Young ball python will not eat anything I offer! Help!

[Sweetroyboy]

I got a ball python from Petco almost 2 months ago. Her tank has all the correct conditions, and she has settled in. I have tried feeding her both frozen pinkies and fuzzies, and she completely ignores them. Sometimes she will lay on them and act like it's her baby. I've tried wiggling it with tongs, leaving them alone, everything. I took her to the vet, they x-rayed her and it was all clean, she had lost some weight though due to her not eating. Which definitely worries me. The vet showed me how to tube feed her, and so I've been doing that for a few weeks. She was still active and not acting like she was hungry, but just recently she began throwing up, despite not being fed. We had left for a trip, and a friend was watching her, so she was not being tube fed at the time she was throwing up. They took her to the vet and they gave her antibiotics that could help. They didn't know what the problem was though. I'm hoping the medicine will help. Last night i got a small feeding mouse for her. But with all the "dangers" of giving my small baby a live mouse, I decided to kill it and then feed it to her. Nothing. She once again ignored it. I need some help. She is getting ready to shed, so maybe that's why she didn't eat the mouse last night? I'm not sure, but in any case I really need help. Plus, killing that poor mouse was awful, so having my girl not eat it was depressing.
Please help me with my stubborn Ayame. Thank you!

[PitOnTheProwl]

Tube feed??
X-Rays??
You killed the mouse?!?!?
What the hell???
Please stop stressing your animal.
Need more information about your husbandry like temps and humidity. Photos help too.
Start here...> http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Hatchling-101

This one also helps:

[chrid16371]

I don't understand why people are jumping on force feeding healthy snakes. There's people that snakes go off feed for 8 months and there not force feeding bc they are healthy. As above said stop stressing your snake or it will never eat, leave it alone!! It was probably throwing up from all the stress of being force fed!!

What was the snake eating before you bought it? You should be feeding the same exact type. If it was eating f/t feed f/t, pre killed feed pk, live feed live, rats feed rats or mice feed mice. Offer the same meal as it was eating before you bought it, at least until it has ate consistently for a bit. Being with all the stress you may have to start with live and work your way back to f/t. How were you preparing your f/t rodents? You shouldn't of killed the mouse, it is born to kill its prey, you just need to stay close by and act correctly if something does go wrong.

What are you using as an enclosure? What are you using to provide heat? How are you regulating your heat source, meaning how are you controlling the amount of heat your heat source is giving out? What is your hot and cool temps? What are you using to measure your temps? Humidity level? What are you using to take humidity? What are you using for hides? Are they identical? Need to know everything about your setup to find the problem. Provide this information and photos if possible and then it will be easier to help you.

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[danielwilu2525]

Wait, you killed a mouse!!?? Again, go with this guide http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Hatchling-101. It
s either the BP really has something but its likely that he just doesn't want to eat. BP's go off feed for a long time! Expect that from now on.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Obviously all the conditions are not right otherwise you BP would eat, hatchlings are voracious IF kept in optimal conditions, click on the link provided by Pit do this to a T and offer LIVE food.

Snakes have been eating live for millions of years they are efficient, don't believe every horor story you read on the Internet especially since those are spread because of ignorance, fear and specific agenda.

I have fed well over 20000 live prey in the last decade my snakes are still here and without a scratch.

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[Sweetroyboy]

She is in a 20 gallon tank, with coconut substrate. She has a water bowl, and 2 hides. She has things to climb on as well. Her temperaturer ranges from 83-90. I have and under tank heating pad, as well as a daytime light/heat source and a nighttime one. I spray her tank with water and a humidifying spray every day, multiple times.

I do not know what she was eating before I got her. I bought her at Petco and I could not obtain that information. If I could I would.
I'm only tube feeding her because the vet has instructed me to do so, she had been losing lots of weight. I took her to the vet to make sure nothing was wrong with her. She is very small and thin, I don't want it to continue. I know snakes have gone months without eating, but when she is losing lots of weight and getting snaller, I'm obviously going to get worried. Also, I killed the mouse because everywhere I went, eveyone said not to feed live because it could hurt your snake. I didn't want to risk that. I understand they eat live, but she is so small that I didn't want her to possibly get hurt.
Also, people said that they have fed their snakes pre killed mice.

I'm asking for help, not to be yelled at.

[PitOnTheProwl]

#1 Live hopper mouse
#2 How are you regulating the UTH?
#3 What is the actual temperature of the glass UNDER the substrate?

#4 your vet is an IDIOT.

[blue roses]

You need to give all the info asked for above, set up , temps, humiditty, and use an infa-red thermometer, it is the most accurate, and can be bought in any local hardware store. Also once the set up, and temps and humidity is on target, then let that snake sit and get used to its home at least a week, no handling, no tube feeding. If it's really thin then at least 5 days. Get a live fuzzy rat, put it in the tank,or box, if its a tank cover it with a towel for privicy, then just watch every 10 min or so, i bet it will eat once all the stress is eliminated.

[Dave Green]

It may be too late, between the tube feeding and vomiting, but stop everything you are doing and set her up in a much smaller cage. Go to the link Daniel provided above and take Deborah's advice. Once set up properly leave her alone for a week or so. I would give her at least two weeks from the last time she threw up. Then get a live hopper mouse and throw it in her cage. Live is fine, just watch and make sure the BP eats the mouse. If not, remove it after 10 minutes or so and try again five days later.

[chrid16371]

Take away the day light, your snake can go by the natural light in your room. The bright light can be irritating. Only use the night one on the cool side if your room temp is less than 75 and it should be on a dimmer. Your uth MUST BE REGULATED, this can be done with a thermostat, rheostat, dimmer. What exactly is the device you use to take temps? You need a ir temp gun or a thermometer with probe like an acurite 00891, you must stick the thermometer under the substrate right against the glass that uth is heating and if it's above 94 unplug it. You need the proper digital humidity gauge as well and the acurite I mentioned has thermometer and hygrometer. Before I covered then vent on my vision v211 I could mist it 20 times a day and within a half hour it would be back down to 30%. You need the right equipment and knowledge to care for any animal.

Stop tube feeding as well, it's obviously doing more harm than help.

My guess is you are not regulating your heat source and are not taking temperatures properly so UNPLUG YOUR UTH IMMEDIATELY, until you get something to regulate it and the proper thermometer/hygrometer.

Read this care sheet and fix everything you need to so your snake can stop being stressed.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

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