Off-Feed BP

[Dirulurv]

hey guys, need some input/reassurance on a (possibly) fasting BP..

generally my BP doesn't refuse food hes a pretty healthy eater for the little time that ive had him for (6 1/2 weeks now), I was told by the petsmart rep that he was approximately 7 months when I bought him back in march and that he was a good eater there too. hes grown well has been through one shed since. he was originally on mice but I managed to successfully switch him to rats. Usually fed every 5 days but I stretched it to 7 days this week. so last night was his "feed" night but he refused the f/t rat I offered him. he seemed interested by the scent, came out of his hide but slithered right passed it to the opposite side of the tank and back again, stopped and sniffed at it for a good 30 seconds but then just went back in his hide.. I continued to dangle it but he had no interest in it so I left it there for a good hour and 30 checking on him occasionally, everytime I did so he was hovering over the rat checking it out and smelling it but never touched it or he would be craning his neck looking like hes trying to get a better view of me checking in on him.. the rat has been put back into the freezer till Friday when his next "feed" day is supposed to be.

what I would need to know is this a normal thing for BP to do? to smell the rat look interested but then ignore it? is that what they do if theyre fasting? hes still pretty active at night cruising along his cage, temps are where they should be. humidity levels too. according to articles here, fasting is a normal thing for BP's to do, but as a newbie BP owner its worry-some all the same...its the way he sniffed at it and kept coming back to smell it but still not take it made me think that perhaps the rat was "off". it did smell stronger than previous rats of the same batch but is that even a possibility? I think im just a worry wart when it comes to him and I need reassurance that this is infact a normal thing. ( its still pretty early to tell I guess since its only been 8 days since his last meal... )

[Pyrate81]

First time I went through a fast, it lasted 4 months during the winter. Turns out I was doing a few things wrong. Now I have 2 snakes who fasted from October until last week. Several things you can do here:

1. Check your enclosure and make sure everything is where it should be.

2. Make sure the meal isn't too big for him. Recommended size is no bigger than his girth.

3. If you are now offering something bigger, depending on the size, it may be filling him up more and your feed schedule may need to get adjusted until he grows into the larger prey.

4. Leave it in there overnight and toss it in the morning if he doesn't eat it. Sometimes they like it very dark and private.

5. Keep offering on feed day and eventually he'll eat when he's ready.

6. Feel like I'm missing something, someone else may chime in.

[Dirulurv]

Thanks so much for the pointers, wow that's some time fasting im gonna be stressing out if my lil Buddha does the same... but I guess its inevitable

so I did as you said and checked to make sure everything is in its right place, hes pretty comfortable cruising around, ive noticed he likes to reach for the covered screen top and investigate it, or rest against the glass to cool down.

I have recently (2 weeks ago) upgraded his prey size from an adult mouse to a rat pup that seems a tad larger than the mouse but does not exceed his girth.

so im thinking youre right about the feeding schedule needing to be adjusted, maybe 7 days is better than every 5 now that the prey is larger..

and your 4th point made me realize that when I feed him(usually around 10pm) the room is nice and dark, but bringing in the rat I turn the light on so I don't trip on anything. I also tend to hang around in the room till hes swallowed it completely making sure hes downing it without a hitch, excessive substrate and also to admire my gorgeous boy. so so maybe I should have a table lamp in a corner so that there isn't excessive room light shinning down on him.

I will try him again on Friday, leaving the f/t rat overnight like you suggested.



thanks pyrate81 for your help!!

[J.P.]

one missed meal is nothing to be worried about. even my good eaters refuse meals every once in a while. some reasons for random refusals could be ongoing shed cycle (it will eat after the shed), full stomach (it will eat after it poops), or no reason at all (it will feed on the next feeding day).
then there's the problematic eaters........they normally do not eat on schedule, once in a while they do...they seem ok though so i decided to stop worrying about them and just be glad when they eat, but not feak out when they are being themselves..
this happens despite ideal parameters, same rack housing several snakes but there's just those that do not behave like we expect them to.

[Saber402]

A missed meal or two is nothing to be concerned with. I have a yearling Mojave that is very particular about feeding. Some days he strikes and coils. But, other days he does the similar as yours. Sniffs and seems interested, then pulls back and almost acts afraid of it.

What has worked for me is to introduce the F/T rat so he gets a good smell, then move it around in front of him. He usually follows it. I then remove it and feed one or two others. I come back again and introduce the rat, again moving it gently in front of him. I remove it and feed a couple more. I then warm up the rat with a hair dryer. This time I move the rat around more deliberately, stopping and starting it suddenly in front of him. Usually this is when he strikes and coils. Works 95% of the time. For the times it doesn't work I put the warmed rat in the hide with him. The rat is usually gone when I check in an hour.

As a matter of fact, I just picked up a 837 gram female Desert Yellowbelly from the Repticon show here in Costa Mesa, CA on Saturday. She hadn't eaten since November 30th! I normally feed on Sunday evenings so thought I would try to feed her. Figured the worst that would happen is a wasted rat. She struck and coiled on the second attempt but let go of the rat. After taking it out and warming it up again she was very interested but did not strike. I placed the warmed rat just inside the opening of the hide with about an inch of the tail showing. Came back 20 minutes later the tail was gone along with the rest of the rat! Success!

Good luck with your ball python! All will be good!

[Dirulurv]

Thanks for your reply, I know I shouldn't stress over this, but thanks lots for your input though I'll try your feeding trick out with my boy if he doesn't take his meals in the next couple feed nights

[Dirulurv]

J.P.

No I get I shouldn't worry over a single missed meal, I'm thinking now that he's just still running off his last rat, and my feed nights are too close together for the size of the meals. It's the first time I care for a snake, so I'm thinking like I would a dog or cat that doesn't eat (usually they're not well) but it's a different mindset since bp's only eat every couple of days or so depending on the prey item size. Thanks

[metalsmoker]

Hey there,

I have to agree with what others posted above. I have just recently managed to get my guy off off-feed. Your case was exactly the same like mine (except I had him for nearly a year), he never went off feed until 3 weeks ago. He always smelled the rat but did not take him. I did not want to put too much pressure on him so I offered him food on a normal week basis even though he refused 3 times. This was until yesterday when I offered him his f/t rat like normal and he took it.
I guess they just need a time off food sometimes. If he is healthy and his weight is OK there is probably nothing to worry about.

Good luck

[Dirulurv]

Metalsmoker,
I think you're right, he's refused his second f/t rat too. But he's healthy and active, his weight is good too so i think he's taking himself a break like you said for yours.
Thanks for the reassurance that what he is doing is normal. I will do the same mentioned about continuing to offer food on a once a week basis

thanks!

[olivv]

My snake was off feed for quite a while.. It worried me, until I thought of an extremely easy and simple solution. Here's how you do it.

Get a box that is small, but not too small. It's okay if all four-corners of the box is up against the snake. Snakes feel more secure and satisfied in a smaller, more secluded area.

After you place him in the box, turn out the lights. Turning out the lights will make the snake even more secure, and will stimulate how and when he would eat in the wild.

Lastly, just drop the mouse/rat in and wait for him to eat.

Good luck, and I hope this helps.