4 month old ball python not eating

[luisg877]

I had to clean the tub as he made a mess with the water by going in an out several times so had to change the newspaper and I weighted him given I had to take him out. Nov 29 when he arrived he was 72.6g and today he was 70.0g. He looks a bit thin. Is that weight loss at that age something to start worrying about? I'll offer again tomorrow and see what happens

[Zincubus]

A photo or two would be useful .. use the free app TapaTalk for uploading photos easily


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[Godzilla78]

I had to clean the tub as he made a mess with the water by going in an out several times so had to change the newspaper and I weighted him given I had to take him out. Nov 29 when he arrived he was 72.6g and today he was 70.0g. He looks a bit thin. Is that weight loss at that age something to start worrying about? I'll offer again tomorrow and see what happens

It is healthy and normal for royal pythons to grow rapidly in their youth. I would guess something is wrong.

[rufretic]

I don’t see anything too terribley wrong with your setup, humidity is fine, they actually do quite well at higher humidity as long as you keep things clean. The size is fine at this age, usually when they are this small, you can keep them in something very small and it acts similar to a hide itself, ex: breeder racks never have hides in them and can be quite small tubs for new hatchlings and they do very well in these setups. The issue is having a gradient in such a small area can be challenging. What works well for me is keeping the ambient temp a touch on the cooler side, like 73-75 degrees and then the uth should only be on a small area at the far side of the enclosure at 90. They can regulate their temp then as long as the enclosure is large enough for them to fit on one side completely off the uth.

With all that said, I’m not entirely sure it’s your setup causing him not to eat unless the ambient is too hot which I didn’t see. But it could just be he is still stressed or just doesn’t like what has been offered enough to start feeding again. Do you know what it was eating previously? If your trying to feed f/t, you may just need to try a live hopper mouse. Sometimes they just need that movement to get them interested enough to strike and then they usually get back on track. Continue with live then for at least a few meals until it gets to a healthy weight and then you can try switching back to f/t.

[luisg877]

Thanks for the tips. He was feeding on hopper mice. Was told he ate both live and f/t. I had offered a live hopper last week but it scared him and even tried to bite him once. Will try a fuzzy instead or something that won't try to bite him.

Thanks for the idea of using tapatalk. Here are some pics.

Enviado desde mi SM-J700M mediante Tapatalk

[luisg877]

I also did a change regarding ventilation. The tub had a few big holes I drilled and worked fine when the boa was there but this guy was trying to push his nose through so I closed them from thebinside using adhesive plastic and used a small soldering iron to open up several holes both on the lid, top and mid section and believe it or not since I did that he seems calmer.

[luisg877]

Great news! He finally ate a 12.5g rat fuzzy and a 3.5g mouse pinky I had gotten just in case I had to assist feed him in a few weeks since after the fuzzy he was all around the tub looking for more

Enviado desde mi SM-J700M mediante Tapatalk

[Starscream]

Only concern is that he could eventually get stuck to the adhesive if its inside the tub. Snakes are notorious for peeling tape off things and getting stuck to it

[luisg877]

Only concern is that he could eventually get stuck to the adhesive if its inside the tub. Snakes are notorious for peeling tape off things and getting stuck to it

Yeah, it is on the inside. However I did round them up pretty good not to leave any pointy edges that would be easily peeled off. Still, will be part of my regular inspection to make sure they are not coming off and replace if necessary.

Also this is a temporary set up just until the little fella gets bigger. I do plan on getting him a decent terrarium but didn't want to spend twice on one as getting a big one right away could have also contributed to stress and no eating as a baby.

[rufretic]

That’s great he ate for you!
Looking at your setup, the one thing that stands out to me is it’s too open and that could definitely be stressing him out and taking him longer to settle in. I would cover three sides, you can leave one open for viewing, it will help him feel more secure and more likely to eat regularly.