Ball Python that wont eat on her own

[Domepiece]

I guess I'll start by saying that I have kept ball pythons for years, have many, and know quite a bit about the husbandry and what have you. Im just trying to see if anyone has had my same problem. I have a 2010 het caramel female that supposedly was eating when I purchased her but has never eaten on her own for me. Essentially I have been assist feeding her for over a year. I have tried all sorts of rodents f/t and live and she just wont strike, I have even tried letting her get real hungry. She just sits there like a statue and then breathes really heavily like she wants to strike and then curls up into a ball or trys to get away. She is otherwise healthy and wieghs 450g and wraps and eats when I assist but she just wont take the leap to do it herself. I'm assuming something is wrong with her feeding response. Has anyone had this same problem and if so, whats the longest amount of time you have assist fed? Thanks

[zeion97]

I guess I'll start by saying that I have kept ball pythons for years, have many, and know quite a bit about the husbandry and what have you. Im just trying to see if anyone has had my same problem. I have a 2010 het caramel female that supposedly was eating when I purchased her but has never eaten on her own for me. Essentially I have been assist feeding her for over a year. I have tried all sorts of rodents f/t and live and she just wont strike, I have even tried letting her get real hungry. She just sits there like a statue and then breathes really heavily like she wants to strike and then curls up into a ball or trys to get away. She is otherwise healthy and wieghs 450g and wraps and eats when I assist but she just wont take the leap to do it herself. I'm assuming something is wrong with her feeding response. Has anyone had this same problem and if so, whats the longest amount of time you have assist fed? Thanks

hmm... weird.. maybe look at the inside of her mouth? I had this problem with my Normal Legalos, I had to assist feed him twice then he started eating all on his own. Have you taken her to a vet?

[Domepiece]

hmm... weird.. maybe look at the inside of her mouth? I had this problem with my Normal Legalos, I had to assist feed him twice then he started eating all on his own. Have you taken her to a vet?

Her mouth is fine and all the tissue is normal. She's captive bred and is in good health so no I havnt taken her a vet. I think she just has a bad feeding response or gets too worked up. All of my others eat just fine and Ive never had a problem like this before, it doesnt take long to assist, as soon as I put it in her mouth she wraps it and has it gone in minutes its just that she wont grab it herself.

[dr del]

Hi,

Did you ask the previous owner how he was housing/ feeding her?

Maybe he did something unusual and she got used to that. Does she eat if you leave an F/T in her tub overnight?

I have a big female that was (is ) extremely nervous and never really calmed down. She would only ever eat if it was shown to her from no closer than a foot then laid quietly on the floor of the tub and the tub then closed gently.

If anything spooked her at all she just refused to eat. It took laying a clutch of eggs to get her into a strong enough feeding mode to strike feed - but she still needs to be left alone immediately after the strike.


dr del

[Homegrownscales]

I don't think there's anything wrong with her feeding response. I have a male here whom is a nervous nelly. When I first got him I didn't think much of replicating the setup he was in. He didn't eat for me for 4 months. I did have to force feed 2x. But then I started thinking about why he wasn't eating. I contacted the breeder and found out the exact set up he was in. Essentially he had been raised in a black out box. So I spray painted the tub hes in black. I didn't try force feeding him again but I offered weekly. It took him another 2 months to settle in to that but now he eats and breeds on time and on point.
Point I'm trying to make is perhaps a black out tub would be helpful. As well as maybe finding out how exactly things were set up in his previous home. I would stop assist feeding at least for a while. And just let her settle. Offer weekly a live mouse or rat wean. Which ever she was previously fed on. No contact, as little stress as possible. If she's of good health and weight she can handle time off from food. All the assist feeding is really doing is starting her acclimation over. It sounds like she's just super stressed and that's most likely why she's not eating on her own. Wait her out. It could take a month or two but if she's got a little chunk on her she'll be fine.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[Mistress]

I'm having the same problem with a male that was surrendered to me. I run a snake rescue, and a woman called saying her sister abandoned her BP 6 months ago at her parent's house, and he has not been handled or fed since then. His housing was a disgusting moldy mess with rotting mice and who knows what, so we put him in one of our tanks, but kept his hide log and water dish so he would acclimate better, after we thoroughly cleaned it out. We gave him a few days to himself to get use to everything, and when he came out of his ball and started exploring, we started handling him. He is super sweet and shows no aggression at all, but when we tried to feed him, he'll show interest and track it, but then runs away like he's afraid of it. We've tried live and F/T and still nothing. We've also tried a black out box and that didn't work. Any suggestions? Vet gave him a clean bill of health too, but we brought him there before we noticed he wasn't eating...

