Refused a meal.

[gozetec02]

Jojo of all snakes refused his first meal of his life on Monday. I have tried again today but no go. He had a really big meal 2 weeks ago. He is an adult now and maybe its time I start feeding every couple of weeks instead of every week. Its no big deal really, ball pythons can go months without eating. I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow afternoon and I will be taking a fecal sample to check for any parasites. He looks perfectly healthy and is not going into shed. He is usually a great eater, this guy don't ever miss a meal he is like Mikey. So if he is not feeding he must not be feeling very good.

[Eddie_Z]

Damien, don't sweat it man. All will be alright. I know how ya feel tho. The first time Hissy misses a meal I am gunna freak out!!

[led4urhead]

Definitely more stressful on the keeper than on the bp. They eat when they want to, if they're not hungry its not always indication that something is wrong. But it is good that you are going to see the vet just in case.

[Stormyva]

It's pretty much like they already said... it's going to eat when it's ready.
Stay on schedule though.... if it didnt eat wait the normal seven days before offering again.

[Marla]

Jojo doesn't have to be ill to skip a feeding or two, so I wouldn't sweat it too much. A trip to the vet is never a bad idea for confirmation that everything is ok, but there's generally no big deal to a ball python going off feed briefly (or sometimes for months, though that's generally the winter fast).

[gozetec02]

OK Got Jojo home from the vet this morning and it turns out that he has a sore in is lower jaw. The doc cleaned it out with some sterile saline. She said that he is a little dehydrated and gave him a shot of electrolytes and a shot of antibiotics. She checked the fecal sample I brought and saw no parasites at all. I got him home and he is sleeping in his hide. She said to give the sore a couple of days before i feed him. I switched to paper towels as substrate for now. The doc also said to start with smaller prey so he doesnt have to stretch his mouth to eat and open the sore. She said that the sore could be brought on by bacterial infection on a tooth that got pulled out. So I ordered a 4 pack of virosan and it should be here next week. I feel so bad because if i would have kept up on regular cage cleaning this might not have happend. But its a lesson learned. Otherwise he is a strong and healthy snake.

[hhw]

Good thing you caught it early!!!

What were you using as substrate before, and how wasn't the cage cleaned regularly?

[gozetec02]

I would spot clean and change the substrate every couple of weeks and just wipe down the sterilite. It could have also been from a prey item it ate. Rats do live in pretty dirty conditions.

[Marla]

Glad Jojo is on the mend.