Ball Python Feeding Question

[Hector108]

I know that Ball Pythons go off feed sometimes, but I think I'm dealing with something different. I will go a couple weeks back, so you guys can have some background info.

I had fed my girl large frozen thawed mice for the first 2 weeks, but like a month and a half ago they ran out of large frozen mice at the store where I get them. Instead I had to buy two small mice, but then the next week there were no more of either of them. She was a bit bigger in width than a large mouse. I went out and bought a small rat. It came in a two pack. She ate one almost 4 weeks ago. It was slightly bigger than her (width and length). I decided to wait 2 weeks instead of one until her next feed, but I have been offering her the other rat and she won't get it. It has been four weeks since she last ate. I disposed of it since I have thawed it out 2 times. She seems very interested, but wont take it. This last time I left her with the rat for like an hour. But nothing she just goes around it. I also wiggled it to make it seem like it was alive. I'm not really worried about it because she looks fine and acts fine, but I'm curious about this. I have had her for around two months. I don't think she is fasting because its mid summer. She hasn't lost weight. Anybody has any ideas???����

[surrattsarah]

It could just be her having a hard time transitioning to rats from mice.

[Craiga 01453]

Tell us about your husbandry. The more we know the more we can help

[Hector108]

Cool side side is at 83 and hot side is at 91. Humidity is at 54%. She is in a 41 quart tub. Has water all the time. Paper towel as substrate. She is in my closet where it's always dark and quiet. She has eating before while in my care. Four times actually.

[Zincubus]

I'm not really clear on the second rat to be honest , you said you'd disposed of it but the said " she seems interested but won't take it " !?

I don't re-freeze any of mine but I'm lucky to have 21 snakes so there is always a hungry mouth or ten waiting .


Anyways , here's my tried and trusted feeding routine


This method WORKS if followed properly ...

I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .

A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm continue until it's grabbed ...



Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so.

For what it's worth ...some Royals / Balls simply prefer to eat every 10 days or so rather than every week or less .

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Craiga 01453]

Cool side side is at 83 and hot side is at 91. Humidity is at 54%. She is in a 41 quart tub. Has water all the time. Paper towel as substrate. She is in my closet where it's always dark and quiet. She has eating before while in my care. Four times actually.

Ok, how are you heating the enclosure? Are heat sources regulated by a thermostat?

What are you offering for hides, etc...

[Zincubus]

Yeah , some really do like the enclosed feeling of a hide to get them to feed consistently . Mine strike from within their hides and drag it under


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cchardwick]

I'd say this behavior is totally normal. Its tough using frozen thawed and having just one snake. If they don't eat it you have to toss the rodent. I'd suggest getting another snake that's not a ball python as a clean up snake LOL. I usually try to feed my picky snakes first and if they don't eat feed the rodents to my king snakes or retics or ball pythons that I know will eat. I also gas live rodents with CO2 and euthanize before feeding, that way they are always the right temp. If you get the rodent temp off that can make them go off of feed. When I was doing frozen thawed I thawed in a small fridge overnight and then put the rodent in an incubator at 90F - 100F for an hour or so, longer at 100F for bigger rodents, shorter for smaller rodents.

Personally I'd try a few adult mice, seems like ball pythons will eat mice more readily than rats. And you can always follow up with a rat after they take the mouse, that usually does the trick.

Personally I wouldn't worry about it unless your snake is really underweight. You should post a photo here. Snakes can go several months without eating and still keep a decent body condition, as long as they have a little age and weight on them, probably not good for hatchlings. If they still won't eat after months you can try a live rat pup or small rat to try to get them started up again. I try to avoid feeding live because of the risk to the snake, and most will take fresh killed / frozen thawed once they get used to it. I bought an adult snake that only ate live. I offered fresh killed every week for months before she took her first mouse, then slowly moved up to rats. She was so big that you couldn't even tell she wasn't eating for months at a time.

Some of my ball pythons will refuse to eat anything for months and then just suddenly snap out of it and eat like pigs. I don't even worry about it anymore. Once they start eating they put weight on pretty quick.

Also, make sure you feed late in the evening when ball pythons are active. If I fed in the morning almost none of my snakes would eat. You should also have a small light on in the room during the day so at least they know the difference between night and day.

You should also weight your ball python and weigh the rodents. I try not to go over 10% of the snake weight. Ideally you should shoot for 5%, some snakes won't eat rats that are 10% even though physically they are able.

One of the reasons I prefer my King snakes and reticulated pythons over ball pythons is that I know they will always eat no matter what. But I couldn't' imagine not having ball pythons in my collection too!

[Craiga 01453]

I'd say this behavior is totally normal. Its tough using frozen thawed and having just one snake. If they don't eat it you have to toss the rodent. I'd suggest getting another snake that's not a ball python as a clean up snake LOL. I usually try to feed my picky snakes first and if they don't eat feed the rodents to my king snakes or retics or ball pythons that I know will eat. I also gas live rodents with CO2 and euthanize before feeding, that way they are always the right temp. If you get the rodent temp off that can make them go off of feed. When I was doing frozen thawed I thawed in a small fridge overnight and then put the rodent in an incubator at 90F - 100F for an hour or so, longer at 100F for bigger rodents, shorter for smaller rodents.

Personally I'd try a few adult mice, seems like ball pythons will eat mice more readily than rats. And you can always follow up with a rat after they take the mouse, that usually does the trick.

Personally I wouldn't worry about it unless your snake is really underweight. You should post a photo here. Snakes can go several months without eating and still keep a decent body condition, as long as they have a little age and weight on them, probably not good for hatchlings. If they still won't eat after months you can try a live rat pup or small rat to try to get them started up again. I try to avoid feeding live because of the risk to the snake, and most will take fresh killed / frozen thawed once they get used to it. I bought an adult snake that only ate live. I offered fresh killed every week for months before she took her first mouse, then slowly moved up to rats. She was so big that you couldn't even tell she wasn't eating for months at a time.

Some of my ball pythons will refuse to eat anything for months and then just suddenly snap out of it and eat like pigs. I don't even worry about it anymore. Once they start eating they put weight on pretty quick.

Also, make sure you feed late in the evening when ball pythons are active. If I fed in the morning almost none of my snakes would eat. You should also have a small light on in the room during the day so at least they know the difference between night and day.

You should also weight your ball python and weigh the rodents. I try not to go over 10% of the snake weight. Ideally you should shoot for 5%, some snakes won't eat rats that are 10% even though physically they are able.

One of the reasons I prefer my King snakes and reticulated pythons over ball pythons is that I know they will always eat no matter what. But I couldn't' imagine not having ball pythons in my collection too!

My King is my garbage disposal as well. I like how you suggested another snake as a "cleanup snake", like a typical snake keeper using any reason at all to add more snakes! Hahahaha!

[Slither Seeker]

I hat a terrible time for a bit trying to transition my snakes to rats, then went back to mice and that didn't work either. turns out I switched brands, got some at a local reptile club meeting thinking for sure they had a good source, but these were the ones that caused the problem. there was a distinct amonia/urine smell on them. I found a good source and now everyone is back to eating regularly and I will try the transition to rats again soon. sometimes different brands/sources have different qualities or maybe even simply different smells that are unfamiliar. the right smell is part of what triggers the striking response, perhaps try a few different brands then wait till it's back to eating regularly before transitioning to rats again?