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  1. #1
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    Bp hatchling won’t eat

    So i know there are MILLIONS of topics about ball pythons being very finicky eaters, and I’ve done plenty of research and made sure to read all of them before receiving my 4 month old bp. However, I'm unfortunately in that situation.

    He’s a little thin and his body is triangular, he was like that when he was delivered to me on December 20. The breeder provided me that he was born on Sept 19, and feeds on f/t & live hoppers every friday, but he was delivered on a Friday meaning he hasn’t eaten in 3 weeks.

    (MY MISTAKE!) i put him in a 40 gallon tank but later moved him into a small plastic bin on Christmas.
    the warm side remains at 90F and cool is 80. Humidity is usually 50-60

    back to the topic, I offered a warmed up f/t hopper and offered it to him on tues, he was very active and looked like he was looking for food but he balled up instead.(this was when he was in his tank.) Then tried again on wed cause im so worried hes just so skinny.(now in the plastic tub)
    i decided to leave a f/t overnight yesterday, no luck. Someone suggested i assist feed which was today and he still spat it out, i just caused him more stress and im kind of panicking. How long do I have to wait to try again? I’ve heard try live but he’s stressed and I dont want to buy one right now(im also worried switching him back to f/t will be a huge hasse)

    I’m panicking and I really apologize if im doing it all wrong! Please help!

  2. #2
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    Leave him alone for a few weeks. He’s only moved into his new home a few days ago and attempting to assist feed does more harm than good unless the snake is extremely emaciated. Give him at least a week alone then try again.
    Last edited by AzJohn; 12-27-2019 at 07:22 PM.

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  4. #3
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    Re: Bp hatchling won’t eat

    Try wiggling an f/t mouse?

  5. #4
    BPnet Senior Member jmcrook's Avatar
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    Re: Bp hatchling won’t eat

    Quote Originally Posted by Jörmun View Post
    Try wiggling an f/t mouse?
    No. Try leaving it alone entirely for at least another week before offering again. Also, never assist/force feed an animal that already knows how to eat. No handling until it eats 2-3 times for you


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    Re: Bp hatchling won’t eat

    Quote Originally Posted by jmcrook View Post
    No. Try leaving it alone entirely for at least another week before offering again. Also, never assist/force feed an animal that already knows how to eat. No handling until it eats 2-3 times for you


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    GOT IT! I will provide more updates next week

  8. #6
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    New snakes are frightened...their whole world just changed without explanation, & their instincts tell them to lay low while they get the feel of things. They need privacy without handling, & best to not even offer
    food for a week or two, since they may regurgitate it anyway if accepted. Fresh drinking water, proper temperatures & humidity with good hides on both cool & warm side of enclosure, & above all, no handling. They
    need privacy, time to adjust. If you pester a new herp while it's under stress (of a new home, & ESPECIALLY if it was shipped to you) it has a greater chance of contracting illnesses that it was exposed to, since their
    immune system is affected by stress, just like us & other living things.

    And "force feeding"? If he doesn't accept f/t when you do offer food again, it's more important to get food into him so if that means trying live, by all means do so, & deal with switching him back to f/t when his
    body wt. can spare the risk...not now if he's thin. Many times snakes (esp. hatchlings) are said to be taking f/t as a selling point, when in fact they may only have taken f/t once or twice, & moving to a new location
    can easily make them regress (& need live food again for a while). While I'm a fan of f/t or p/k prey, most snakes are better off started on what they'd take in nature...meaning live, so their instincts kick in. Snakes
    need to learn to be snakes first, not pets with room service...they do not understand that anyway.

    Always put your snake's needs first, & you'll have thriving pet snakes. Are his hides the right size & all? It makes a big difference, BPs are ambush predators & they rarely accept food when they are cruising the cage-
    in the wild, they'd be vulnerable to predators when out in the open & busy constricting prey, that's why they usually flee if you offer them food when they're cruising their cage. Instincts...snakes die without them.

    Feed them at night, preferably when they are just peeking out of a hide...that usually means they're hoping for prey to pass by. Also, don't approach the snake with the f/t: news flash, wild rodents do not volunteer
    to be dinner, & any prey acting that way will just scare a BP into NOT eating it...BPs are timid snakes. When you DO offer f/t from feeding tongs, give it slight wiggle motion as if alive, & as if just passing cluelessly
    by where the snake is "hiding".

    Also important is the temperature of the prey: thaw properly (either in refrigerator or in cold water, the faster method) so it doesn't spoil, then warm it quickly in very warm (not boiling hot) water, &/or use a blow
    dryer to heat it up to about 100*...that lifelike warmth is what gets most BPs to strike. (rodents have a high metabolism & very warm little bodies!) Your BP will rely on his heat sensing pits, less on scent or motion.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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  10. #7
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    Re: Bp hatchling won’t eat

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    New snakes are frightened...their whole world just changed without explanation, & their instincts tell them to lay low while they get the feel of things. They need privacy without handling, & best to not even offer
    food for a week or two, since they may regurgitate it anyway if accepted. Fresh drinking water, proper temperatures & humidity with good hides on both cool & warm side of enclosure, & above all, no handling. They
    need privacy, time to adjust. If you pester a new herp while it's under stress (of a new home, & ESPECIALLY if it was shipped to you) it has a greater chance of contracting illnesses that it was exposed to, since their
    immune system is affected by stress, just like us & other living things.

