Feeding Issue? Try this...

[psycho]

I think that a few things in here are correct, but for the most part, the advice given is not really accurate.

PAM is the ONLY way to get rid of mites and keep them gone.

Temps, humidity and hide boxes are probably the leading cause of a snakes refusal to eat. Maybe you should go into more detail about the exact types of hides you need to provide for a BP.
"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"
This isn't true. Refreezing just makes them loose their nutritional value more.

I don't think chicks are suitable for ball pythons. Nor do they think of them as treats

I think it is more common for females and some males to go off feed in the winter months.

about the refreezing thing would you prefer for your ball python not to eat anything or to eat something that yet hasn't been clinically proven that it loses its nutritional value? and the same with the chicks this step is just to get your ball pythons to eat mice or rats or something at least...and the hides i said that it should be a hide that touches all the snakes sides....like a flower pot, ceramic caves, and etc...

[psycho]

One question I still have is, since he has been refusing food, how many days should I wait between attempting to feed him again? I don't want to stress him out even more by offering food to often but don't want to wait too long either.

yup you should try feeding at least once a week and try different methods if you can

[Mike Cavanaugh]

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. (I would say that the great majority of eating troubles with a new keeper is wrong enclosure size, incorrect temps and humidity, incorrectly sized hides, over handling, feeder size, feeding schedule, and feeding procedures.) 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. (Despite what anyone thinks, a ball python does NOT like being held. It may tolerate being held, but it does not like it. There is obviously nothing wrong with holding a BP for 10 minutes or so... but the idea of working it up to an hour is pretty much a bad idea... can it be done? sure. will the snake ever like it? No.) What can you do if your ball python has a mite infestation? (the only answer to this is pam, or possibly some other mite formula...) 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. (Suggesting that people should soak a snake, and regularly look for mites to get rid of them is simply bad advice) You might also want to buy Provent-A-Mite or Mite-Off as this should speed up the process. (you don't buy something like PAM to speed up the process, you buy it first to fix the problem)

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. (what do you mean by cycles? there should not be any "cycles." they should be kept at constant humidity and temperature numbers. They only time you would want a day / night temperature cycle is when you are breeding.)
- 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 (this is good but a little confusing. The rodent should be as large around as the ball python or smaller... no bigger)
- Try offering different types of rodents like Mice, Rats, Gerbils, or Hamsters (you should never need to offer anything other then mice, rats, or ASF's... unless the previous keeper screwed up and fed them something they shouldn't have)
- What color of rodents are you offering? (I know there have been previous discussions on this, and honestly I believe it is complete BS. there is always someone that has a 2 snake collection that swares one of the snakes will only eat a specific color... But I don't think I have ever seen anyone with a large collection claim that they have a snake that will only eat a certain color)
Some snakes don't recognize white lab mice or rats as food items, try getting colored ones (Gray, Black, Brown, Light brown, Etc...) (No.)
- Are you offering male or females rodents?
Some snakes show a preference one way or the other (do you have any proof of this, or even reputable references that suggest such a thing?! I think this is silly and seriously over complicating things)
- What is the temperature of the dead rodent?
A fresh kill rodent is the right temperature and thawed sometimes isn't. (a thawed rodent is always the correct temperature if prepared correctly) 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") (just a note... the great majority of BP veterans do NOT reccomend moving a BP to a different enclosure to feed.)
- 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 (This should never be necessary unless it is a wild caught animal, or one that has been previously fed gerbils or hamsters)
- 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 (As previously pointed out this is not true. BP's in the wild are hunters, not scavengers. The idea that they prefer a rotting rat over a live or fresh rat is just not true)
- 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 (this is terrible advice for someone who is having trouble getting their BP to eat. Chicks have almost zero nutritional value. you should be offering approximately the same sized rodent weekly until they eat)
- 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
most snakes won't eat during this period (I wouldn't say most... some don't eat during a shed but most still do.)
- 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. (What???!!!! suggesting it is normal for small males to starve to death because they want to mate? No. )

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

Not trying to be a jerk or over criticize your post.... just pointing out things I see wrong with it (the beauty of a discussion forum!)

[TheVipersHouse]

I think that a few things in here are correct, but for the most part, the advice given is not really accurate.

PAM is the ONLY way to get rid of mites and keep them gone.

Temps, humidity and hide boxes are probably the leading cause of a snakes refusal to eat. Maybe you should go into more detail about the exact types of hides you need to provide for a BP.
"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"
This isn't true. Refreezing just makes them loose their nutritional value more.

I don't think chicks are suitable for ball pythons. Nor do they think of them as treats

I think it is more common for females and some males to go off feed in the winter months.

sorry to burst your bubble but PAM is not the ONLY way to kill mites and keep them off

i use Hartz Flea & Tick Powder for cats on my snakes for treatments and it kills all mites overnight and a sprinkle thru the cage mixed into bedding insures i dont have a relapse when i bring new stuff into quarrantine room , my main collection after being treated with this stuff and going thru QT has yet to have an outbreak . so PAM is in fact NOT THE ONLY way to treat for mites and keep them away ..

[dr del]

Hi,

So what are your thoughts on this post?


dr del

[Mike Cavanaugh]

sorry to burst your bubble but PAM is not the ONLY way to kill mites and keep them off .

perhaps you should read again?



(the only answer to this is pam, or possibly some other mite formula...)

[Skiploder]

perhaps you should read again?



(the only answer to this is pam, or possibly some other mite formula...)

or:

http://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/hypoaspis.html

http://webspinners.com/coloherp/cb-n...nakeMites.html

I've used PAM in the past and it works just great.

However, there are other options out there. I recently used hypoaspis mites on a rescue gopher snake with great success.