Change in Feeding Behavior

[threadgoode]

Hello all! it's been a while since I've been back to the forums, and for good reason! My BP has been doing well, and I've learned a lot within the year I've had her. Still, it seems my education has only just begun. My girl is 1 year and 6 months now, last weigh-in had her at 808g (understandably small for her age, but I always suspected she was the runt of her litter, having arrived to me at ~100g and very tiny. To my eye she looks proportionate weight-to-length, plump but not fat). She eats regularly and has never refused a meal for the first 5-6 months I've had her.

However, lately her eating habits have changed. We went through a rough patch in October with my house's A/C crashing (I live in a very hot city) and I think it affected her a little because she was suddenly not eating right. She would strike, only to let go of the rat and give up after not being able to find the head. I realized this was my fault and took care to make sure the head was hotter than the torso (though up till this point, she has been eating the rats I've warmed up just fine).

Anyway, I managed to get her eating normally again in late November-early December. But then in January/February, she started developing a "two-week" eating pattern where she'll strike at the rat, sniff at it, then slither back in her hide one week, and the next week she'll strike and eat normally. Both times she'll get it right on the head, but almost like clockwork (I keep logs), she only eats every two weeks.

Her sheds are perfect and she doesn't show any signs of distress or illness. I keep very close eyes on her husbandry, I think I have at least 4 instruments + generous use of a temp gun properly configured and monitoring her temps & humidity. Everything is stable and regular except for her feeding habits.

What worries me is if she's eating enough. Back when she was half a year old (still so tiny, around 300g), she'd be eating constantly, so much so that I had to cut down feeding every 5 days to 7 because I was educated that's unhealthy. Now she hardly ever sheds- her last one was on January 31st and while she isn't losing weight, she is putting it on very slowly.

So I ask again, are my feeding practices flawed? What can I change to get her eating "regularly" (once a week I thought was most common. I know some adult BPs go off feed during breeding season, but mine is nowhere near breeding age I don't think) or should I just go with her flow and keep offering, letting her eat whenever she decides to?

Sorry if this was a long way to ask a simple question, I just wanted to provide some background/history to fill in the gaps. Thank you for the help!

[Bogertophis]

I think you're worried about nothing, honestly. Young snakes are typically fed once a week but now that your BP is 1.5 years old, there's nothing wrong with
feeding her every 2 weeks. That's what snakes do when they grow up: they eat gradually bigger prey at longer intervals (unless they're wild, then they have
to contend with what ever they catch and whenever they can catch it). Not seeing your snake, of course, but a snake that's on the "lean" side is apt to live
longer & be healthier than one that's a little pudgy, and they don't lose weight easily (who does? ) so be glad. I personally would only offer food every two
weeks at the most, and never when she's in shed, and not worry one bit. Have you been sizing up her prey a little? See chart below:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ing-Guidelines

[chakup]

My girls definitely take some time off this time of year. My oldest girl took the last about month off, she'd and is back pounding.
Just double check husbandry to make sure something didn't somehow change and otherwise just keep trying, it's pretty common with BP'S but is stressful when your snakes do it.

[threadgoode]

I think you're worried about nothing, honestly. Young snakes are typically fed once a week but now that your BP is 1.5 years old, there's nothing wrong with
feeding her every 2 weeks. That's what snakes do when they grow up: they eat gradually bigger prey at longer intervals (unless they're wild, then they have
to contend with what ever they catch and whenever they can catch it). Not seeing your snake, of course, but a snake that's on the "lean" side is apt to live
longer & be healthier than one that's a little pudgy, and they don't lose weight easily (who does? ) so be glad. I personally would only offer food every two
weeks at the most, and never when she's in shed, and not worry one bit. Have you been sizing up her prey a little? See chart below:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ing-Guidelines

Thanks so much for your response! Typing it all out and seeing it on paper, I certainly felt a little silly for over-worrying. And yes, I have been sizing up her prey accordingly, but her past few rats are on the smaller side (around 50-60g) as I've yet to re-stock, is that okay? And that's the same size chart I've used as a guide since I got her, actually! There's really a great abundance of resources on here, and I'm grateful for the community!

[threadgoode]

My girls definitely take some time off this time of year. My oldest girl took the last about month off, she'd and is back pounding.
Just double check husbandry to make sure something didn't somehow change and otherwise just keep trying, it's pretty common with BP'S but is stressful when your snakes do it.

You know, in the past while doing research before I got my BP, I would read threads and sympathize with all the feeding-related troubles keepers were having, but now I can really empathize with them too haha. Although mine are clearly not as serious and frustrating as some, I totally get what you mean when you say it's stressful once your BP starts acting like, well, a BP! Thank you kindly for your input! I will continue checking her husbandry to make sure I'm reigning it in right.

[Bogertophis]

Thanks so much for your response! Typing it all out and seeing it on paper, I certainly felt a little silly for over-worrying. And yes, I have been sizing up her prey accordingly, but her past few rats are on the smaller side (around 50-60g) as I've yet to re-stock, is that okay? And that's the same size chart I've used as a guide since I got her, actually! There's really a great abundance of resources on here, and I'm grateful for the community!

No, it's not "silly" to worry, it means you care, & that's a good thing. Using up the rats "on the smaller side" is just fine, I'd do the same thing. No snake in the wild
ever has so much consistency in prey size as our pets do, & yet, they survive... If the prey is on the smaller side & only if she is obviously really hungry a few days
before her two week feeding interval, it's perfectly fine to feed her a little early...snakes do NOT need to be fed on an exact schedule...that's more of a convenience for
us, it just makes it easier to keep track of. But really, feeding every 2 weeks is just fine, even if the rats are a little bit smaller until you re-stock. A little hunger is
far more "normal" for a snake than being over-stuffed with food, especially since our pets don't get anywhere near as much exercise as they do in the wild.

[Craiga 01453]

Like the others have said, nothing to worry about. Just a BP doing what BPs do. But it certainly doesn't hurt to ask.

What I decided to do after my BP took his first food "break" was just wait him out. I did the same thing this year. After getting consistent refusals every two weeks I just stopped offering until I noticed he was in "hunting" mode. Once I saw his behavior change and his little face poking out of his hide a couple nights in a row I decided to offer, sure enough he ate right away on my first offer.

So now I basically let him dictate how often he eats. I don't offer til I see his "behavior" indicate that he's hungry. When I see him peeking out from his hide two nights in a row I feed on the 3rd night. I haven't had a single refusal using this technique (well, until his "winter fast").

He ends up eating every 10-14 days, usually closer to 14.

I guess I told you all that to put your mind at ease and let you know that once they're no longer juveniles it's ok to slow down from a weekly feeding schedule. I honestly never stress if they go a bit longer without food. They tell me when they're ready to eat, just by me observing their behavior. The every 7days schedule is great for juvenile animals, but as the put size on them they slow down.

At this point, I almost never have wasted prey, I have healthy, solid animals and I attribute that to letting them more or less dictate their own feeding schedules.

When they're off food, they don't lose weight so I know it's not a health concern, they're just not interested in eating.

Good luck, hopefully this helps you out.

Like I said, can't hurt to ask. It shows you care.