1 month no feed

[morphcacther]

ok well i have a female babby ball she has not eatin ever since i had her any ideas and its been 1 month

[Kaorte]

Can you tell us more about your tank setup? How many hides? temperatures? Heat sources? Substrate? Are you using a probe thermometer? How big is the tank? How often do you offer food? What size prey item are you offering?

There are a lot of reasons why a ball won't eat and it is usually a husbandry issue.

[morphcacther]

she is in a 15 gall and i am giveing her hopers and live and f/t also its 2 hides normal Bp temps i have evreything she needs she is on paper towl she was on reptile carpet and i am ofering evrey week

[Kaorte]

What kind of hides? What are your EXACT temps and how are you measuring them?

Where do you feed the snake?

[morphcacther]

well i have a half log hide and a contaner hide well her temps are 80 on on the cool side 90 in the basking spot 85 on the worm side i feed her in a sepret contaner and in her cage

[Kaorte]

Half log hides are a bit too open for ball pythons. They prefer hides that they can barely fit into and are covered on all sides. Try getting two identical tight fitting hides.

I would keep trying to offer food in the home enclosure. Moving the snake to a different enclosure just causes unneeded stress.

Are you still handling this snake? Is the snake active during the day?

I think your snake could be too stressed to eat. What you can do is cover 3 sides of the tank with dark paper to help make the tank feel more secure. Stop handling the snake until it eats for you. Put the snake in a low traffic area. You can also try putting a layer of crumpled balls of newspaper on the bottom of the tank.

[armbarvictim]

well on a sidenote I feed my Bp in a seperate tub and he doesnt get stressed at all, in fact as soon as he goes in he knows whats up.

did you get the snake from a breeder? if so ask if they were feeding live.

Long story short, I got my baby bp and wanted to go frozen but she had him on live, and he wouldnt take it at all. He didnt eat for 3 weeks. Then I brought him in to the local pet store and they helped me with my first live feeding and he ate 2 right away.

As babies they need the live feeding stimulation it seems, maybe not for all of them but for most anyhow.

Put the mouse beside the viv for like 30 minutes and then watch the difference in attitude.

Good Luck, and don't stress out they can generally go a while without food.

[omnibus2]

If possible move to 10g, but 15g is all right I suppose.

Get rid of log hides. Get two of those half coconut hides, should be able to find them at petco/petsmart, and put one at the cool side and one at the warm side with the water bowl in between. Take two or three newspapers and crumple them up, so the bp will feel more secure. After a week try to feed a live hopper.

[Montie Python]

well on a sidenote I feed my Bp in a seperate tub and he doesnt get stressed at all, in fact as soon as he goes in he knows whats up.

I do the same BUT, due to this particular situation, I wouldn't suggest you do that...Your BP is not eating...so I would recommend you follow what Kaorte is saying...

Most likely it is stress. Do make sure, you have that right thermometers. It is always recommended to buy the Acurite...

Do cover all 3 sides of the tank...and I would even take it a step further, and have the clear side facing the wall for a week or two...

I still question the hide things...BUT your snake is not eating...so I wouldnt take the chances...Do get yourself 2 identical hides...

And I wouldn't handle the guy for at least two weeks, offer food then...and I bet you, that you will have no problem, considering that you followed all suggestions...

Well...Good luck!

[trott]

Half log hides are a bit too open for ball pythons. They prefer hides that they can barely fit into and are covered on all sides. Try getting two identical tight fitting hides.

I would keep trying to offer food in the home enclosure. Moving the snake to a different enclosure just causes unneeded stress.

Are you still handling this snake? Is the snake active during the day?

I think your snake could be too stressed to eat. What you can do is cover 3 sides of the tank with dark paper to help make the tank feel more secure. Stop handling the snake until it eats for you. Put the snake in a low traffic area. You can also try putting a layer of crumpled balls of newspaper on the bottom of the tank.

I agree with kaorte. half log hides arent that good and it sounds like it could be stress. Def. leave her in her own enclosure. I feed all mine in their enclosure. And very importatnt to prescent for about hlf an hr to get her interested. Just place a dead or live rodent on top of her tank . Make sure its dark. these are just things to make her feel like its safe to come out and eat. After you get a few meals in her you can tweak.