Trouble Feeder...Unsure of the Issue

[BHReptiles]

I've made several posts about this female before but here's another one for her latest issues. I got her in August and she was eating live mice. I quickly switched her over to F/T mice but could not get her to eat F/T rats. She was still very hit and miss as far as meals were concerned. I never can predict when she'll eat for me. After a couple of months, I was ready to just call her a mouser.

On October 20th, I nonchalantly placed a live rat in her tub (which I've done before with no luck) and she ate it quickly. On October 24th, I fed her another live rat thinking that the first was probably a fluke. Then, on October 28th, I got excited and fed her a F/T rat fuzzy which she took. She took F/T rat pups on October 31st and November 3rd as well. Around this time, I realized that they all needed to be on large rat pups/weanlings so I started feeding every 3 days versus 4 to use up my small rat pups to make room in my freezer for when I bulk order more rats in January (since I didn't have the next size up and elected to feed meals close together than multiple prey items since my ball pythons tend to only want to eat one rat at a time).

Since then, she has refused EVERY SINGLE rat pup that I've offered her. All were thawed how they always are (in a baggy in warm water for about 30-45 min) and nothing about the prep/method of feeding has changed. Her tub has not changed, temps are pretty constant. I'm not sure what her deal is. Since her first refusal on November 6th, she has lost 21g (200g down to 179g).

She's still very young and even though I know they can last a long time without eating, I'm worried about her weight loss. What can I do to get her eating again? Do you think the change from a 4 day schedule to a 3 day schedule made that much of a difference? The other two ball pythons who were about her size have doubled in weight and she's regressing. Any help is appreciated.

extra info:
Housing: kept in a 28qt tub in a rack with two identical hides, water dish, and some plants to take up space (I figured with her shotty eating habits, it might help her to feel more secure)
hot side: thermostat keeps the flexwatt between 90-94* (set at 92*)
cold side: my bedroom usually stays between 78-82*
Humidity: around 50%
She shed October 26th and there are no signs of another shed (whereas my other ball pythons shed every 4 weeks like clockwork)

[JaGv]

could it be that you stressed her out from frequent feeding?

[BHReptiles]

That's what I initially thought. I forgot to add that after refusing three feedings: I've been only offering her food once a week. It's still not making a difference.

[BHReptiles]

No one else has any input?

[DooLittle]

Every 3 days may be too much, as in maybe she's full and that's why not interested. Maybe needing to digest and process all that she has consumed so quickly. Even if the meal is a bit small, they will be fine waiting 5-7 days to feed again. Give her a week without offering, then try again the next week and see if she takes it.

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[vangarret2000]

That's what I initially thought. I forgot to add that after refusing three feedings: I've been only offering her food once a week. It's still not making a difference.

You should have been doing this from the start. Feeding every 3 or even 4 days is too often. Then once it was off food you could have tried feeding every 2 or 3 weeks instead of every week.

Make sure the rat is as hot as possible. Feed later at night. Male sure the snake is in a low-no traffic area.

[barbie.dragon]

She's too full. You should lay off the feeding for at least a week without any feeding attempts. Also are you feeding an appropriate size rat? If the prey size is getting bigger but the frequency doesn't go down she will probably refuse eating.

[BHReptiles]

She is in a low-traffic area (my bedroom) which stays dark and warm. All my snakes are fed at night like always...there was no change there. She's not handled (at least not since she went off feed) and she's offered food once a week. When I was out and about, I found myself at the pet shop and purchased a live rat pup for her. I offered it to her and she ate it without hesitation (as in...she almost grabbed my hand instead of the rat as I was placing it in her tub...which is a first for her). I did not read your replies until just now (after I fed her the rat pup), so in light of this, I don't think the issue was her being too full (especially since she hasn't eaten in almost a month and lost 20g).

Also, the prey size is actually smaller than she needs to be eating, thus why I was feeding her a little more often. They were bought as "rat pups" (she should be on weanling rats/larger rat pups) but what I've been offering are more like large rat fuzzies (eyes still closed). It's all I have right now until I do my large rodent order in January.

I think the issue is that she's always been a picky feeder and she just wanted live rats instead of frozen. But thank you all for your imput anyway.

[satomi325]

I know your tub is full of clutter, but I would really house her in something smaller/or use a divider. And I recommend lowering your temps to 88. Young babies tend to favor the lower side of the hotside spectrum. I know my babies will not eat if the temps are over 91.



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[BHReptiles]

The rack I'm getting in January will have dividers in it for her since I know she's a nervous feeder. I'm also going to get some slightly smaller hides since she's so snug in there she's beginning to lift the hide off the ground. I really don't have anything smaller than a 10 gal glass tank with an UTH or a small critter keeper (probably equal to a 15qt tub) with a UTH but honestly, I don't have an extra thermostat for the UTH so I really don't want her to do that option. I'm trying to keep her where she is until I can get my new rack. She's been in that rack since I got her and this is the first time I've had a hunger strike issue with her. All the others eat fine!

As for the lower temps, I've never heard that before. My other two (270g and 400g) don't seem to mind the temps now. I see them (as well as the problem eater) self regulating. I'll try lowering my thermostat a couple of degrees and see if that helps any.

Here's a picture of her tub. do you think more clutter might help?