(TW: written gore) Difficult BP + Horrifying Nightmares: What next?

[smakemom]

Sorry for the late update, I just started working at a new job and life has been a little busier than usual.

I've been in a small fight with Smake's heat lamps as I'm pretty sure one of them is going out on me, but I'm not sure which one yet. I'm gonna have to wait until they all turn on again when it's not sunny outside. I have a new one to replace it with. He's not too cold, but not quite in that 85-90 window at nighttime where I prefer it. During the day it's fine, though. This also only started happening after I cleaned his tank, oddly enough. Might be because it's easier to maintain a temperature than rise up to it.

He went off feed when he was less than a year old, and started eating again when I let his breeder take him home for a short period of time. He was fed live, but he also contracted a bacterial infection. I had to treat him with an antibiotic from the vet. Granted, I no longer trust that veterinarian (I've been seeing a new one for a while now, this was years ago), but that's also why I did something as silly as autoclaving rat bedding. I've not used it yet, and I'm keeping it in a plastic deli container, but if it's not stinky by the time I use it I can just get more. My local pet store gave me it for free, which was nice, but I have no idea what the health of their rats is like.

Another time he went off feed I was able to fix it by covering his enclosure with a curtain. He seemed to only eat when he had total privacy. I tried doing that again, but it didn't work this time. He only has natural light, so it's not like he has a ton of exposure to brightness. There's a timed lamp that shuts off at 9pm, but it's across the room.

Are ball pythons sensitive to smell? Would nearby soiled cat litter offend him by any chance?

@BeansTheDerp: This is how I've been preparing the rats except for the temp gun part. I'll give that a try next time.

@Homebody: I took no offense at all! I type very stiffly and come off as serious but I promise I'm a fairly relaxed individual. Thank you for all your help.

[Bogertophis]

...He's not too cold, but not quite in that 85-90 window at nighttime where I prefer it. During the day it's fine, though. This also only started happening after I cleaned his tank, oddly enough. Might be because it's easier to maintain a temperature than rise up to it....

Are ball pythons sensitive to smell? Would nearby soiled cat litter offend him by any chance? ....

Yes, for sure, & Yes, most likely. Cats are predators & have a pretty strong odor, especially to a snake.

[BeansTheDerp]

smell could totally totally be the problem! In our mini fridge my brother put his kittens wet food in the same spot where the rats are supposed to go, he did this multiple times and I would get mad at him because Beans REFUSED to eat the rats because they smelt like cat food!!! I usually keep the temps in that 85-90 window in the mornings, at night I let things cool down though he still has the undertank heating, but if that works for you then go ahead! Keep us updated

[smakemom]

For one, I am incredibly dumb and one of my lights was literally unplugged. Temps are fine now, and now I have an extra bulb, which I should have had anyway in the event of an emergency or a blowout, so fair enough.

I'll work on moving the litter boxes somewhere else. Considering how far I've bent over backwards trying to appease this spoiled noodle I'm ready to get creative.

Thanks as always everyone.

[BeansTheDerp]

of course! let us know if he finally eats for you.

[smakemom]

He rejected food again. This time, I heated up the rat to about 60° (it felt hot to the touch) and gently tossed it in a jar full of autoclaved rat bedding (it still had a smell, but not as offensive as fresh bedding, so maybe it wasn't enough.)
I set the rat in his little feeding dish, and he never came out to my knowledge.
(To note: Smake has always taken his meals off the floor without any disturbance. He is afraid of tongs for an unknown reason and will recoil if he sees them, so I've never been able to get him to strike or take something from me personally.)

How should I use the bedding to scent the rat effectively? I can also get freshly soiled bedding since many of you recommended I not disinfect it. Next time I also plan to try and make sure he's aware of the rat when I put it in there, since last time I'm not sure if he ignored it or if he plainly missed it somehow.

Any and all advice is appreciated, as always. Thank you.

[BeansTheDerp]

Depending on what you are using for a dish it could be so cold that it's cooling down the temps of the rat. I'm guessing by 60 degrees you mean degrees Celsius because 60 Fahrenheit is not enough. Also next time you could try to place the rat closer to the entrance of the hide he could be in, and I would put said rat in the enclosure at a time that he is active and he wouldn't be in a deep sleep and not noticing the rat there. How often are you offering him food? I wouldn't be trying to feed him every week as that may be too often, I would give him a bigger break, I've heard of people waiting a full month before feeding again in case the snake is on a strike but depending on how long your snake hasn't eaten I might not do that. Do you know if smake is loosing weight from not eating? Usually if it's a strike the snake won't lose much weight. I would keep an eye on smake's weight until he eats again so that you can monitor it! (:

[smakemom]

He's been off feed for over half a year and did lose weight, which is why i started force feeding him, but he has gained some weight back thanks to the nutrient rich dog food my vet had me give him. getting him to eat it (via force feed) was very traumatizing for him so i didn't keep up with it. my temp gun said the pinkie rat was 60-something and it was uncomfortably hot to touch, so i don't know if the gun was wrong or what.. not sure.

next time i'm going to get his attention and see what that does.
also, sorry if my typing isn't as clean as usual. i put on false nails so typing is a nightmare. rip.

[BeansTheDerp]

How much weight has he lost? something like 10 grams wouldn't be concerning, that's the amount a urate can remove after a snake passes one so it's really not that much. Something like 100+ grams is when it gets weird. Also if you've been making a lot of changes like adding something and then removing something because it's an issue, then it can still make the snake feel a bit off so that could be another issue. Remember that people have had their bp survive a year without food and while it varies with the snake, if your snake isn't showing any symptoms of starving to death I wouldn't worry too much yet. I would say continue to ask the vet questions and continue to get insight from other snake owners and your snake will eventually start eating again! I don't remember if you've said it before so I'll ask, has your snake gotten scans and tests to see if it's an internal issue? I remember you saying you have taken your snake to the vet but I'm curious as to what exactly has been done at the vet. Again, apologies if you've already covered this but I can't look back at the past conversations while writing this lol.

[smakemom]

all good. He hasn't had any scans, but the vet has put a flashlight up to him and looked inside. Because he's an albino, it's pretty easy to see inside of him in the dark with a light. she didn't feel anything abnormal and didn't see anything abnormal when she did that. I don't know exactly how many grams he has fluctuated. All I know is that he gained some weight when he was weighed at his last appointment. I think I will start weighing him at home weekly, so I can keep track of any significant weight loss. I probably should have been doing that already.