Ball python not leaving cold hide/eating

[Jdelaney]

Hi all,

Having some trouble with our 2 y/o male Royal. He's been a pretty good eater since we got him at about 6 weeks old and has always been very curious and would often be out and about in his Viv. Since Christmas though he's not been eating and has been spending pretty much all his time in his cold hide. It's worth noting that it's been unseasonably cold here in the UK for the time of year, I don't know if that has something to do with it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we're not too sure what to do!

Thank you!

[Homebody]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we're not too sure what to do!

We're happy to help. To advise you, we need specific information: basking and cool side temps, humidity, and a description of your enclosure (size, heating elements, thermostat, hide placement). Pics of your set up and your BP would be a big help. This thread will show you how to post them: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures. Thank you.

[Jdelaney]

Basking: 29-32°c
Cool end: 25°c
Humidity: 65-75%
Enclosure is 4by2by2ft, warmed with a heat lamp, large water bowl and hide at warm end, 2 further hides and humidity box at cool end. Lots of clutter and hiding places. It is a very large glass front so we do cover half as otherwise it gets a lot of daylight which we were concerned about. Pictures:

pythons.net/gallery/files/9/0/0/6/6/screenshot_20230322-192011.png
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...322-192028.png
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...322-192000.png

[Bogertophis]

For those of us who "speak Fahrenheit", the basking temperatures are 84-89.6* F, & the cool end is 77*F. Which sounds perfect to me for a BP. Humidity is a bit high for routine, but good for when your snake is in shed.

How much handling do you do? When he's not in his own "perfect world" & if your house feels cool to him, that might explain his lack of appetite & attempt to brumate.

Your snake is beautiful- he has a good body weight- but why is he soaking? Does he do that often?

[Homebody]

Looks good to me. So, your bp is hiding and not eating. Well, they do that. They're famous for it. Your bp looks good, so I wouldn't worry. Two years old? Could be the dreaded 1000 gram wall.

By the way, what are you feeding him and how frequently?

[Bogertophis]

As Homebody said, it's possible that your BP is just being a normal young adult male- fasting is pretty common in these snakes- but it never hurts to ask & review the essentials.

[Jdelaney]

Hi all,

Thank you for all your advice and comments, it's been incredibly helpful.

We are handling him less than we used to, as we were concerned about the impact it would have on his feeding, but usually we try to handle him every other day. He was soaking in that picture as he'd just shed so we'd given him a bath to get some stuck bits off, he doesn't soak regularly.

He's eating small weaners, every 10-14 days usually - though we have been wondering if the food is a problem, so any advice on that would be welcome.

Thank you all again!

[Homebody]

He's eating small weiners, every 10-14 days usually - though we have been wondering if the food is a problem, so any advice on that would be welcome.

I'm so glad I asked. Weiners? Please elaborate. Small weiners conjures up images of those canned vienna sausages we used to eat in the 70's.

That would not be an appropriate diet for a ball python. Most keepers feed rats. Some mice. I also feed weiners, but the Reptilink kind.

[Armiyana]

Weanling rats? That sounds a bit small to me... Most of my boys are eating small rats every 2weeks. But your boy looks pretty good regardless! And males are so varied in size.

Could be like the others mentioned, the wall... Or just this is typically the time of year that some males that age just start thinking about breeding more than feeding. Especially if he seems a little more pushy or jumpy if handled.

[Bogertophis]

I'm so glad I asked. Weiners? Please elaborate. Small weiners conjures up images of those canned vienna sausages we used to eat in the 70's.

That would not be an appropriate diet for a ball python. Most keepers feed rats. Some mice. I also feed weiners, but the Reptilink kind.

I guess we think alike, Homebody. I actually laughed, then edited the spelling in the above post before I got to your (this) post.

BTW, the image you posted doesn't even say "weiners", which is why I envisioned this: > > >



And just to be clear, folks- neither of these are snake food- LOL

Let's re-focus on helping the OP.