Snake feeding problem

[KaylaLusnia]

I recently got a male and a female ball python. Last night, I fed my male and within seconds he had killed the mouse and started the whole feeding process. My female, however, can't catch the mouse. I have the smallest mouse I can possibly get, and its live which its previous owner always fed her. At this point, I'm literally dangling her meal in front of her face by the tail, and she still snaps at it but misses. What can I do to help her?

[Skittles1101]

Are they babies? Some take longer than others to get the hang of things. Be patient, if she isn't getting it or not interested then just wait a week and try again. I feed f/t, one reason because I don't want to have a pet rat for a week if one doesn't eat

[KaylaLusnia]

They aren't babies, my friend who had them before me had them for quite a while. This is the first time they've eaten all year, so I'm getting a little worried that she isn't eating. We've been trying every weekend since it started getting warm in march. Like I said before, the male ate with no problem at all, which is why I'm concerned that she isn't eating. She's much smaller so I would think she'd be even hungrier. She's clearly interested in the food, she just can't seem to get control of the mouse. Thanks for the help!

[SlitherinSisters]

Since they aren't babies and they haven't eaten all year make sure their set up is right. Snug hides, not a lot of open space, temps, etc. Since she's interested leave the mouse in with her for about 10 minutes and leave the room. Sometimes they can be shy about eating, or be an idiot. I have an idiot het pied female right now that strikes and strikes the rat, but doesn't constrict. I think she likes to hear it squeal Also, make sure the mouse is well fed and watered before you leave it alone with your snake.

[Homegrownscales]

By any chance are they living together? What's their setup like? If they are living together separate them asap. Her response tells me she's stressed. They don't often miss. Except for learning babies and snakes with neurological problems they are pretty dead on. But That sounds like defensively striking. So what's are the temps? How long have you had them? And what's the set ups like? It sounds like the female and even the male have either been cooling and then very stressed when they werent in cooling. They shouldn't be going that long with out eating though. Has their weight been monitored? Hopefully it has been or else there is no way to tell if they lost dramatic weight and theres something to worry about.