What else can we feed our BPs aside from rodents

[Skiploder]

Lol, ok man, I hate to tell you that its not bullspit, I have seen dozens of snakes starve themselves to death, I work at a reptile shelter, we have hundreds upon hundreds of sick and abused snakes that are confiscated from criminals and illegal smugglers, we deal with alot of venomous snakes that are brought into the country packed into weird objects like tires and other household items, we also got a ton of animals from the importer for PetCo, US Global Exotics, they were really abusing their animals. We got about 600 animals from them, a number of them were snakes ranging from baby king snakes to juvenile green anacondas, we lost probably about half of the animals that came in, many were sick and dying when we got them, but I personally watched every green anaconda refuse to eat until it was dead, as well as a crapload of milk snakes, and ball pythons in particular were impossible to get them eating again, I think every ball we received from them refused to eat even a single meal (they are all dead but 2). These animals may have already been abused and ill, but what else would you call an animal that doesnt eat until its dead, oh yeah that would be starving itself to death...
PS Coral snakes are notoriously picky eaters and if the correct prey items are not found will definitely not feed until they are dead...

Did I hurt your feelings? Tough. Keep giving me all the bad karma you can shoot my way boy, it doesn't bother me a bit.

So yes, I'll lighten up - if you were really dealing with a bunch of abused snakes and didn't provide the proper palliative care - yes those snakes are going to die. But abuse can be reversed with proper care, and I and other people have taken sick and emaciated WC animals and not only have gotten them feeding, but have gotten them feeding on things they don't eat in the wild.

I find it amazing that a person who has all this top-notch experience in caring for rescue snakes has to come on a forum to ask the most basic of care questions in thread after thread. Yeah, Hammie, I'm talking to you.

Oops! Did I just earn another bad karma point? Oh no.

As to Angllady - feel feel to take offense when I direct my comments at you. When I don't - as was the case in this thread - save your angst. But since you threw an egg my way I will roll something down the hill to ya - psst - getting a bag of 10 baby anything from africa isn't the wisest move. Right?

Hope that helps!

Skip

[Skiploder]

An animal that doesn't eat because it's sick isn't starving itself to death. What FF mentioned with seemingly healthy captive animals is a whole different ball of wax than a sick, parasite-ridden animal not eating.

When an animal starves itself with no cause other than it won't eat - that is the definition of starving itself to death.

When an animal doesn't eat because it's stressed, sick and infested with parasites, that's 100% avoidable, and failure to feed is a secondary symptom and is not the main cause of failing to thrive.

[MikeV]

An animal that doesn't eat because it's sick isn't starving itself to death. What FF mentioned with seemingly healthy captive animals is a whole different ball of wax than a sick, parasite-ridden animal not eating.

When an animal starves itself with no cause other than it won't eat - that is the definition of starving itself to death.

When an animal doesn't eat because it's stressed, sick and infested with parasites, that's 100% avoidable, and failure to feed is a secondary symptom and is not the main cause of failing to thrive.

I think what Ham and others were saying is that they have had balls that have no issues such as parasites that just dont eat and die.

Although somebody mentioned getting thier baby balls from africa so they may have had some hidden issues. But thats just speculation

Your experience is different than others I guess. Nothing wrong with it, but Im gonna have to sie with Ham... I have read horror stories about perfectly fine balls starving to death because they went off feed


I AM NOT AN EXPERT. so please dont responde trying to take my lack of experience as a sign that I dont know what im talking about. you tried that on Ham... its a low blow and it wont work...

Just because somebody doesnt have years of experience doesn't mean they cant be just educated on the subject.

For example, I am 17 and I saw this one doctor, I swear on my life I could do his job betetr than he will ever hope to do, and im only 17.

Im not saying anything, Im just saying.

[Skiploder]

That's not what Ham was saying and since I addressed only Ham in my initial post lets start there.

The Hamster made a very misleading statement that he has literally witnessed dozens of snakes starve themselves to death. I said BS and I still say BS.


Upon further inspection it was revealed that those snakes were abused and sick and not under his care but at a rescue center where he works or volunteers. On the context of this thread and this argument his claim is misleading.

Healthy non-stressed animal rarely kill themselves and certainly not by the dozens and dozens. Furthermore, snakes already suffering from abuse and untreated disease don't die from starvation - they die from the disease or stress that causes them to refuse food.

Making a claim that you have personally witnessed scores of snakes starve themselves to death is dangerously misleading. Especially when the context of the discussion means that this information could lead people down the road of incorrect assumptions. That post would lead people to believe that the poster had overseen the self induced fatal starvation not only as the sole reason for death, but that the poster had experience in the primary care of all these animals.

The reality later disclosed in a later post cleared this up. But make no mistake thirst were not healthy well cared for animals in the care of the poster. This is not the same a Freakie or someone else reporting an unexplained death by no other cause than anorexia.

I think what Ham and others were saying is that they have had balls that have no issues such as parasites that just dont eat and die.

