Feeding problem, won't eat

[N1GHTRA1N]

Ok here is my problem. I've had my BP Duke since May. I've been feeding him every 4-7 days since I've had him. He hasn't refused a meal since the first time I've tried to feed him frozen, weeks after I got him. I've been feeding him live mice until about 2 months ago. He has had a hamster and a gerbil but since eating the gerbil has eaten two small juvenile rats. The last time I successfully fed him was on October 17. I tried a juvenile rat on Oct 23 and it didn't go well, the rat bit my snake and the snake let him go, I think his eye is hurt but I'm not sure how bad. He has a dull looking eye on his right side while his left eye is shiny. My problem has been that since then Duke won't eat, he is afraid of live prey. I've tried another juvenile rat, a mouse and a gerbil and he won't approach them. I feed him in a 10 gallon tank and he just climbs out over the side when I put prey in with him. I have killed and frozen two juvenile rats and have thawed them in warm water and he won't eat them either.

I was away for 5 days after the bad feeding attempt on the 23rd, he wasn't handled and wasn't bothered by anyone other than my brother spot cleaning his cage while I was away. He was cruising a lot when I returned and wouldn't settle so I covered his terrarium with a blanket for 6 days and since removing it he is back to normal. I just tried feeding him again for the first time since November 4th with frozen prey first then the gerbil and he wouldn't take either one.

It has almost been a month since he has eaten, I know they can go several months without eating but I'm beginning to worry since he was such a good eater until now. I've also read it may be because winter is coming, but I don't really know at this point.

Any advice would be great.

[Kaorte]

Sounds like he has a stuck eye cap, it should go away with the next shed.

Try feeding him in his home enclosure at night when he is in his hide. If you can, blast the f/t rodent with a hair dryer for a bit before offering the prey item. Use the dryer right by the cage, it pre-scents the room so the snake can smell the prey item.

What kind of hides does the snake have? How are you measuring and controlling your heat sources?

[N1GHTRA1N]

Sounds like he has a stuck eye cap, it should go away with the next shed.

Try feeding him in his home enclosure at night when he is in his hide. If you can, blast the f/t rodent with a hair dryer for a bit before offering the prey item. Use the dryer right by the cage, it pre-scents the room so the snake can smell the prey item.

What kind of hides does the snake have? How are you measuring and controlling your heat sources?

I'll try the hair dryer trick. Never heard of it before.

The snake has two exo-terra caves, one on the cool side and one on the warm side. He also likes to use his water dish as a hide sometimes too, it is on the cool side. He moves a plastic plant over the top of the water dish to cover most of himself up.

I control the heat with a thermostat and it is maintained around 94-96 degrees at all times on the warm side. The cool side is usually 74-78 degrees depending on the room temps.

[Kaorte]

74-78 is really on the low side. If possible, I would think about adding another UTH to the cool side (on a dimmer connected to the thermostat) and see if that can boost the temps.

Your snake shouldn't really be using its water bowl as a hide, that is what the hides are for. Are his hides very tight fitting? They like to be hugged on all sides. If the snake is hiding from right after being fed until the next feeding day, its a god indicator that they will eat for you again.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Bump your cool side temps up--they are indeed too cold. With winter coming, the ambient temperature in your house might go down, and there may be drafts. This could result in even cooler temps in the cage. I would consider 74 to be much too cold for a ball python to be exposed to for long periods.
At the same time, your hot side temps are a bit too high. Aim for 90 to 93. You need to even out your temperatures a bit.

If he is soaking in his water, and he isn't opaque, check for mites.

Offer him food in HIS cage, where he feels secure. Once past the super-hungry baby stage, some balls don't feel the need to eat if conditions aren't what they prefer.

It is autumn, but only 2 of my males have slowed or gone off feeding so far. If your snake is over a year old, it's possible, but rule out everything else first.

[dr del]

Hi,

When you say the rat bit your snake and you think his eye is hurt did you mean the rat bit him in the eye? Did you tak him to a vet if that was the case?

Could you get us pictures of the eye and the bite if they are at different locations?


dr del

[wuffielover]

I would be worried most about the rat bite...second the request for pics of that.

Otherwise, your husbandry sounds decent, certainly not bad enough to cause a snake that's been eating regularly for you since May in the same set up to go off feed. That's not to say you shouldn't take the suggestions above, though. How old is he? Every couple of years or so my 11-year old male normal will go off feed for two or three months during the breeding season (probably frustrated 'cause I never breed him! ), I don't worry much about him but I would worry more if it was a baby. What I would advise, in addition to the above suggestions, is to stop bugging him for a while. Don't try to feed him, just leave him alone for a couple of weeks. It's easy to get worried and start trying to feed your snake every 2-3 days when he's been refusing, but DON'T DO IT. Sometimes this will 'jump-start' one that hasn't been eating, almost like you have to leave them alone for them to realize they're hungry! Good luck