Strike... coil... drop.

[Mettle]

I'm having issues with one of my ball pythons feeding.

I have a female '09 het clown. I got her September 20th. I purchased her from a great breeder. He gave me the last 5 dates that she had eaten, which was about every 4 or 5 days, prior to getting her. She also came to me at a very good weight so I have zero doubt in my mind that she was a solid eater. By the time I got her she was already on rat weanlings.

Since then she has not eaten for me. BUT. Here's the kicker... For a week and a half my snakes were fostered at a friend's place while I had the windows done on my house. (Windows in October... makes for a cold house.) During that period she ate twice for my friend. The only variable was that my friend has a snake (a solomon island ground boa) that prefers mice and so there was a mouse thawing in the same tub as the rats. So perhaps the rat was lightly mouse scented?

It's really quite strange. All the other ball pythons I have (4 currently) are being housed at the same temps, same humidity as her.

And it's not that she shows no interest. She STRIKES and then COILS... but then drops the rat. Just leaves it there. If I pick up the rat and dangle it again then she strikes and coils again. Last week I did this FOUR TIMES and each time she struck, coiled and then dropped the rat.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks for an and all help.

[Shadrach]

I've got a Pastel he has ate rats just fine for me but every once in a while he refuses them so I rub mouse shavings on them and he nails them every time. I'd try rubbing a mouse on it to see if it makes a difference.

Also do you tug the rat a few times to simulate a live rat? It fools them into thinking its alive and seems to stimulate them more.

[sporty02]

have you tried feeding her a mouse. i have heard some crazy stories about snakes only eating certain color mice and stuff maybe she only likes mice?

[cinderbird]

try tugging the rats tail after she coils. then leave her be. a lot of the time they'll strike, coil and then let go and come back to find the right end (or wrong end) and eat then. Just leave her overnight with the rodent. If she doent' eat then try a mouse, or a rat scented with a mouse.

[Mettle]

Oh trust me, I've tried the tugging thing. This is not my first ball python. And I've had a stubborn feeder before. (He had to be force fed, but is a champ now with eating thankfully.)

It might be the mouse thing, I think. I just don't get it. She was getting rat weanlings from the breeder before I got her. And she wasn't eating for me at all. But she mysteriously ate at my friend's place. And now not again. The only thing I can think of is the mouse thing.

I guess I'll give that a try in the coming weeks and see how it works out.

[Mettle]

I should also mentioned that I have previously left the rat in her bin overnight and she has not eaten it using that method either.

[michele769]

don'tt know if this will help, but when you feed her do you leave her tub open and watch her? My male clown will strike coil a rat, but if i watch he just stares at me and then doesnt end up eating the rat no matter what, even if i dangle it again. I'm not sure if you watch her or not, but if you are just dangle have her strike and then close put her away right after. Hope this helps

[Mettle]

A good tip, but when I feed I leave all the snakes alone in the dark basically with the lights in the room off so that they can eat in peace. Maybe that's the difference. Maybe she likes being watched or having the lights on?

[Strtaylor]

I dont know if this will help.. but i fed my 3 snakes today and the pet store was out of small rats so i fed 2 adult mice to each snake. 2 of my snakes eat outside of their tubs and in a seperate one.. Anyway after i fed the first mouse to one of mine he wouldnt eat the second one in the seperate enclosure so i put him back in his tub, and fed him there he struck coiled so i slid his tub back in the rack. 2 mins later i came back to see if he ate it he hadnt yet and litterally came at me and struck hard... so i slid him back in and he ate...
Moral of the story maybe just get her to coil and then shut whatever it is shes in so that she cant pick up your heat, could be scaring her.
Sorry for the long post just thought id share.

[Bruce Whitehead]

Could it be the core temp of the rodent?

Movement, heat and scent are the 3 things they need.

If she hits from the movement, is excited by the scent, but perhaps does not recognize the rodent as food from the temp drop following?

How are you heating the rats? I have a few of those girls, and they are the ones that tend to prefer live (and I know you do not feed live). Any live feeder that is converting, or any FT feeder that is giving me grief, I pay extra attention to that.

If you are not already I would suggest a good water proof bag to float her rodent in hot water, get the core temps up, and then hit the head and tail with a blowdryer (or heat gun) to mark those areas...

Bruce