Feeding Issue? Try this...

[psycho]

There's a lot of things that causes ball pythons not to eat. Two of the main causes are stress by overhandling and mite infestation. What can you do about stress? Stop handling it for a week or so and then offer food; If it ate try handling it for 15 minutes or so every other day and then offer food see if it takes it, if it does you can increase the time you handle it by 5 minutes and so on. I handle my ball pythons for about an hour but I started by handling them for about 10 minutes and then increasing time by 5 minutes if they ate. What can you do if your ball python has a mite infestation? Try keeping its cage simple with newspaper or paper towels as bedding, a water bowl, a hide box, and a source of heat; This will help you spot mites easier so you can get rid of them. You might also want a bowl large enough for your snake to soak in. By soking, your snake is drowning mites you'll usually find them floating at the bottom of the dish. Keep your snake in a simple cage until you see no signs of mites, It only takes about 2 months or so to get rid of them. You might also want to buy Provent-A-Mite or Mite-Off as this should speed up the process.

If your snake doesn't have mites and you haven't handle it a lot and still doesn't eat, TRY THIS...

- Double check that your temperature and humidity cycles are correct and your snake has a few places to hide in the cage.
- Is the cage in a room that gets a lot of foot traffic and noise?
Try moving it to a more quiet room
- Are you offering live?
Try offering dead (or vice versa)
- How large of a meal are you offering?
Even though they might be able to swallow a large meal, some snakes prefer smaller ones
- Try offering different types of rodents like Mice, Rats, Gerbils, or Hamsters
- What color of rodents are you offering?
Some snakes don't recognize white lab mice or rats as food items, try getting colored ones (Gray, Black, Brown, Light brown, Etc...)
- Are you offering male or females rodents?
Some snakes show a preference one way or the other
- What is the temperature of the dead rodent?
A fresh kill rodent is the right temperature and thawed sometimes isn't. Snakes elict a feeding response by the right Heat, Movement, and Scent.
- When you offer food, how are you doing it?
Try not to disturb or handle your snake on feeding day (except if you are moving it to a "feeding tub")
- How far away from the snake is the rodent?
Somewhere between 2-6 inches is about right, some people touch the rodent's face against the snake's face this can intimidate ball pythons
- Try scenting a dead rat or mouse by rubbing it against a dead gerbil or hamster
- Try thawing a rodent, refreezing it, and thawing it again, the freezing process breaks down the cell walls and makes the rodent smell more pungent
- Try providing a dark hidebox that touches the snake's sides this way they feel more secure and then dangle a killed prey in front of the hole, most of the times the ball python will get it
- Also try chicks they are a tempting treat
- Try feeding it at night since ball pythons are nocturnal

Other reasons a ball python doesn't eat...

- If your snake is wild-caught it might take a while so it can get comfortable in its new habitat
- What season is it out doors?
It's pretty common for males and sometimes females to go off feed during winter months
- Is it within a few days of, or during a shed cycle?
Most snakes won't eat during this period
- Is your snake about 800 to 900 grams?
It is not uncommon for them to stop feeding when they reach this certain weight
- Sometimes small males stop feeding since they are so interested in breeding during breeding season and starve themselves to death.

This thread was by request,
Hope this is helpful to anyone though.