month 6 and still not eating... this is getting a bit odd.

[rattlehead07]

so i covered up half his tank, will give him a few days and then try again. i havent tried feeding a lot of different variations, just live and fresh killed. he didnt pay any attention to the fresh killed. the live he SOMETIMES seems to notice, and will creep his way towards, but when he gets too close, they just touch faces, and he jerks back and hides. i suppose i can try a gerbil or something of the sort, does that usually do the trick? ill have pictures of the enclosure tomorrow.

its a glass cage, but at this point only 2 panes of the glass are showing. i have the back, one side, bottom and top covered, so its not much, considering one of the leftover 2 sides is mostly covered by sphagnum moss and branches

[Wh00h0069]

If all else fails, you may need to put him in a small tub until he starts feeding well again. I once had to put a 500 gram ball into a 6 quart tub to get him feeding again. Once he fed a few times, I moved him back into a 32 quart tub. Balls are very finicky eaters, and can fast when stressed. Good luck.

[pavlovk1025]

My albino male just came back on feed after being off feed for almost a full year. Happens.

[rattlehead07]

oh man.. a full year!? i guess i just gotta get used to it, and not worry so much haha. ill update you guys next week, when i try live gerbil, and see what happens. thanks!!

[rattlehead07]

so i didnt handle him for the whole week, and kept the temps and humidity in goodstanding, tried to feed him today and pretty much got the same problem. the weird thing is, hes hunting. hes not trying to escape out of his cage, but roaming around the cage floor, i put him in my bed, and hell hide and peak his head up and look around as if hes hunting as well. i tried putting him in a different box with the rat, after 20 minutes of ignoring it, he struck at it, but didnt grab it and coil. he then proceeded to climb halfway out of the box and hunt outside the box. this is pretty strange :\

i couldnt get a gerbil or one of those african rats as theyre not sold around me, so i tried with a small rat again...

should i just keep trying every week, as i have been, and not worry?

[coldbloodaddict]

Have you tried a mouse?

[rattlehead07]

hey jon,

how big of a mouse? my ball is 3.3 feet long, and the biggest mice the store had were the size of a golf ball. i never bothered trying cause i figured its way too small, no?

[hunter94]

My honest opinion is to down size the tank to a 20 Gallon Long. I had a similar problem, same sized BP in a 40 Gallon Breeder and he wouldn't eat. I setup a 20 Gallon Long for him and he ate after 3 or 4 days. Also try feeding him in a plastic tub in a dark, quiet area.

[coldbloodaddict]

hey jon,

how big of a mouse? my ball is 3.3 feet long, and the biggest mice the store had were the size of a golf ball. i never bothered trying cause i figured its way too small, no?

A large adult mouse...Hopefully after a couple mice you can go back to rats again.

[NNJExotics]

Just an input on what worked for me...i had a piebald that was off for several months off feed...after talking to several breeders...i downsized his tub...he was in a 32qt tub and was feeding fine with previous owner...the moment i got him, he would not eat for a few months..temps and humidity were where they should be...he was on plain newspaper bedding and had a hide...i switched him over to a 15qt, and gave him aspen bedding...sure enough he ate his first meal shortly after....now to this day, the only way he'll eat, is in his 15qt tub with aspen bedding...but thats what works for him..