wild caught bp not eating.....

[Mrgbb]

okay so i purchased a wild caught ball python(i didnt know she was wild caught until i got home and i didnt want to bring her back) about 2 weeks ago and i tryed feeding her a (live) mouse shes probably around a year old but still very small for her age im not sure if this is because of under feeding or something but im just kinda worried that shes gunna be one of those eating refusal ball pythons...... whene i tryed feeding her she seems interested for around 5 mins or so but than she just turns the other way and goes back into her hide...... so the main reason im making this post is to ask if anyone has any ideas on what i should do to get some kind of feeding responce from her.



sincerly, Mike. H

[muddoc]

Mike,
I got in three wild caught females about 4 years ago. Two of them ate fine. One of them did not. She came in at around 1300 grams (she was gravid when caught in the wild, and laid eggs before I got her) and very skinny. She did not eat for 56 weeks. She got down to about 900 grams before she took her first meal. Once she started eating, I was able to get her up to 1900 grams in about 4 months, feeding mice alone. Below is my recommendation.

Continue to offer her meals once per week, no matter what. Offer her a smaller than normal rat one day, and a mouse the next (an ASF the following day if you have access). Once she eats one of them, offer that prey item only for the next 3-4 weeks. If she continues to feed, bump up the frequency of the item. In our case, she ate a mouse (which is small for an adult female). After 4 weeks of eating 1 mouse per week, I bumped her up to 2 mice per meal, twice a week. Not long after, she began eating 6 mice per week.

These snakes will try your patience, but persistence will usually win in the end. With that said, there is a chance that she will die in captivity, because she will not eat. Some people may tell you to assist feed her, but being that she is WC, and obviously has willingly eaten at some point in time, I believe that assist feeding is just prolonging the inevitable. If you were to assist, and this is the only way to get food in her, are you willing to possibly continue doing it for the next 20+ years. I know that sounds harsh, but it is my opinion.

I hope that helps, and good luck,

[zantedeschia]

Try pre-scenting with soiled gerbil litter or drop your mouse in the gerbil litter before you feed to pre-scent it.

[Elise.m]

I think Tim said it best. Just continue to offer meals, of all prey items, and wait til she eats one. They will test your patience, and you probly will want to give up, but normally that's when they cave in.

What do you have her set up in? Have you read the caresheet on this website?

[Mrgbb]

What do you have her set up in? Have you read the caresheet on this website?

i have her in a 20g long but im thinking about getting her a tub because its kinda hard to keep humidity in the tank........ the temps are just about perfect but i dont have the uth on a thermostat, so im worried about high or low temp flucsuations (probably didnt spell that right lol). and she has 2 hides a water bowl big enough for her to soak in and a basking area. so i mean i really dont think its my setup. unless its the temps


Mike. H

[Kaorte]

How are you measuring your temps? Like, what kind of thermometers are they? If you aren't controlling your UTH then your temps are not "perfect". They are probably far from it.

What KIND of hides does she have? This makes a big difference. These snakes like small cramped hides that they can barely fit into. They also like hides with small entrances, not half log hides.

[SNIKTTIME]

Mike,
I got in three wild caught females about 4 years ago. Two of them ate fine. One of them did not. She came in at around 1300 grams (she was gravid when caught in the wild, and laid eggs before I got her) and very skinny. She did not eat for 56 weeks. She got down to about 900 grams before she took her first meal. Once she started eating, I was able to get her up to 1900 grams in about 4 months, feeding mice alone. Below is my recommendation.

Continue to offer her meals once per week, no matter what. Offer her a smaller than normal rat one day, and a mouse the next (an ASF the following day if you have access). Once she eats one of them, offer that prey item only for the next 3-4 weeks. If she continues to feed, bump up the frequency of the item. In our case, she ate a mouse (which is small for an adult female). After 4 weeks of eating 1 mouse per week, I bumped her up to 2 mice per meal, twice a week. Not long after, she began eating 6 mice per week.

These snakes will try your patience, but persistence will usually win in the end. With that said, there is a chance that she will die in captivity, because she will not eat. Some people may tell you to assist feed her, but being that she is WC, and obviously has willingly eaten at some point in time, I believe that assist feeding is just prolonging the inevitable. If you were to assist, and this is the only way to get food in her, are you willing to possibly continue doing it for the next 20+ years. I know that sounds harsh, but it is my opinion.

I hope that helps, and good luck,

Sounds like solid advice to me. I have a 15+ year old WC male and he goes off feed every year from around August -March. The only food he will accept after his fast is mice. After 2-3 meals he will readily accept live or dead rats. He goes from super picky to I'll eat anything. Patience is most definitely a key. Good luck

[Mrgbb]

:

How are you measuring your temps? Like, what kind of thermometers are they? If you aren't controlling your UTH then your temps are not "perfect". They are probably far from it.

What KIND of hides does she have? This makes a big difference. These snakes like small cramped hides that they can barely fit into. They also like hides with small entrances, not half log hides.

yes i know about the temps thats really the only thing im worried about i really have to pick up a thermostat but i cant find any i think im gunna have to buy one off the internet..... as for the hides im using on both sides these old wooden cigar boxes that keep humidity very well they just have a hole drilled in one side she fits just about prefect in them and she seems to like them scince shes in there almost all day except whene she comes out for an occasional drink..