    And "force feeding"? If he doesn't accept f/t when you do offer food again, it's more important to get food into him so if that means trying live, by all means do so, & deal with switching him back to f/t when his
    body wt. can spare the risk...not now if he's thin. Many times snakes (esp. hatchlings) are said to be taking f/t as a selling point, when in fact they may only have taken f/t once or twice, & moving to a new location
    can easily make them regress (& need live food again for a while). While I'm a fan of f/t or p/k prey, most snakes are better off started on what they'd take in nature...meaning live, so their instincts kick in. Snakes
    need to learn to be snakes first, not pets with room service...they do not understand that anyway.

    Always put your snake's needs first, & you'll have thriving pet snakes. Are his hides the right size & all? It makes a big difference, BPs are ambush predators & they rarely accept food when they are cruising the cage-
    in the wild, they'd be vulnerable to predators when out in the open & busy constricting prey, that's why they usually flee if you offer them food when they're cruising their cage. Instincts...snakes die without them.

    Feed them at night, preferably when they are just peeking out of a hide...that usually means they're hoping for prey to pass by. Also, don't approach the snake with the f/t: news flash, wild rodents do not volunteer
    to be dinner, & any prey acting that way will just scare a BP into NOT eating it...BPs are timid snakes. When you DO offer f/t from feeding tongs, give it slight wiggle motion as if alive, & as if just passing cluelessly
    by where the snake is "hiding".

    Also important is the temperature of the prey: thaw properly (either in refrigerator or in cold water, the faster method) so it doesn't spoil, then warm it quickly in very warm (not boiling hot) water, &/or use a blow
    dryer to heat it up to about 100*...that lifelike warmth is what gets most BPs to strike. (rodents have a high metabolism & very warm little bodies!) Your BP will rely on his heat sensing pits, less on scent or motion.
    Thank u so much for the information. I check his temps every so often and it remains at 90-92 and humidity 50-59. The cool side is somewhere around 86. (Dont have a laser temp gun yet). He also has two hides in his little tub and they’re small enough for him to coil up and comfortably squeeze in.(small pot and a black plastic hide).

    if I were to offer a hopper next friday, and he refuses, do i try live the same day or the next few days? I called the local pet shop and they said they have live rat fuzzies but I don’t know if that’s enough for him. (No live hoppers$

  11. #8
    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
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    DO this to a T adjusting the prey size. https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101

    An animal that supposedly eats F/T and live when that young is an animal that is not switched and happen to eat F/T on occasion, right now your priority is to get him to eat once he does 3 to 5 times you can attempt to switch, I would not consider an animal switch unless he takes 5 successful consecutive meals and if you switch back that means you have to start all over again.

    You also need to address the proper prey size a 4 months old should not be eating hoppers (hoppers are for right out of the eggs)
    Last edited by Stewart_Reptiles; 12-28-2019 at 11:53 AM.
    Deborah Stewart


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  13. #9
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    Re: Bp hatchling won’t eat

    Quote Originally Posted by Stewart_Reptiles View Post
    DO this to a T adjusting the prey size. https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101

    An animal that supposedly eats F/T and live when that young is an animal that is not switched and happen to eat F/T on occasion, right now your priority is to get him to eat once he does 3 to 5 times you can attempt to switch, I would not consider an animal switch unless he takes 5 successful consecutive meals and if you switch back that means you have to start all over again.

    You also need to address the proper prey size a 4 months old should not be eating hoppers (hoppers are for right out of the eggs)
    Thank u for the info, i actually followed your post and he is currently in a plastic bin, its compact but not too much and is similar to the one in the picture, (only a rectangle)
    I’ve adjusted the warm side to 88 as it said instead of 90.

    What is preferred for a 4 month bp? Young live mice?

  14. #10
    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
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    Re: Bp hatchling won’t eat

    Quote Originally Posted by Jörmun View Post
    Thank u for the info, i actually followed your post and he is currently in a plastic bin, its compact but not too much and is similar to the one in the picture, (only a rectangle)
    I’ve adjusted the warm side to 88 as it said instead of 90.

    What is preferred for a 4 month bp? Young live mice?
    You want something that is equal the girth size (widest part of your BP's body), if previously on rats do rats if previously on mice do mice (if it was a back an forth on that too I would suggest mice since they are more enticing), the key with BP who are finicky eaters is consistency and not go back and forth.
    Deborah Stewart


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