try heating it a little more, or it could be the prey is too big, or too small.
What is your enclosure and temps? How big is your ball? Do you have its weight?

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[NH93]

The age old question... "why won't my ball python eat?"

Have you changed anything in the vive set-up lately?
What are the temps at, and how are you measuring and controlling them?
What weight is your BP? What size/weight prey do you offer it?
How do you offer it?

Soooo many possible reasons for a BP to go off feeding. There are a TONNE of threads out there just like this do a little searching around with the search bar at the top right corner of the page, read some other threads, and you might find your answer quickly. It could be a very simply fix! Or, it could be a stubborn ball python.

Best of luck!

[200xth]

My baby ball python has not eaten in 2 weeks, it has always eaten frozen mice and now it seems like it's not interested. It smells the air goes near it and just keeps going occasionally it will nip it but not completely devour it, is there something wrong with my ball python?

How old is he? How much does he weigh? How long have you had him?

Is he going into shed by any chance?

[Lolo76]

As I just said to someone on iHerp, welcome to the world of Ball Pythons!

They can and will go off feed sometimes, usually for no reason at all - and as adults, can easily fast for multiple months (one of mine went 10-11 months) without any ill side-effects. But if you notice OTHER symptoms, like wheezing, mucus, lethargy (hard to tell with BPs, lol), etc, or if they lose a LOT of weight, that is when you really need to worry.

Any chance the baby is going into shed? That's the most common reason for a sudden disinterest in food, as most BPs prefer to abstain during the pre-shed and shedding period. If you're not sure, look to see if the belly is pink... they should also look a bit "dull" in color, like not as bright as you're used to seeing him/her. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine! Just keep trying, warm up the mouse a bit more, or try live if this continues much longer. Good luck!

[Machetelopez]

My ball python is about 4 months old and has already gone through its shedding, it likes to eat small fuzzy mice and I always defrost it well and keep it pretty warm, it has a heat lamp and the temperature is always at 78-80 degrees, it has a bowl of water and aspen shavings really nice setup

[Machetelopez]

I haven't figured out how to weigh it and I'm unsure of its gender, other than that it has no ill side effects

[Machetelopez]

As I just said to someone on iHerp, welcome to the world of Ball Pythons!

They can and will go off feed sometimes, usually for no reason at all - and as adults, can easily fast for multiple months (one of mine went 10-11 months) without any ill side-effects. But if you notice OTHER symptoms, like wheezing, mucus, lethargy (hard to tell with BPs, lol), etc, or if they lose a LOT of weight, that is when you really need to worry.

Any chance the baby is going into shed? That's the most common reason for a sudden disinterest in food, as most BPs prefer to abstain during the pre-shed and shedding period. If you're not sure, look to see if the belly is pink... they should also look a bit "dull" in color, like not as bright as you're used to seeing him/her. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine! Just keep trying, warm up the mouse a bit more, or try live if this continues much longer. Good luck!

How do I find out if it needs a live mouse? And where can I obtain one?

[Machetelopez]

The age old question... "why won't my ball python eat?"

Have you changed anything in the vive set-up lately?
What are the temps at, and how are you measuring and controlling them?
What weight is your BP? What size/weight prey do you offer it?
How do you offer it?

Soooo many possible reasons for a BP to go off feeding. There are a TONNE of threads out there just like this do a little searching around with the search bar at the top right corner of the page, read some other threads, and you might find your answer quickly. It could be a very simply fix! Or, it could be a stubborn ball python.

Best of luck!

What's a good way to offer my ball python the defrosted mouse?

[PitOnTheProwl]

I haven't figured out how to weigh it and I'm unsure of its gender, other than that it has no ill side effects

Any digital scale and a good vet can sex it for you.
Sex is my first question................Male??
You also should up your food size, fuzzy mice are way too small........most hatchlings start out on small hopper mice or fuzzy rats.