George wont eat :(

[guntersxr]

I know this topic has been covered 1000 times over but i cant seem to find a solution. husbandry is spot on, no new stresses. i cant for the life of me figure out what his deal is. he is about 18 months old, 2.5-3 feet long and today is week 6 without food. for the longest time he ate weekly and then when i switched from mice to rats he seem to be happier eating every other week. ive tried in a "feeding" cage (the norm) ive tried putting the rat in his enclosure, turning off the lights, pre-scenting the room, everything i can think of. it seems like every time i try here lately he "sniffs" the rat for a sec then tried to get out of the enclosure. i know ball pythons are finiky eaters and i normally wouldnt worry but he feels a little soft. he is usually very firm like a flexed muscle but after handleing him last night his body feels "fat" or soft, not as dense. any and all suggestions are appreciated.

[dr del]

Hi,

Have you tried offering him a mouse?

Also what sizes were these prey items and are they live or F/T?

How is his weight since he started fasting?


dr del

[guntersxr]

well doc, ive never weighed him to be honest so i dont have an answer for you on that. he is used to eating live small rats and i have tried mice. i have a male mouse thats about to get a name if you know what i mean.

[Ham]

I have the same issue my ball python is going on 2 months now, but he has not even lost 10% of his body weight. A last resort would be trying to feed him a live rat or a freshly killed rat... The season could be influencing the snake as well, as the temp cools ball pythons get in the mood for snake love, this usuallly causes them to lose their appetite, make sure at night his temps dont drop lower than they were in the summer time.

I resorted to a live rat to break my ball pythons last fast.

PS Your snake feels less firm because there is no poo in him, lol, sounds weird right? But that is probably what it is, when the snake eats regulary they fill up with poo like a sock full of rocks, and you can definitely feel it as a firmness in the body of the snake, you can even gently massage the poo filled snake and can elicit a fart or two sometimes even an explosive bowel movement ! I know this because I do this on a regular basis for my constipated Blood Python, time for your weekly Fecal Massage !

(My avatar is a pic of my constipated blood python, doesn't he look like he feels violated?)

[ed4281]

This is the time of year that they go off feed; they don't like to eat for the breeding season for some reason. If you are really concerned you can go to the vet and have a stool sample checked and have them do a physical to rule out any illnesses.

[Subdriven]

Welcome to the world of ball pythons and the stress we get from wondering why they are not eating... Alot of the time it is just the time of year... make sure all your T's are crossed and offer food every week.. even if it's the named mouse that has made a home now.. At some time your ball will start eating again..

[guntersxr]

thanks for the support guys, ill keep trying