Aggressive Feeder, Won't Swallow Rat

[Echowish]

I currently own two ball pythons, a young female pastel I purchased at a reptile show a few months ago, and a male normal who I'd purchased at a pet store in February. I'd known much less about ball pythons then than I did now, so that's pretty much my reasoning for buying him from there rather than a breeder. I got plenty of help in how to take care of him from my aunt, however, who loves both reptiles and avians.

At the pet store he had been severely underfed, they only gave the balls there one adult mouse a week! And when I fed him for the first time, he took two mice in quick succession.
I was told that I wouldn't be able to switch a ball python over from live to frozen, but he switched over to frozen rodents with relative ease. He didn't take the first frozen mouse I offered him, but once I tried to feed him again a while later, he hungrily took the mouse. He's now eating small - medium rats, depending on the place they're ordered from.

The problem I'm having with him now, months later, is that he's extremely difficult to get to actually eat the rats I give him! As soon as he sees the rat, he'll strike at the side of the rat, coil around it, and once he's sure it's 'dead' he'll spend some time searching for the head, only to give up and drop the rat.

Once this has happened, it becomes extremely troubling for me, because he's very aggressive once he's gone into feeding response, and he'll swerve towards my hands and face once I open the top of his tub, searching for food, and planning on biting me instead! I love him, but it can get pretty scary when a 2 foot long snake is bent on biting your face while you're trying to get a dead rat back out of his enclosure to warm it back up. Not only this, but if he finds the rat before I can get it out, he coils around it again, preventing me from warming it back up for me again! Usually I'm not able to get the rat back out of the tub, so I'm forced to wiggle it around a bit with the tongs to get him interested in it, and I'm forced to continue the process 3+ times until he finally finds the rat's head and decides to eat it. This usually leads to him having to eat his food cold.

He ALWAYS seems to strike the side of the rat, no matter what I try! I've heard of heating up the rat's head to be a bit warmer than the rest of the body, but even then, he grabs hold of the side instead. I'm not really sure what else to do for him, and I'd appreciate some advice!

I'm currently feeding him in a separate enclosure, because that's originally what had been suggested to me by other people who own snakes. I read up about it on this form, and people said it wasn't necessary, but when I tried feeding him in his tank he began acting really aggressive, even days later, after eating the rat, as if he was stuck in hunting mode! I'm wondering if it may have been due to his strong feeding response, so maybe the scent of rat was still lingering in his tank, or had the sudden change in where he was fed caused the aggressive change in his nature? Is it possible for the scent of rat to be the cause if it was days afterwards, after giving him time to digest it? The only time he's ever bitten me was when I'd reached into his tank to change his water after this ordeal, and after that he followed me inside his tank, and struck at the glass for several days before he was calm enough to handle again.

I don't really consider feeding live rats a option. They could easily bite into him if he grabbed them by the side..
I'm starting to wonder if I should just switch him back over to adult mice and feed him multiple of them, I think it might be less stressful for him at this point.

Please go easy on me if I made a mistake, I was sort of scared to post here about the issues I've been having, because of how aggressive some of the people here can get about their pets (although with good intentions in mind), because I'm pretty sensitive! Overall, I just want what's best for my snakes, and I really appreciate any advice you can give.

Sorry for the huge text post! ~ Echo

[200xth]

when I tried feeding him in his tank he began acting really aggressive, even days later, after eating the rat,

So just to be clear, when you feed him a rat in the separate enclosure, he won't eat it, but he does when you feed him in his main enclosure?

How big is the snake, and how big are the rats?

[Echowish]

So just to be clear, when you feed him a rat in the separate enclosure, he won't eat it, but he does when you feed him in his main enclosure?

How big is the snake, and how big are the rats?

He'll eat the rats either way, but it takes him a while to finally eat the rat in the feeding enclosure. In the feeding enclosure, he usually lets the rat get cold then drops it, so I have to get him interested in it a couple more times before he finally finds the head and eats it. When I tried feeding him in his tank, he took the rat and ate it the first time around, but proceeded to be very aggressive after the fact. I found this pretty surprising, because once he finally downs the rat in his feeding enclosure, he's satisfied and doesn't continue searching for food, making it easy to move him back over to his main tank once I've given him some time to sit in the feeding enclosure after finishing the rat. He eats the rats fine once he finds the head, but he tends to grab the rats at odd angles, and then gives up when he doesn't see its face. His aggressive feed response wouldn't be a problem at all, and would probably even make it easier to feed him in some scenarios, if he'd just grab the rat from the front rather than any which way!


The rats are about as big around as the largest section of his body. I don't currently have the weight of my snake in comparison to the rats he's been eating, as my mother's scale has gone missing, but once I find it I'll be sure to measure him. I'll see if I can get a picture of the rat and a comparison picture of him, though. He's over two feet long, but as the size of the prey that pythons are usually fed is determined by the girth and/or weight of the snake in comparison to the prey item, I'm not sure that'll help any.

