New Ball won't eat, hasn't pooped or peed

[Mish]

Hi there, my boyfriend and I got a ball python at petsmart about 3 weeks ago. The pet store told us she was a picky eater but we got her anyways. She hasn't eaten since we got her and we noticed she hasn't pooped or peed either. We have tried to assist feed her but she hates it and tries to bite us. Her eyes are fogged and she is looking dull so we were thinking she is going into a shed but we are worried. Any helpful comments would be appreciated

[interloc]

Well it sounds like she is going into shed and its common for them to not eat in shed. There's the first thing. Second, how big is she, weight wise? With balls its always helpful to have a small scale to weigh them to see if their little feeding pauses cause any harm. Have you tried live? Sometimes balls need live to stimulate a feeding response. I know I haven't had much luck getting new babies to eat frozen.

Another thing, balls really never like being assist fed. When your trying, does she try to bite you when your picking her up, or during the assist feeding part itself? If your assist feeding properly, there shouldn't really be any part of your hand in teeth range. I would recommend doing a search on YouTube for videos of assist feeding methods.
Good luck!

Also the pee and poo thing. Balls don't really have a timeline for stuff like that. Plus if there are no rats in her, what's she guna poo? Worry about the eating first. The poo and pee will come. Trust me. Lol.

[cschneider]

Welcome and congrats on your new pet! Your ball python is probably going into shed if his eyes are foggy but would need to see a pic to tell you for sure. As for the eating issue, he may be stressed out due to his habitat. What is your set up for him? Also what are you trying to feed him?


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[Herpenthusiast3]

Give her some time to calm down. If you just got her then she is going to take a week or so to get used to her environment and if she is going into a shed then she will be even more reluctant to eat. If she is a healthy weight I wouldn't worry about it and definitely wouldn't try to feed assist her because this will only stress her out more. BP's can go extended periods without food and often exhibit that behavior when stressed. If the BP Is under weight though I would say take him to a vet who also. specializes in exotics. Hope this helps. Take care.

[Mish]

Not sure weight wise we do not have a scale. She's about 2 n a half feet long and still looks plump and healthy. We were trying with frozen pinkies but have some live fuzzys ordered and on the way so we can try with those. She's in a 90gallon tank, aspen for bedding, her hot side stays at a good 90 and the cold side between 80-85, humidity fluctuates between 40-60 depending on how much we mist, more recent now cuz of the shed. She has a tree on the hot side to bask and a hiding spot as well, big water dish and another hollowed out 'tree' on the cold side so she can also hide in that. She friendly and loves being picked up, but when we go to pinch behind her jaws to assist feed she freaks out and flails around, we don't want to stress her out so we stopped that. I'm hoping the live fuzzys will attract her to eat.

[interloc]

Not sure weight wise we do not have a scale. She's about 2 n a half feet long and still looks plump and healthy. We were trying with frozen pinkies but have some live fuzzys ordered and on the way so we can try with those. She's in a 90gallon tank, aspen for bedding, her hot side stays at a good 90 and the cold side between 80-85, humidity fluctuates between 40-60 depending on how much we mist, more recent now cuz of the shed. She has a tree on the hot side to bask and a hiding spot as well, big water dish and another hollowed out 'tree' on the cold side so she can also hide in that. She friendly and loves being picked up, but when we go to pinch behind her jaws to assist feed she freaks out and flails around, we don't want to stress her out so we stopped that. I'm hoping the live fuzzys will attract her to eat.

Woah woah. 90 gallon is wayyyyyy too big for her. Balls get stressed in big places. That will also contribute to her pickiness. Here's how I store my biggest gals.
That's a 41qt tub. Balls like to feel hidden. There's too much space in a 90 gallon tank to feel secure.

[dav4]

You either need a much smaller enclosure, or many more hides, along with lots of nooks and crannies for the snake to retire to and de-stress. Also, assist feeding is extremely stressful to the snake, and potentially very dangerous for the snake, as well. It should only be considered when the health has deteriorated considerably due to lack of food, all husbandry factors have been perfected, and it should only be done by someone with experience.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Not sure weight wise we do not have a scale. She's about 2 n a half feet long and still looks plump and healthy. We were trying with frozen pinkies but have some live fuzzys ordered and on the way so we can try with those. She's in a 90gallon tank, aspen for bedding, her hot side stays at a good 90 and the cold side between 80-85, humidity fluctuates between 40-60 depending on how much we mist, more recent now cuz of the shed. She has a tree on the hot side to bask and a hiding spot as well, big water dish and another hollowed out 'tree' on the cold side so she can also hide in that. She friendly and loves being picked up, but when we go to pinch behind her jaws to assist feed she freaks out and flails around, we don't want to stress her out so we stopped that. I'm hoping the live fuzzys will attract her to eat.

Foget everything you have learned or were told at the pet store and please refer to the care sheet on this site

1# Stop assisting feeding or force feeding this snake, assist feeding is for animals that do not know how to eat on their own at 2 and a half feet this animal obviously knows how to eat, if the animal is plump I will assume it is of good body weight and therefore is not in jeopardy health wise. Assisting is stressful and should be avoided especially if you are lacking the experience to do so.

2# With new owners the majority of feeding issues are husbandry related, the biggest problem here is your enclosure, even an adult would not require such a large enclosure and since BP are prone to stress it is likely a contributing factor to the issues you are having.

Proper temps gradients and humidity are also very important so make sure you are getting an ACCURATE reading with a digital thermometer/hygrometer (dial thermometer and humidity gauge are not accurate.

Here is what I would recommend get a 32 quarts tub at the VERY most, have two tight identical hides (all sides touching your BP's body) and aspen bedding. When your BP becomes a consistent feeder you will be able to upgrade the enclosure as the animal grow knowing that a 30 gallons tank is all you will really need when fully grown.

3# Food, at this point you need to feed APPROPRIATE size prey, anything 2 small may not be recognized as a prey, know that and hatchling get started on hopper mice or fuzzy rats, therefore pinkies and fuzzies are WAY TOO SMALL, you need to feed something that is equal your BP's girth size (widest part of your BP's body)

Given the issue feed a live prey (preferably mouse) and offer the food inside the enclosure.

In the mean time NO HANDLING, make the changes give it 7 to 10 days to settle, and offer food, once your BP start eating with consistency you will be able to handle her.

Good luck.