Off feed question

[snakesonaplane]

I've been reading quite a bit about ball pythons going off feed for breeding season, but none of the books nor material that I've read mention whether this is normal for babies. My ball female is about 6-8 months old and sitting at around 160g, and she's refusing to eat. I've always assumed that going off feed for breeding season is only normal for sexually mature pythons...or is this true for any age/weight? I seriously doubt she's sexually mature enough to breed...

I also fed her her first live mouse last feed, which was on December 5th...would this be enough to deter her from eating her regular f/t? Do I need to get some dirty mice bedding or something of the sort to get her back on track?

[Skittles1101]

Babies don't go off feed for breeding season, double check your husbandry and just try again next time. Why did you switch from f/t to live?

[snakesonaplane]

Well, I've read that most babies don't have trouble switching back and forth, it's the adults that are picky. Figured it was slightly better nutrition than f/t, so decided to give it a try. My hot side is 92-94º and my cool side is 79-81º and she hasn't ever refused a meal, so I don't believe it's the husbandry. Maybe she is just being picky. What's the best way to switch her back quickly if it's only one live meal? (I did stun the mouse, so it was really just twitching, not running around, as close to the "dead" feel of f/t)

[Skittles1101]

Not sure where you heard you can switch back and forth without issue, ball pythons are probably one of the tougher species to switch back and forth with...

You could start with prekilled first and work from there. Maybe giving her a few live meals will kick start her feeding response again. For picky eaters I usually start out live hoppers, then adult mice, then once they put on a little weight I get rat pups and scent them with a f/t mouse, thaw them out together and heat hem up together. So far I've had a good success rate besides one of mine that's still refusing f/t.

[snakesonaplane]

Ay-ay-ay, guess I'll go get a live mouse and try that. Pre-killed heated with a f/t, would that work? Feed her the scented pre-killed and then try f/t next feed?

[Skittles1101]

Yeah, just play around with it for a bit, just make sure she's eating consistently before you try switching...last thing you want is a baby losing too much weight.

[snakesonaplane]

Alright, guess I'll try to appease my picky snake with various dead things...oh, what a trial: guess the best lessons are learned the hardest way Thanks for the help.

[Annarose15]

160g seems a bit small for that age. My smallest are ~290g, and they have been inconsistent eaters. Make sure you are only offering food every 5-7 days, even when she refused. Also, make sure the prey item is appropriately sized (could definitely be on rat pups by now).

[Skittles1101]

160 grams isn't terribly underweight for a ball that age. My female spider is a 2010 and she was only 105 grams when I got her back in February, she's about 800 grams now but she was just a peanut, and a finicky eater. Granted they all grow at different rates, I do agree she could probably easily take a rat pup

[snakesonaplane]

Yup, just fed her a live mouse. She took it readily, so I am glad that she at least ate. I got some mice droppings and bedding from the pet store as well, so next time I suppose I'll attempt rolling a f/t around in that and letting it dry there for a few minutes before feeding. Hopefully that'll be enough to motivate her.