Baby ball python defensive towards food

[Ryres5850]

I haven’t been able to find much information online so if anyone has any advice it’s very appreciated. I want to start by saying Im pretty sure my husbandry is correct, I’ve been through my care guides so my temps/ humidity and hides are okay.

my baby ball python (not sure of exact age but when I got her in feb she was 178 grams) has not eaten in two months. She’s very defensive towards her food and defensively strikes at it instead of eating it. She has gone from 229 grams to 190 grams in these 2 months. I never handle her unless it’s to weigh her and her enclosure it very filled out to make her feel safe plus I have blocked off all of the sides of her terrarium so she can’t see out.

I have only tried to feed F/T rat pups and mice hoppers but she has the same reaction to both. When I first got her she managed to eat but only after striking defensively for at least 10 minutes and then coiling. But now she just buries her head after being defensive. I have not tried live mice or rats because I figure she will be more scared of something live. It is possible that she does not recognize the F/T rats as food? Do you think she may go for a live rat/ mouse despite her defensive behaviour? Thank you so much to anyone who helps, I am very stressed at the moment that she will starve herself to death.

[GoingPostal]

Can you post a picture of the enclosure? How is it heated, how are you controlling and testing temps? She's not afraid of the food, she's insecure and stressed out. Have you looked at the sticky for how to set up a non eating hatching? At that size they are best off in a very small tub setup and offering the same food as the breeder, usually live for the first few feedings.

[EL-Ziggy]

Have you tried leaving the prey item in overnight? Some animals eat better with drop feeding instead of taking their food from tongs. If your snake was eating before it will eat again. If you’re sure your temps are dialed in, and your snake isn’t sick, then keep offering food every 2-4 weeks until the snake gets back on track. I’ve NEVER seen a healthy animal starve itself to death. The hunger ALWAYS wins.

[Zincubus]

I haven’t been able to find much information online so if anyone has any advice it’s very appreciated. I want to start by saying Im pretty sure my husbandry is correct, I’ve been through my care guides so my temps/ humidity and hides are okay.

my baby ball python (not sure of exact age but when I got her in feb she was 178 grams) has not eaten in two months. She’s very defensive towards her food and defensively strikes at it instead of eating it. She has gone from 229 grams to 190 grams in these 2 months. I never handle her unless it’s to weigh her and her enclosure it very filled out to make her feel safe plus I have blocked off all of the sides of her terrarium so she can’t see out.

I have only tried to feed F/T rat pups and mice hoppers but she has the same reaction to both. When I first got her she managed to eat but only after striking defensively for at least 10 minutes and then coiling. But now she just buries her head after being defensive. I have not tried live mice or rats because I figure she will be more scared of something live. It is possible that she does not recognize the F/T rats as food? Do you think she may go for a live rat/ mouse despite her defensive behaviour? Thank you so much to anyone who helps, I am very stressed at the moment that she will starve herself to death.

I’m presuming you’re feeding in the evenings ...

Try the hairdryer method .. dim lighting and wait until it’s well settled under a hide then a good blast of the rodent with a hairdryer then INSTANTLY dangle it in front of the hide entrance .

Don’t blink !

I’ll send you a more detailed description of the method by PM now .

Here’s 4 of mine eating at exactly the same moment a few weeks ago




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[Bogertophis]

What was she being fed before you got her? It's really important to feed the SAME thing to a new snake, even if that means live, just for a while- because snakes are already afraid & weirded out when they're in a new home- think about how scary that would be if you didn't understand where your world as you knew it just disappeared to? If suddenly everything changed, even if it's actually "for the better". Yikes, that would sure kill MY appetite- & so it does for some snakes too.

Keep in mind that while I recommend feeding f/t, sometimes you need to put a young snake's well-being first & do whatever works for them, because it's just NOT normal or healthy for a young snake to skip many meals. Also remember that young mice or rats don't bite back at all when/if their eyes are still closed. So that's what you want to be offering, preferably, although mice fuzzies are really too small, so a young hopper (eyes just open) is usually what ppl feed IF the snake was started on mice.

If you can find out from the source of your snake exactly WHAT your snake was raised on it would help a great deal. You should always know this from the day you bring home a new snake, because rats & mice smell (& presumably taste) different. It can mean the difference between successfully feeding your snake, or watching them losing weight & worrying about them starving.

If your set-up is truly correct (temps & hides etc.) & you're not handling this snake, then it's most likely what & how you're trying to feed. You need to get on this quickly- this is a young snake that needs to be eating. BTW, until she's eating, I wouldn't keep weighing her either. Handling is an appetite turn-off to a hungry snake- leave her alone, & get the feeding right. You said she ate once (?) for you? If it was a rat, I'd try a small live fuzzy rat (eyes closed). If she takes it, leave her to rest & digest. You want her to eat at least 3 times before you go handling her- even to weigh.

One more thing: how often have you been trying to feed this snake? Trying too often just stresses them into more refusals usually. I wouldn't offer any sooner than once a week.