Will live feeding switch my BP over from F/T?

[CALM Pythons]

Sorry for the lack of info! My girl is 4 years old and weighs around 1500 grams. She took a small plus rat and a weaned rat four weeks ago. The next week, she took a weaned rat. All were f/t, but it took some coaxing for about ten minutes till she took the prey. She has always been a picky eater until August of 2016 to August of 2017. Throughout that year she was taking the f/t prey within a few seconds. Every time I de-thaw a rat, she is out and amped up. She follows it tenaciously and is in the striking position while the prey is presented to her. She just won't strike it. I have also left a f/t rat in her enclosure with her for two hours with the front of her enclosure blocked so she had complete privacy.....still a no go. I am on a facebook page and the members say that I need my husbandry spot on for her to get that feeding response again. Again, I don't think my temps are too out of whack and the humidity is always around 55%. I don't want her to get stuck on live prey, but I feel like I am in a bind now.

She is a adult now.. She will eat less. If I were you Id switch to every 2 weeks or even every 3 weeks otherwise she will eat consistently for a while and then go off feed for a couple months because they don't need to eat that much at that age all year. If you want her to stick to a schedule more then offer less. Also she just ate 2 weeks ago, so again that is nothing to worry about. She could eat a good size meal once a month at this point and be perfectly healthy.. Id go every 15 days to start.


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[CALM Pythons]

Ohh and FB groups are a joke. I wouldn't listen to how to Make Grilled Cheese from one.


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[Craiga 01453]

If it's only been a few weeks you have nothing to worry about.

[dakski]

If it's only been a few weeks you have nothing to worry about.

I agree with everything that's beens said here.

My female BP, a 5YR old Albino Spider, is about 1600G (when eating). The past three winters, she fasts like clockwork for 4-6 months. No interest. She loses about 5-7% of her body weight (down to 1480G or so) and starts eating when she wants.

I only feed F/T.

She's also very shy.

Most of the time she wants me to leave the rat after she smells it, and she will eat in the next hour on her own. She only strikes 1/15 times. If she hasn't touched in an in hour. I take out and try again another time/week.

BP's can be very shy and do not necessarily like being watched when eating. That could be part of it too. Doesn't really want food right now + shy = she won't eat.

She will probably eat when ready, especially if she has taken F/T readily before. I WOULD NOT SWITCH TO LIVE! For a variety of reasons, including, who knows if she will easily taken F/T again.

Another thing, and has been discussed here, is thawing and heating the rat.

I defrost in luke warm/room temp water for a while (couple of hours). Then I drop the rat into hot water (from tap - not boiling or close), for 30 seconds, let it get nice and warm. Quickly dry off and offer. That helps the feeding response too.

However, you do not want to cook the rat! Then they will almost definitely refuse and it's not good for an animal used to eating raw.

I've heard of people warming in hot water and this is like a Sous Vide - cooking the rat.

I also tend to leave my BP alone for the most part when she's not eating. I usually handle at least 3X a week, but go to 1X or so when she is off feed. I take her out to change water, clean urate and urine, etc.

Good luck, but don't sweat it, unless she loses a lot of weight and isn't drinking, etc.

[Albert Clark]

The intermediary food offering would be pre-killed. That would only come after f/t was continually refused over a extended timeline. You have to be aware that some individual reptiles will never switch, especially from live feedings.

[zina10]

Ball Pythons in the wild usually only eat for a few month out of the year. Their system is perfectly set up for this kind of diet/lifestyle (forgot the scientific name for this)

During the few month when food is plentiful, they will eat whatever and whenever they can, overeat if given the chance. All in preparation for the long time (dry season) when food becomes very scarce.

Owners are always happy when their Ball Pythons will eat ravenously like clock work, every week. Even though that is actually far more food then they need, being such a sedentary species by nature. Eventually though, their body tells them to STOP. They have more then enough, its time to slow down or stop. They take breaks, just like in nature, even though food is presented. Owners freak out.

Some Ball Pythons will continue to eat well, usually it is because they aren't being over fed regularly. Or they are females who's bodies are building follicles and preparing for procreation.

All in all Ball Pythons usually need far less food then they are being offered (rapidly growing hatchlings/young snakes are different of course) and they reach a point where they start to regulate the food intake.

There seems to be some that have "turned off" their internal control, those are the ones you see that are just grossly obese, and that is just sad.

If your snake is an adult that normally eats just fine, the husbandry is SPOT ON, and there are no obvious health issues, just relax and only offer every 2 weeks or so. And if she/he takes a several month long break, that is perfectly normal. Just try every so often, make sure the snake looks good, slow down on handling, monitor weight every month or so.

My 3000 gr male took a 8 month long break last year and lost 160 gram and looked great throughout. Regained the weight loss within his first feeding.