All of a Sudden my Ball will not eat out of cage

[DrEwTiMe]

Hey everyone, its been a while since i have posted here, been busy with a move and other real life issues so i didnt have a lot of free time as of late.

Anyway here goes..

Iv had a ball python for a little over a year now and everything has been great, she loves her home and has never given me any problems with eating at all. But as of late she is becoming more finicky about eating. She has been on 2 mice for quite some time now, and since i got her( she was no bigger then a pencil) she was always fed in a feeding box and showed abslolutly no signs of anything unusual.

In the past few weeks she has been giving me a little bit of a problem eating. When i put a mouse in the box with her( feeding box) she seems to show absolutly no interest in the mouse what so ever. Some times she would only eat one, sometimes she ate none. In the case when she ate one i would have to keep the other mouse overnight, try the next day and she ate it.

So tonight i tried again, and again when i dropped the mouse into the box she showed no iterest. So tonight i tried to feed her in the cage after she did not show any interest in the hide box, and boom she snatched both of them up in no time.

Now i know that some of you will say what is the problem, but my concern with feeding in the tank is that she will eventually assiciate my hand coming into the take as possible prey when she is hungry and possibly become mean and snippy. To this point she has NEVER snipped, bit or even looked like she would strike anything. She dose not mind my other animals in the house or any human. And i would really like to keep her that way.

I have herd some talk of this being true, then others tell me that it really don't have have much effect. But i would like some solid info on this. Also it is dead winter here ( jan ) and i have herd that some snakes eat less in the winter time but this has never been a factor for me.

Anyone that can shed some light on this issue for me would be great! thanks.

[Shelby]

First off, the eating less may just be seasonal.

Second.. I have 21 snakes. I feed all of them in their cages. I open the cages at least once a week other than feeding time, and I have NO problems with them thinking my hand is food. Most of my snakes are dog tame, and the others are just bratty babies.

[Eddie_Z]

I second what Shelby said. While I only have one snake, she has always been fed in her home and while she bit me once (last year, about this time) it was my own fault due to husbandry errors. Outside of that, I reach my hand in there a minimum of once a day to change water and mist the tank and she has never once bitten me. I don't see any problem with feeding in the tank.

[elevatethis]

The first bp I had, I fed her outside of her cage in a seperate container. One day, it seemed she never wanted to be in that container again...and has been feeding regularly in her enclosure ever since. No problems with biting or snippiness or anything like that.

They all have their own personalities. One female I have will ball up when you reach in to change her water bowl, another girl wakes up and fearlessly attempts to crawl up my arm and escape. You just have to get to know each of them on an individual basis, and do whatever works for each one.

[DrEwTiMe]

Ok cool, i know her pretty well, she is always out wandering around the cage( plotting escape wich will never happen hehe) and when i go to open the cage she comes right to me and like yousaid attempts to use my arm as means to escape heh, its really funny actually.

But ya she is one of the most personable snakes i have been in contact with, i just wanted to make sure that she stays that way, because more so then me being bitten which woudl really not bother me. im turning a lot of peopel on the typical " god i hate snakes" attitude and also because my 3 year old nephew absolutly LOVES her and i would never want to put him in any danger of being bitten or anything like that because of a change that i could have avoided.

[rabernet]

Kashmire has always been a really "mellow fellow" and I've always fed inside his enclosure. He's never hissed or struck at me since I got him in July. Not saying he might not in the future, but I don't think that it will be because I fed him in his enclosure.

[DrEwTiMe]

not to be a pest or anything but has there been any studies on this topic, that that im expecting a scientist to come in here and show me results. Im just wondering if people have any evidence on the side that it DOES in fact cause the snake to become more aggressive.

Sorry to be annoying i just really dont want my snake to get like this. I enjoy her company a lot and if she got nasty i woudl have to get rid of her and im really not trying to do that.

[Adam_Wysocki]

not to be a pest or anything but has there been any studies on this topic, that that im expecting a scientist to come in here and show me results. Im just wondering if people have any evidence on the side that it DOES in fact cause the snake to become more aggressive.

Sorry to be annoying i just really dont want my snake to get like this. I enjoy her company a lot and if she got nasty i woudl have to get rid of her and im really not trying to do that.

No, no stuides on the topic ... but if it helps, I have been feeding over 200 snakes in their enclosures for over 10 years and there is no consistent pattern of aggressive behavior when entering their cages for handling or cleaning any of them.

In my mind, based on real world, practical experience, there is absolutely NO link between feeding in the cage and aggressive behavior in ball pythons as long as you are also regularly entering the cage for other reasons (handling, cage cleaning, etc).

-adam

[ladywhipple02]

I agree. I know boas can get agressive if you don't handle them often enough... and the same is probably true for other snakes. But as long as you're coming and going often enough, they shouldn't have a problem with you.

[ddbjdealer]

The best advice I got for this issue is just to follow the same pattern with feeding every week. I scent the room about 20 minutes before actually introducing the food or opening the tubs. I wouldn't want to stick my hand in their tubs after/during this scenting. But any other time of the week, I can stick my hands in no problem at all.

Even if you don't follow the "scenting", find a routine, and stick to it... (for handling/cleaning as well), and your snake will figure out what time it is.

Good luck!