Eating issues.

[Prophet]

I was wondering if there were any tricks to get a ball python to eat, this one wont take FT or live, he ate about a week after i got him and that was it. Ive had this one over a month now and im unsure of any other ways to get him to eat. He does not have the reserves that my other ball has, but the other one will eat anytime food is offered.

[mrshawt]

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59

[Prophet]

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59

Its in a 20 gallon long tank, but with 3 sides painted black and two identical hides that it uses both of, plenty of fresh water for it to soak in/drink when it needs. Im going to leave it be for a week and try again i guess.

[mrshawt]

Its in a 20 gallon long tank, but with 3 sides painted black and two identical hides that it uses both of, plenty of fresh water for it to soak in/drink when it needs. Im going to leave it be for a week and try again i guess.

Scroll down, it discusses the common reasons why bp's don't eat.

[Prophet]

Scroll down, it discusses the common reasons why bp's don't eat.

I already did and none of them applied except maybe the seasonal one.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Since your BP did eat once, address anything that you changed after that feeding. If there is nothing, I would go straight to the veterinary checkup.

When a ball python isn't happy with their environment, they usually won't eat at all...if they ate once, perhaps something else is wrong.

[JLC]

He still may be feeling insecure. Try this trick:

Crunch a bunch of sheets of newspaper into loose balls and fill the tank with them. This gives the snake a feeling of living in a burrow as it can feel something all around it even when it's slithering around. It can "hide" even when it's not in its little caves. Let those sit for a week and then try to feed. If you have a successful feed...pull a few papers out and feed again the following week. Each week, remove a few more papers until eventually the cage is paper free.

If you try this, you may need to switch to a small water bowl (they only really need enough to drink from...soaking is entirely optional). You'll want to leave a small gap above the bowl so the papers don't get wet. Once you get it set up, don't mess with the enclosure at all except to give fresh water. You can start handling the snake after it's had a few successful meals.

Good luck!

[Prophet]

Since your BP did eat once, address anything that you changed after that feeding. If there is nothing, I would go straight to the veterinary checkup.

When a ball python isn't happy with their environment, they usually won't eat at all...if they ate once, perhaps something else is wrong.

The only thing i did was change substrates, from eco earth to aspen shavings, i can change it back to eco earth if that may help. My other ball python has same setup and i changed it to aspen aswell, it seems to prefer it over the eco earth and is pounding food.

[Neal]

Every snake is different. Although I wouldn't recommend Eco-Earth for a ball python.

[Prophet]

Every snake is different. Although I wouldn't recommend Eco-Earth for a ball python.

I didnt like it and i think im probably going to go with newspaper or something else im not sure what yet, the verdict is still out on this one.