feeding issue

[Ezekiel285]

Also to the OP, leave her alone for the next week, don't touch her, don't try to feed her, and disturb her as little as possible. THEN you can try to feed her again. They need at least a week to settle in. After your first attempted feeding wait 10 days and then try again.

[j0386]

and whats really got me worried is that he weighed her at the beginning of the year in march and she was 1200+ gms he weighed her the day i get her and shes at 700+gms so shes lost alot of weight since then but she looks healthy shes not skinny or sickly and when made me want to try and feed her so soon was that she was striking the tank as i was checking up on her and thats the first time she did anything like that since i got her so i thought she was hungry

[Ezekiel285]

and whats really got me worried is that he weighed her at the beginning of the year in march and she was 1200+ gms he weighed her the day i get her and shes at 700+gms so shes lost alot of weight since then but she looks healthy shes not skinny or sickly and when made me want to try and feed her so soon was that she was striking the tank as i was checking up on her and thats the first time she did anything like that since i got her so i thought she was hungry

Ball Pythons can go for wayyyy longer than 3-4 months without food, just make sure you are only offering every 10 days and giver her a week to settle in like I said, she should be fine then. I also suggest you take a look at the caresheet and make sure your setup matches this. As long as all of your husbandry is correct and you are offering every 10 days, she will eat when shes ready. If however she starts looking skinny and sick, this is when its time to worry (I would post back here for help). However for the time being I think you have nothing to worry about and just need to focus on letting her settle in and making sure you have everything on your end set up right.

[Annarose15]

If she really has lost that much weight, then you may want to try getting a fecal sample for a vet to check for parasites. If she still looks healthy, then I have my doubts about the starting weight, not to mention any "breeder" that would sell/give away a snake that had been dropping weight like that without making 100% sure she's healthy. Are you sure he didn't breed her? The only time my girls (same age) dropped weight after their 7-month fasts (last winter), was when they laid eggs (one lost 320g and the other 540g).

As mentioned before, wait at least a week between offerings. You can also offer slightly smaller meals than would be normal to keep her from being intimidated. I'd avoid mice if possible, but if you can get some dirty mouse bedding for the rat to sit in for a little while, it could "season" it with the stronger mouse smell and entice her to eat.

[Don]

First, what environment do you have? Temps, humidity, etc. I assume the breeder kept her in a tub. What is your enclosure? tub or tank? Changing from a tub to a tank can cause stress. Do you have hides? What size enclosure are you using? Is she being handled a lot? What did the seller feed her? Is she in a high traffic area of your home? Without this information, it is hard to help you solve the puzzle.

BP's go off feed because they do not have the right environment, are stressed, or just not hungry. I once had a female go off feed for 9 months. I know how stressful it can be to have a snake go off feed, but the more information you give us, the more we can help.

[j0386]

the environment before i got her was a breeding rack with small tubs now shes in a 20gal long i blacked out the sides and back to give her some more privacy the the temps are. Cool stays around 70-85 and Hot stays around 85-90, Humidity stays between 40-70 she was fed live rats and theres not alot of traffic where shes at and i have only handled her a few times and her hides are some home made hides there dark bowls i have cut holes in them for her

[Don]

Sounds like things may be OK. I assume you are using an UTH for heat? Also, are her hides tight enough to touch her on all sides when she crawls into them? If not, see if you can fix those things.

Try this - Don't handle her at all until after she eats. Give her at least two or three days alone (maybe even a week) and minimize any disruption in the room she is in. Then try to give her a smaller than usual food item. If she has been eating small rats, you might want to try a weaned rat or a pup. You could even go down to a large mouse (or ASF) if she doesn't take the pup, but I would try a rat pup first. Put it into her enclosure after dark, then cover her enclosure with a towel and leave her alone.

Sometimes a larger prey item will stress a snake and they will not eat. Also, if you put it in there and constantly every few minutes open it up and look in, you are stressing her out. With the towel over the front, just sit and wait for the thump. Leave her alone. Minimize stress.

If your husbandry is spot on and you can not find anything that is stressing her out (although her new home may be a source of stress until she settles down), then she could just be fasting for awhile. Three months seems like a long time to you and me, but they can go a long time without eating. The most important thing to do is not stress yourself out over it.

Also, you might want to post a picture of your setup. Sometimes that helps in seeing the environment and spotting something that can be fixed.

[melly911]

yeah samething happened to me and i just finally got my female to eat a few minutes ago just try once a week and dont bother her at all until then probably just stressed

[j0386]

for heating im useing a lamp on top of the cage with a 75watt blacklight ill get pics up of her setup later on

[Don]

Well that is one problem. Heat lamps will remove humidity and it is difficult to get a good thermal gradient. Get an UTH for your tank. Also, a temperature gun to spot check temperatures would be a good investment.