Not Feeding

[bellaroyal]

Hey guys...could really use some advice. We were having issues with our bp eating. she had gone almost a month and we started to assist feed her. we opened her mouth and just placed the mouse in and she would eat on her own after that. we did that 3 weeks in a row and now she won't eat at all this week. is that ok? or should we be worried?

[coldbloodaddict]

I'm assuming it's a hatchling?

You will have to assit feed until it eats on its own...

[satomi325]

How is your husbandry? Can you give us some details?
What size is she? What size prey is she given?

Balls are notorious for going off feed. A month is nothing (unless she's newly hatched). Some are known to go off feed up to a year and still be healthy. I wouldn't be worried yet unless she's losing weight rapidly. So I recommend weighing her regularly to document any weight loss.

Assist feeding is stressful for a snake.
Leave her alone for a week and try feeding again. Don't bother or handle her during this time.

[bellaroyal]

she is a hatchling. hatched back in november of 2011 and we've had here since dec 31 shes about 2 ft long. weight wise i'm not exactly sure. her temps stay between 80 & 90 and her humidty stays between 55-60. we try to feed her every sunday night. we have been having an on going battle with her eating since we've gotten her. for the first 2 weeks we had her she'd eat fine. then she'd go 2 weeks, and then she'd feed. now its been a month and she acts like shes hungry but she won't actually go for it. and we'd not feed her for awhile thinking ok maybe shes not hungry and then we'll try again. we don't handle her often at all either. weight wise it doesn't seem as if she's losing any weight at all...she looks like shes put on some since we've assisted her these past 3 weeks.

[Slim]

Are you feeding F/T or live?

[bellaroyal]

and the mice we were feeding her are 45 grams

[bellaroyal]

Are you feeding F/T or live?

feeding f/t 45 grams.

[Slim]

45 grams seems a little big for a hatchling...especially one that's not totally started yet. You could try a smaller prey size till she get's going on her own.

or

When all else fails, try live.

[Annarose15]

she is a hatchling. hatched back in november of 2011 and we've had here since dec 31 shes about 2 ft long. weight wise i'm not exactly sure. her temps stay between 80 & 90 and her humidty stays between 55-60. we try to feed her every sunday night. we have been having an on going battle with her eating since we've gotten her. for the first 2 weeks we had her she'd eat fine. then she'd go 2 weeks, and then she'd feed. now its been a month and she acts like shes hungry but she won't actually go for it. and we'd not feed her for awhile thinking ok maybe shes not hungry and then we'll try again. we don't handle her often at all either. weight wise it doesn't seem as if she's losing any weight at all...she looks like shes put on some since we've assisted her these past 3 weeks.

Four things:

1) Stop assist feeding. You should only resort to this if she dramatically loses weight or has never eaten on her own.

2) Get a digital kitchen scale so you KNOW what her weight is rather that guessing whether she's gaining or losing.

3) Reduce the size of the mice you are offering. 45g is pretty big to feed a hatchling (I doubt she's 300+g if she's as poor a feeder as you say), and way too big to assist feed. Base the weight off of 10-15% of your BP's weight. Make sure F/T is properly thawed and warm, and go with live before you ever consider assist-feeding again.

4) Triple check your husbandry to ensure there is nothing that could be stressing her and causing her to go off feed.