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  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran Snow Balls's Avatar
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    Female Ball won’t eat consistently with me

    As the title says, I picked up a beautiful het clown female who is about 464 grams from Morphmarket a month ago. When she arrived I gave her a week and offered a live rat which the breeder said she was on and she refused. So I waited another week and got her another rat, I put the rat in her cage and covered her cage with a towel to give her more security. I left the room and came back in 15 minute intervals to check on her. About an hour later she finally ate, now yesterday I tried feeding her again with a live rat the same way as the previous week and she wasn’t interested. I know balls are picky but I’ve never had one as spotty as this (she was labeled as an “aggressive” eater on morphmarket). Has anyone else experienced an eater that will take one week and deny the next? Her husbandry is perfect. Same as all my other snakes and they’re eating like champs. Just this snake makes me wanna bang my head on the wall! Any tricks to get her to eat consistently? I’m willing to try anything!!
    Last edited by Snow Balls; 05-11-2020 at 05:23 PM.

  2. #2
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    Re: Female Ball won’t eat consistently with me

    Quote Originally Posted by CK BALLS View Post
    As the title says, I picked up a beautiful het clown female who is about 464 grams from Morphmarket a month ago. When she arrived I gave her a week and offered a live rat which the breeder said she was on and she refused. So I waited another week and got her another rat, I put the rat in her cage and covered her cage with a towel to give her more security. I left the room and came back in 15 minute intervals to check on her. About an hour later she finally ate, now yesterday I tried feeding her again with a live rat the same way as the previous week and she wasn’t interested. I know balls are picky but I’ve never had one as spotty as this (she was labeled as an “aggressive” eater on morphmarket). Has anyone else experienced an eater that will take one week and deny the next? Her husbandry is perfect. Same as all my other snakes and they’re eating like champs. Just this snake makes me wanna bang my head on the wall! Any tricks to get her to eat consistently? I’m willing to try anything!!
    Balls being picky and go on eating strikes is a myth. If your husbandry was on point she would be eating perfectly. If her husbandry was perfect that would mean because she is 464 grams she should be in a 10gallon tank, with no lights, and sides of the enclosure blacked out, with proper temps and humidity.


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  3. #3
    Registered User vivi's Avatar
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    Re: Female Ball won’t eat consistently with me

    Quote Originally Posted by sophia_carguillo View Post
    Balls being picky and go on eating strikes is a myth.

    Correct me if i'm wrong, but I've seen lots of cases where balls go off food for no reason. I don't think it's a myth. And they can be picky- in some cases they prefer a different colored mouse over the other. If that's not picky I don't know what is.
    Last edited by vivi; 05-11-2020 at 05:39 PM.
    vivi

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    Re: Female Ball won’t eat consistently with me

    Quote Originally Posted by vivi View Post
    Correct me if i'm wrong, but I've seen lots of cases where balls go off food for no reason. I don't think it's a myth. And they can be picky- in some cases they prefer a different colored mouse over the other. If that's not picky I don't know what is.
    I joined the most amazing Facebook group and used to think that too, I learned so much from the 30,000 members of the group and learned that they do not go off food, and if they do it’s 100% your husbandry, so I fixed mine and my girl finally ate.


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  6. #5
    Registered User vivi's Avatar
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    Re: Female Ball won’t eat consistently with me

    Quote Originally Posted by sophia_carguillo View Post
    and if they do it’s 100% your husbandry,
    Aren't there other factors, like stress? (Offering food too often, handling too often, sitting and staring at the snake for hours on end, other animals, a high traffic area...)
    vivi

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  8. #6
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Picky BPs on eating strikes is NOT a myth, nor does it always come down to imperfect husbandry that causes it, but that said, we need a lot more info about what you're
    doing, to be of help here. While sophia's suggestion may work just fine, it's actually more likely to help if you house the snake exactly how the breeder (or previous owner) did. Re-homing freaks many snakes out, & fear is not an appetite stimulant...far from it.

    Some things to thing about:
    Housing: temps? humidity? hides? substrate? size & type on enclosure (now & previous?)
    Have you handled this snake? We recommend NO handling of any new snake until they have eaten at least 3 times at normal intervals for you (to demonstrate they have
    "settled in"). Feeding the same prey the same way is only one aspect of the battle to successful feeding a BP, but are you SURE you fed the same SIZE of rat?
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 05-11-2020 at 05:46 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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    Re: Female Ball won’t eat consistently with me

    Quote Originally Posted by vivi View Post
    Aren't there other factors, like stress? (Offering food too often, handling too often, sitting and staring at the snake for hours on end, other animals, a high traffic area...)
    Yes!! Stress can be caused by lights, too much space in an enclosure, high traffic room, sides of the tank not blacked out, a lot of stuff!


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  11. #8
    Registered User vivi's Avatar
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    I agree with Boger. Sometimes fixing the husbandry works but not in all cases- I've seen too many cases where BPs go off food when all the husbandry is perfect.
    vivi

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    Re: Female Ball won’t eat consistently with me

    Quote Originally Posted by sophia_carguillo View Post
    I joined the most amazing Facebook group and used to think that too, I learned so much from the 30,000 members of the group and learned that they do not go off food, and if they do it’s 100% your husbandry, so I fixed mine and my girl finally ate.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    If you're only keeping one BP, you're not in a position to make blanket statements about the behavior of all BPs...just saying.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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    Re: Female Ball won’t eat consistently with me

    Quote Originally Posted by sophia_carguillo View Post
    If her husbandry was perfect that would mean because she is 464 grams she should be in a 10gallon tank, with no lights, and sides of the enclosure blacked out, with proper temps and humidity.

    I have 2 BP's both in 20G Long tanks, blacked out sides, and they are at appx 300 grams, no issues eating from either one.

    They are both what I would call aggressive eaters. At almost 500G a 10 gallon would be too small in my opinion

    Though the OP doesn't state what size enclosure it is, It could very well be too big or not enough clutter or proper hides in there.

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