ball python info needed plz help

[joshy171]

so i rescued 2 adult balls from a bad place both were under waight and week after 3 months they seemed allot better but in july the femal laid a cluch of 12 eggs and since then hasnt eaten more then a mouse a month she is starting to lose waight again and i dont want her sick they are both in there own cage (6'x3'x3') with a hot spot at 95-100 a cool spot at 75-80 hides on both sides and threw out the tank and water on the cool and middle no vissible perisites stool is normal im not a breeder i just love my snakes 19 balls all of the rest are fine i would like to solve the problem b4 i spend the money on a vet

[pavlovk1025]

The problem might be that a mouse isnt big enough for a female that is capable of laying 12 eggs. Bump up her meals to rats and see if that helps her gain some weight. She probably craps more than the mice weigh. By the time she digests it during the course of that month she cna already pee and poop out the weight of that little mouse.

[BPelizabeth]

I haven't been doing this long but maybe bump the cool temps up to 82-83 and the warm down to 92-93? Just a suggestion :-) Also check your humidity level

[mechnut450]

I aslo offer a smaller cage 6x3x3 that a lot of square feet it might be stressing her out with all that openess. I have all my snakes in either 34-40 quart tubsand they eating machines( eating faster than I can product rodents right now )

[joshy171]

thanks for the info she has temps in every range and her humidity is always between 50-70. she also refuses to eat rats i breed rats for pet shops and i offer her a med small lg then i offer her the mouse and thats what she goes for i will try moving her into a tub. any other suggestions will be tried if not already done i have tried allot of stuff.

[Jenn]

Have you tried giving her three or four mice at a feeding?

[Kaorte]

A 6' cage is far far too big even for the biggest ball python. That alone is probably enough to stress her into not eating. Move her to a smaller enclosure, wait a week and try again.

Make sure the hides are cave like, close to the ground, and fit the snake tightly.

[stratus_020202]

she has temps in every range

I'm not sure what you mean by this but, 100 is a little hot and 75 is a little cool. They don't need temps in every range. 82-83 for cool and 92-93 for hot.

[greghall]

put her in a 32qt tub & keep her warm then try rat crawlers & if she eats them move up in size.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Wash the snake with weak chlorhexedine solution in a tub. Wash out the cage carefully with soap and water and sterilize with cholorhex--wash all of the hides and dishes as well. The goal is to eliminate any possible remaining scent from her clutch.

Make sure she has a small tight hide. Adjust your temperatures--the range is too broad. Hot spot should be 90 to 93, cool side should be 80 to 83.
Make sure she's in a quiet out of the way spot. Feed her at night. If you get her to take a mouse, try another one 3 days later.

I recommend having a fecal check done at a vet, though. Not all parasites will be visible to the naked eye in the stool. Parasites are a pretty common cause of the type of poor, picky, sporadic feeding you're describing, and considering their circumstances prior to your getting them, they aren't exactly unlikely to be carrying something. Much as you might hate to spend the cash on something you can fix at home--you can't fix parasites at home, and you'll need to have confirmation that they're clean. Plus, if they have them, you risk transferring them to other animals.

If you can get her eating more regularly, I suggest scenting her over to eat rats asap. I have a few mousers, and it's hard to get them to eat enough mice to grow properly.