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Normal to be off feed after escape?
Okay, all was going great with the 6 mo ball I got in January...he wa taking adult mice every week w/o fail.
On Feb. 22nd, I tried a rat pup and he flipped out! He did everything he could to get away from it...so I went & exchanged it for an adult mouse. Rejected.
He's rejected every week since...now this past Friday, he escaped & was gone til Monday...it was maybe 65 degrees where I found him. Put him back in his tank, made sure temps/humidity was spot on, left him alone til today, tried to feed again & rejected once again!
We tried live, tried fresh killed, tried to piss him off to the point of striking = nada.
SO, we picked him up, checked him well for signs of a RI...held him upside down (quite the feat!), opened his mouth, listened for wheeze...no signs whatsoever...
SO in essence, my question is:
Is it normal for a Ball Python to go off feed after escaping, being caught, etc?
Does anyone think he's still stressed from the coldness/escape/rat pup?
I'm worried about him (as a mom) buthe seems fine...in his hide al day, up, exploring all night (as I posted, he stares at each corner now wondering how to get back out!) No, really, he tries to climb all the way up the glass to get to the corners! (where he popped the clips last week!)
Anything else I should be doing or worried about?
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Nothing to worry about, you own a ball python. Them refusing to eat us just part of the game. It might be caused by him getting out might not. As long as you don't see any signs or RI you should be fine.
~Aaron
0.1 Pastel 100% Het Clown Ball Python (Hestia)
1.0 Coastal/Jungle Carpet Python (Shagrath)
0.1 Dumeril's Boa (Nergal)
0.1 Bearded Dragon (Gaius)
1.0 Siberian Husky (Picard)
0.1 German Shepherd/Lab Mix (Jadzia)
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The Following User Says Thank You to The Serpent Merchant For This Useful Post:
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I thought (again) I did my research, but (again) I just had to ask more experienced people!
Thank you and we will keep checking for s/s of a RI as well!
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Re: Normal to be off feed after escape?
Aye Normal I just got 2 of mine back on feed one had been off since Thanksgiving just keep offering and make sure your husbandry is spot on
Robie
2.0 Normal Ball Pythons Peek a Boo & Dezmond
1.0 Black Pewter Ball Python Pepe Le Pewter
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0.1 Siberian Husky Danadog
2.5 Fancy Rat's Patch, Robin Hood, Lucky, Lucy, Bolt, Cinnamon, Patcheta
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0.1 Wonderful Wife 
1.0 Awesome Dad (me) 
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Re: Normal to be off feed after escape?
Perfectly normal. Bps eat, and go on strike when ever they please, much to our dismay. You might let him be, don't offer food for a week, then try again. He may be stressed from his "outing" and just need some time to settle back in.
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 Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant
Nothing to worry about, you own a ball python. Them refusing to eat us just part of the game.
X2 ....it's their little way of saying haha made you waste money. That's when you say haha the guy living in the tub above you will take it
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Oh, yay...my husband says well, what a snake...lol...making me go get his food then making him eat & refusing..he has it made! Making him run around like a trained monkey!
Now I wish I had another to offer it to...(hint hint, hubby!) hahaaa
Last edited by Leone; 03-12-2012 at 06:51 PM.
Reason: typos
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Re: Normal to be off feed after escape?
I wouldn't start to worry too much about his hunger strike just yet. Weigh him regularly and make sure he's not dropping too much weight.
However...
 Originally Posted by Leone
tried to piss him off to the point of striking
This is not a good idea. You aren't going to piss him off enough to get him to strike a mouse. As a widely general rule, ball pythons don't roll like that. Even if you were to get a defensive strike, he probably wouldn't eat it afterward. What you may end up doing is causing him more stress, which leads to BPs that don't eat. Offer up the mouse, but don't try and tick him off with it.
Thomas "Slim" Whitman
Never Met A Ball Python I Didn't Like 
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