another feeding question

[steveb]

I've had our Fire BP (about 1 yr old) for 2 months now, and for the first 6 weeks, he was eating great, one F/T every week, small rat. As soon as the rat was presented, he would strike and go for it. The breeder who I bought him from said he always ate regularly, one small rat each week, F/T. He has now refused for the past 2 weeks, and I know that is not so unusual, but I'm wondering if I should be concerned. Is it best to wait a few days before each new attempt, or is it OK to try a few days in a row?

Nothing has changed in his tank, temps are good, humidity still hovering 50% but I'm working on getting it up a bit. He stays in his hide/hot side all day and like clockwork he comes out at dusk and stays out most of the night actively exploring and looking for his escape route. I've noticed in the past week that when I open the cage he has gotten especially "enthusiastic" about getting out of the tank. He seems so preoccupied with getting out that he doesn't even pay attention to the nice juicy meal that's being offered. Maybe all of this is just normal behavior, but I thought i would put it out there.

I've read a ton of posts and tricks about feeding F/T, smells, warming rat, etc. He just shed 4/1/10, so I dont think we are entering another shed now. One thing that did change is that I was purchasing frozen rats from Petco, and recently ordered a bunch from Mouse Factory. He did eat the first 1 or 2 from that batch.

Thanks for your ideas and help.

[baddawg91]

if he was on live u might have trouble switching to f/t but i wouldnt present every day present one day and wait one or two days so u dont stress him out.

[CoolioTiffany]

When you offer food, I wouldn't consider trying to offer it daily until he takes it. That would most likely stress him out. It isn't unusual for males to refuse, and even though it's still late in the breeding season males will still go off feed. Mine did so I'm not too worried.

Try offering it weekly. When I get a refusal, I wait a week before offering again and they normally take it.

[Vypyrz]

What kind of enclosure are you using? If you have a photo of it, that would help. I had a male do this last year...

[steveb]

Right now hes in a 10 g, but i'm setting up a 20g. UTH on one end with thermostat under hide (rock cave), water bowl in middle, log cave on cold side. Temps 90 surface in hide, and 78-82 on cold side. Ceramic heater on top on cold side. Screen is covered with foil except for 2 squares, one for air ventilation and one for the heater. Moss helps humidity but still not where i would like it to be.

I'll wait a few days and keep trying. He seems a little on the skinny side to me, but not dangerously so.

[Kaorte]

Skipping 2 meals is no big deal. Do you know how much he weighs?

His behavior sounds like he is a little stressed. I would try and get a hide identical to the one you have on the warm end and put that on the cool end. Moving him to a larger enclosure might actually make the situation worse. I only move snakes to larger enclosures when they are eating consistently.

Also, do not offer food day after day. If he doesn't eat on the scheduled day, try again next week. Offering him day after day will just stress him out more and make him less likely to eat. The more time that passes in between offerings, the more hungry and willing to eat he will be.

Your husbandry sounds right on track, I think the hide, combined with some alone time might be enough to get him back on feed. As I said, two weeks isn't a big deal. I have snakes that will skip a couple meals here and there and they are just fine.

[steveb]

Cool -- thanks all for the good advice.

I'm just curious, do most ball pythons spend the evening exploring the cage, esp towards the top screen looking for their escape route? Or is this a sign of stress?

[Kaorte]

Cool -- thanks all for the good advice.

I'm just curious, do most ball pythons spend the evening exploring the cage, esp towards the top screen looking for their escape route? Or is this a sign of stress?

I personally do not see my snakes cruising at night that often. Maybe once or twice a week. They just take a quick spin around the tub, they don't press at all the corners looking for a way out.

Generally, a snake that cruises a lot and isn't eating is stressed with something in its environment.

[steveb]

I put another identical hide on the cool side and he used it last night. I tried feeding again tonight (its been 3 days), but again he's just so active and in his cruising mode that he seems to pay no attention. I can barely keep him in the tank with my other hand as I present the tasty meal. Next time, I'll try feeding earlier in the evening when he's just coming out of his hide.

I don't know why he would be stressed. Temps and humidity are good. He seems to be staying on the opposite side of the ceramic heating lamp and maybe he wants cooler temps. If he is extremely active at night attempting to get out of the tank, it sounds like this is unusual behavior, but I havent heard feedback by too many others. Does anyone have balls that are really active at night? (you know what i mean)

Thanks!

[Kaorte]

leave him be for a complete week before offering again. 3 days is too short a time between offerings for a snake that is refusing.

don't handle him at all for the next week. Spot clean and fill the water bowl as needed. After a week has passed, wait until it is evening and the snake is still in its hide. Thaw your rat and hit it with a hair dryer for a minute or two right before offering. Try to do this in the same room as the snake as it really intensifies the smell (ew) of the feeder. turn off as many lights as you can (you still need to be able to see) and slowly dangle t he rat in front of the hide he is in. Hopefully he will smell it, poke his head out, and strike.

If not, try again the following week.

Ball pythons are nocturnal so they will cruise around at night, but they shouldn't spend the entire time looking for an escape route.