[Asherah]

You may not be getting the f/t warm enough.

I'd personally drop the feeding in a secondary tub. Unnecessary stress that may be causing him not to eat because he doesn't feel safe. I have 2 guys in particular that absolutely will not eat if there is much activity in the room. They will strike and coil aggressively but will turn off feeding if there is too much going on - which can constitute a simple walk by the tub. They are also the two shyest snakes my collection, which likely has something to do with it. They get fed last and I leave the room.

Heck maybe he's a weird feeder like my Ivory. He won't strike, but he eats every single time so long as the feeder is left INSIDE his coils. Outside is a no no. Rats aren't so tasty if he isn't coiled around them.

I've also got a little albino that refuses to eat anything but live mice.

Oh and there is the breeder female that wants only dark rats in a dark room. Light rats just aren't as appetizing.

Anyway, my main point is to really get to know your snake and find out what works best for him. It sounds to me like there is a lot of activity around him during feeding, which might contribute to both his lack of feeding and his aggressive behavior after. Offer a f/t, let him coil and then go away. Come back after an hour or so and see if he has eaten it. I'd be willing to hazard a small bet that it would work.

[Echowish]

Anyway, my main point is to really get to know your snake and find out what works best for him. It sounds to me like there is a lot of activity around him during feeding, which might contribute to both his lack of feeding and his aggressive behavior after. Offer a f/t, let him coil and then go away. Come back after an hour or so and see if he has eaten it. I'd be willing to hazard a small bet that it would work.

Alright, I think I'll try feeding him in his enclosure next week! Our house isn't very busy during the day, but do you think putting a sheet over the top of the enclosure may make him feel a bit more secure? That way, there's no chance of our other pets bothering him while he's trying to eat.

When I feed him outside of his enclosure I keep him in my bedroom with the door shut and the tub covered to make him feel more secure, but I suppose even just moving him from one tank to another could be freaking him out.

[200xth]

He'll eat the rats either way, but it takes him a while to finally eat the rat in the feeding enclosure. In the feeding enclosure, he usually lets the rat get cold then drops it, so I have to get him interested in it a couple more times before he finally finds the head and eats it. When I tried feeding him in his tank, he took the rat and ate it the first time around, but proceeded to be very aggressive after the fact. I found this pretty surprising, because once he finally downs the rat in his feeding enclosure, he's satisfied and doesn't continue searching for food, making it easy to move him back over to his main tank once I've given him some time to sit in the feeding enclosure after finishing the rat. He eats the rats fine once he finds the head, but he tends to grab the rats at odd angles, and then gives up when he doesn't see its face. His aggressive feed response wouldn't be a problem at all, and would probably even make it easier to feed him in some scenarios, if he'd just grab the rat from the front rather than any which way!


The rats are about as big around as the largest section of his body. I don't currently have the weight of my snake in comparison to the rats he's been eating, as my mother's scale has gone missing, but once I find it I'll be sure to measure him. I'll see if I can get a picture of the rat and a comparison picture of him, though. He's over two feet long, but as the size of the prey that pythons are usually fed is determined by the girth and/or weight of the snake in comparison to the prey item, I'm not sure that'll help any.

In my cases, if they're dropping the food it's usually either too big or he's not really hungry.

If I think it's too big, I try the following week with something smaller.

If I know the food is the right size (they've eaten that size before), they will usually eat the following week without problem.

They don't all need to eat weekly, and they don't all prefer the same size food. You may have to experiment a little to dial in your snake's preferences.

As far as grabbing it wrong, they'll figure out where the head is if they are hungry. Once they grab the food, I close up the enclosure and leave them be overnight.

[Echowish]

In my cases, if they're dropping the food it's usually either too big or he's not really hungry.

If I think it's too big, I try the following week with something smaller.

If I know the food is the right size (they've eaten that size before), they will usually eat the following week without problem.

They don't all need to eat weekly, and they don't all prefer the same size food. You may have to experiment a little to dial in your snake's preferences.

As far as grabbing it wrong, they'll figure out where the head is if they are hungry. Once they grab the food, I close up the enclosure and leave them be overnight.

Ah, okay! i'll try increasing the amount of time between feeds until he seems a bit more comfortable, then, and I'll buy rats of varying sizes and fur colors to try and find what he likes best. Thank you guys!

[Galaxygirl]

I had a female that would constrict and then not eat it. We fixed this by tugging the rat of the tail for about 15 seconds while she was constricting to simulate the rat struggling as it would if alive.

[bcr229]

Also we're coming into breeding season so your male may have other things on his mind. A couple of mine started doing the same thing - "kill" but not eat the f/t rat - and I started offering them a feeder every 14 days instead of every week. They are less likely to refuse.

That said, I have an adult male that stops eating like clockwork around Halloween, and he starts up again at Easter.