Although somebody mentioned getting thier baby balls from africa so they may have had some hidden issues. But thats just speculation

Your experience is different than others I guess. Nothing wrong with it, but Im gonna have to sie with Ham... I have read horror stories about perfectly fine balls starving to death because they went off feed


I AM NOT AN EXPERT. so please dont responde trying to take my lack of experience as a sign that I dont know what im talking about. you tried that on Ham... its a low blow and it wont work...

Just because somebody doesnt have years of experience doesn't mean they cant be just educated on the subject.

For example, I am 17 and I saw this one doctor, I swear on my life I could do his job betetr than he will ever hope to do, and im only 17.

Im not saying anything, Im just saying.

[MikeV]

That's not what Ham was saying and since I addressed only Ham in my initial post lets start there.

The Hamster made a very misleading statement that he has literally witnessed dozens of snakes starve themselves to death. I said BS and I still say BS.


Upon further inspection it was revealed that those snakes were abused and sick and not under his care but at a rescue center where he works or volunteers. On the context of this thread and this argument his claim is misleading.

Healthy non-stressed animal rarely kill themselves and certainly not by the dozens and dozens. Furthermore, snakes already suffering from abuse and untreated disease don't die from starvation - they due from the disease or stress that causes them to refuse food.

Making a claim that you have personally witnessed scores of snakes starve themselves to death is dangerously misleading. Especially when the context of the discussion means that this information could lead people down the road of incorrect assumptions. That post would lead people to believe that the poster had overseen the self induced fatal starvation not only as the sole reason for death, but that the poster had experience in the primary care of all these animals.

The reality later disclosed in a later post cleared this up. But make no mistake thirst were not healthy well cared for animals in the care of the poster. This is not the same a Freakie or someone else reporting an unexplained death by no other cause than anorexia.

Ah, my apologies. I missed that post by Ham, going back now I see it.

My bad

[Skiploder]

That's not what Ham was saying and since I addressed only Ham in my initial post lets start there.

The Hamster made a very misleading statement that he has literally witnessed dozens of snakes starve themselves to death. I said BS and I still say BS.


Upon further inspection it was revealed that those snakes were abused and sick and not under his care but at a rescue center where he works or volunteers. On the context of this thread and this argument his claim is misleading.

Healthy non-stressed animal rarely kill themselves and certainly not by the dozens and dozens. Furthermore, snakes already suffering from abuse and untreated disease don't die from starvation - they die from the disease or stress that causes them to refuse food.

Making a claim that you have personally witnessed scores of snakes starve themselves to death is dangerously misleading. Especially when the context of the discussion means that this information could lead people down the road of incorrect assumptions. That post would lead people to believe that the poster had overseen the self induced fatal starvation not only as the sole reason for death, but that the poster had experience in the primary care of all these animals.

The reality later disclosed in a later post cleared this up. But make no mistake these were not healthy well cared for animals in the care of the poster. This is not the same a Freakie or someone else reporting an unexplained death by no other cause than anorexia.

[Skiploder]

Ah, my apologies. I missed that post by Ham, going back now I see it.

My bad

No bad and no apology warranted.

Ball pythons are picky eaters. Ball pythons will, as others have mentioned, starve themselves to death when there is no underlying ailment.

However, the odds of this happening in captive bred, healthy and properly cared for animals is slim.

Keep this in mind - a dog, sick with internal parasites, external parasites and other pathogens will refuse food. Sick animals in general do not expend the energy to eat. Many stressed animals do not eat. Saying that animals starve themselves to death for no reason is, however, blatantly false.

Saying this:

"Dude, I have personally witnessed dozens of snakes starve themselves to death, wild caught and captive bred both. Lots of animal species when kept in captivity can and will refuse food until they literally starve to death, google it..."

........when the poster's experience is, by his own admission, with abused, sick and rescued snakes is a complete misrepresentation of why animals don't feed. A critically ill snake that refuses to feed because he is ill is not the same as a health captive bred hatchling, properly housed that refuses to ever eat.

What should have been said was this:

"Dude - as a volunteer at a reptile rescue facility, I have witnessed dozens of sick, abused, stressed and diseased snakes refuse food because of their underlying ailments and die."

I have no issues with that statement. The first one, however, is utter bull crap.

[hud556]

Search google image "ball python cannibalism."

Did a hasty search for rodents native to Ghana Africa found over 50 just food for thought...

[Skiploder]

Did a hasty search for rodents native to Ghana Africa found over 50 just food for thought...

Studies on stomach contents and fecal analysis of wild ball pythons show that they prey on many species of rodent and bird.

Out of 50 species of rodents you found in Ghana, I guess we are to believe that they eat only one.................

[adele0283]

I have successfully fed my Ball Python duck and chicken embryos. He loves them. They are almost full term, but die in the shell and he can eat one or two a day for two days straight. I also have fed him baby him baby ducks and chicks up to 2 weeks old that have died. He has no problem eating them even though they are dead as long as they are not cold.