Tips on getting 1200g females to eat?

[Jamiesniper]

Hi all,

Bit of a back story,

First off, I'm not a newbie to keeping bp's, I've been keeping them for 6 years,

I have a female that I got around 15 months ago, she was 500g ,

when I got her she didn't feed for 4 months then she ate for 3 weeks then stopped feeding again, now she eats for 2-3 weeks then stops for a few months and then starts again,

The whole time I've had her she's ate about 9-10 decent sized rats and has put on about 700g, I've tried everything to get her to eat, different prey (rats, mice, ASF's, gerbils, Guinea pigs, day old chicks) different enclosures (9ltr, v18, 24ltr, 33ltr, v48)

She's not losing weight when not eating, sheds well and no health issues, her temps are consistent (32c hot end, 26c cool end, 26c ambients)

Would anyone have any tips to get her eating consistently?

Thanks


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[Stewart_Reptiles]

It's usually not about prey type, enclosure size may help as well as proper husbandry however it is mainly about patience, at that size 900 to 1200 grams they often hit "the wall" and it can take time to trigger a feeding response again.

Little trick you might want to try is put her in a snake bag and take her on a car trip, 30 min or so, than set her up in a small tub 15 quarts and offer food 3 to 4 days later.

[Jamiesniper]

I've had a run in with 'the wall' before and I think it was 10 months before he started eating again and now he only eats 5-6 times a year while still maintaining body weight,

I had a feeling that she could be at the wall but it's just how her feeding was at 500g sorta threw me off, it was suggested to me to put a male in with her as a lock could spur her on to feed but at 1200g I'm rather hesitant to do that

Thanks for your reply!


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[bcr229]

I have one like this, she's been an indifferent feeder from the day I brought her home at 250 grams. She'll eat 2-3 feedings in a row then stop for a few months. She's a 2013 and hasn't hit 1000 grams yet. She's in a rack with other ball pythons, her temps and humidity are fine, she has a proper hide, etc.

I've found that feeding her every other week helps her be more consistent, if I push food every week she fasts for longer.

[Jamiesniper]

I have one like this, she's been an indifferent feeder from the day I brought her home at 250 grams. She'll eat 2-3 feedings in a row then stop for a few months. She's a 2013 and hasn't hit 1000 grams yet. She's in a rack with other ball pythons, her temps and humidity are fine, she has a proper hide, etc.

I've found that feeding her every other week helps her be more consistent, if I push food every week she fasts for longer.

I look in this girls tub every week while feeding and if she isn't out going round the tub or sitting with her head out, I don't even offer her, she hasn't been offered food for the past 3 weeks but when I was doing water changes and spot cleaning this week I noticed she's in shed again so I know she's growing

They really are bizarre animals at times


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