Problem Feeder

[HanabiraAsashi]

Ive had my BP here for a few weeks and i have yet to get her to eat.

Shes about 6 months old and very small (smaller since i posted pictures of her weeks back). Her breeder had her on live pups, and im transitioning her to frozen. Last week she struck at a frozen pup, but tried to eat it arm first, she eventually gave up. This week, she seems more interested in trying to get out of the door and not paying the food any attention. Ive noticed for the last few days that she is looking for ways out.

Her cool end is about 78-80, hot end 90-92 and her humidity hovers around the 50-60 area. I havent handled her in 2-3 weeks besides getting her unstuck from areas she likes to get into. Im not sure if I should resort to trying the chicken broth trick, if i should get her a live pup, or if i should take her to a vet to have them give her fluids. I wouldnt be concerned about an older snake, but this one is young and was already underweight 3 weeks ago.

Any opinions? Thanks!

[pariahdog]

Have you tried pre-killed? If you don't want to feed live and she's used to live, try that first.

What do you do with the rat after she gives up? Do you leave it overnight or take it from the enclosure right away? Is her enclosure dark, secure, etc?

[HanabiraAsashi]

She's only given up once, other times she has just cowered away from it. We have another BP that eats when she doesnt, so I dont waste the pups. Their tanks have LED lights on a schedule, during the day they are a cool white, at 8pm they turn to a dim blue, then at midnight they turn to a barely visible blue.

[pariahdog]

One of my girls used to cower at live and f/t even if they were smaller than her. She would only eat if I left her alone with them overnight in complete darkness.

I would try turning the lights (or at least hers) completely off and see if that makes a difference. If not, I would try mice or asfs if you can find them. I wouldn't go to the vet until exhausting more options imo since that's going to be extremely stressful for her.

[HanabiraAsashi]

At what point should I take her to the vet? She looks pretty skinny and dehydrated. Also, yes/no on the chicken broth?

[pariahdog]

Can you post a picture of her? I've never personally tried chicken broth but I don't see the harm if you want to. Personally I'd try a live pup first, if you're comfortable feeding live, since that's what she's used to

[HanabiraAsashi]

http://imgur.com/a/3eRFX

Couple of pictures I just took of her trying to break out.

[Warren_Booth]

Ball pythons (like many snakes) can feel insecure when they are in open spaces, areas with bright lights, etc. In the wild they pretty much spend a huge amount of time in rodent burrows, crammed into tiny dark spaces. When they feel stressed, the first thing to go is feeding. What I would do here is 1) get rid of the lights. Leave the animal in darkness. If you must have lights right now, use red LEDs. 2) Ideally I would put this snake in a much smaller enclosure. A shoebox or equivalent (feeling secure is key). 3) Where is the animal spending most of its time, warm end or cool? Place a secure hid box there. Consider adding one at each end. 4) When the snake is sitting with its head outside the hide box, you are pretty much being told it is ready for food. You can try two things - a live mouse (what size is the snake. In the pictures it looks like it could eat a medium to large mouse). Do not bother with a rat pup or fluff mouse as they lose body heat fast. Try a larger rodent, or ideally, you could go for a defrost mouse of appropriate size, super heated. I defrost rodents at room temp, then place them on a heat pad for 15 minutes or so. Then I offer of long forceps. All of my snakes (30+ ball pythons, 70+ boas) are defrost eaters.

The snake does not look ill, starving, or dehydrated in the picture.

Warren

[pariahdog]

I agree with everything Warren said that enclosure looks huge, does it have hides on either side?

In any case don't stress too much over it, she'll come around eventually.

[HanabiraAsashi]

The tank is large, but it has alot of clutter, she has 2 hides, she had 3 but she hated the smallest one. she does stick her head out of her favorite hide alot, part of me knew this was the perfect time to feed her. She spends most of her time in the cool end.

I just put in some food and left it to see if she takes it. I turned out the lights and covered the tank with a fitted sheet.