[Annarose15]

I'm having the same problem with a male that was surrendered to me. I run a snake rescue, and a woman called saying her sister abandoned her BP 6 months ago at her parent's house, and he has not been handled or fed since then. His housing was a disgusting moldy mess with rotting mice and who knows what, so we put him in one of our tanks, but kept his hide log and water dish so he would acclimate better, after we thoroughly cleaned it out. We gave him a few days to himself to get use to everything, and when he came out of his ball and started exploring, we started handling him. He is super sweet and shows no aggression at all, but when we tried to feed him, he'll show interest and track it, but then runs away like he's afraid of it. We've tried live and F/T and still nothing. We've also tried a black out box and that didn't work. Any suggestions? Vet gave him a clean bill of health too, but we brought him there before we noticed he wasn't eating...

Toss the log hide (doesn't actually hide him from anything) and get him two tight hides (one for hot side and one for cool) with only one small opening. Black out the back and sides of the tank, or move him to a more opaque tub, and make sure he is in a low traffic area of the house. Double check temps and humidity, and stop handling him completely until he eats. Only offer once a week. Oh, and make certain the prey is heated all the way through and hot enough - some of my best eaters will ignore a cool rat.

[Domepiece]

Hi,

Did you ask the previous owner how he was housing/ feeding her?

Maybe he did something unusual and she got used to that. Does she eat if you leave an F/T in her tub overnight?

I have a big female that was (is ) extremely nervous and never really calmed down. She would only ever eat if it was shown to her from no closer than a foot then laid quietly on the floor of the tub and the tub then closed gently.

If anything spooked her at all she just refused to eat. It took laying a clutch of eggs to get her into a strong enough feeding mode to strike feed - but she still needs to be left alone immediately after the strike.


dr del

I bought her as a hatchling from a pretty large breeder. She had eaten at least 3 times but I never did ask what or how he was feeding her. I'm gonna try leaving one in overnight and see if she likes that. Thanks

[Domepiece]

I don't think there's anything wrong with her feeding response. I have a male here whom is a nervous nelly. When I first got him I didn't think much of replicating the setup he was in. He didn't eat for me for 4 months. I did have to force feed 2x. But then I started thinking about why he wasn't eating. I contacted the breeder and found out the exact set up he was in. Essentially he had been raised in a black out box. So I spray painted the tub hes in black. I didn't try force feeding him again but I offered weekly. It took him another 2 months to settle in to that but now he eats and breeds on time and on point.
Point I'm trying to make is perhaps a black out tub would be helpful. As well as maybe finding out how exactly things were set up in his previous home. I would stop assist feeding at least for a while. And just let her settle. Offer weekly a live mouse or rat wean. Which ever she was previously fed on. No contact, as little stress as possible. If she's of good health and weight she can handle time off from food. All the assist feeding is really doing is starting her acclimation over. It sounds like she's just super stressed and that's most likely why she's not eating on her own. Wait her out. It could take a month or two but if she's got a little chunk on her she'll be fine.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

I'll give it a try, its getting pretty rediculous Ive tried all sorts of prey items f/t and live. I can tell she has a good feeding response she just doesnt strike, shes kindof a spaz I think. I have had her for over a year and am keeping her in a rack with 2 hides, water dish, and husbandry is nominal. Shes not a stressed out snake and is fine in her tub and while being held but when food pops up she starts doing her thing.

[Homegrownscales]

I'd definately try waiting her out a little seeing If the ft trick may happen to work but if that doesn't I'd give her awhile and offer a live mouse weekly. Eventually she'll eat it. She wont starve. Even if she goes let's say 2 months it won't hurt her and you can go back to assisting. What I'm getting from this though is you want to stop assisting. So it may take just waiting her out. Observe and monitor weight of course but it won't hurt her.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com