Ball Python not feeding after the Shed

[angllady2]

The only thing that stands out to me right away is offering too often.

It is not at all unusual for a ball python of any age to not eat for a week or two or ten.

While there are a few minor tweaks to his setup, for the most part you get the feeling you really researched before you got your snake.

Tanks are notoriously hard to maintain, but it can be done. To help you stabilize things, I'd like to ask a few questions and offer a few suggestions.

First is what is the ambient temperature of the room he's in? If the room itself stays around 75, that will go a long way towards tweaking his enclosure. If it is much cooler than that, then you will need that IR lamp to keep him from getting too cool. Otherwise, you really don't need it.

You mention a temperature gradient of 77-92 on his warm side. Does that mean it goes from one to the other each day ? Ideally you'd like his hot side hide to stay steady at around 90. His cool side hide should be around 82, give or take a degree or so. If the UTH is not keeping his hot side steady, you probably need a bigger one. They can be a pain sometimes.

Misting his enclosure that often should not be necessary. If the lid to his tank is screen, by covering most of it with a damp towel ( be careful of mildew!) or plexiglass, you can eliminate the need to mist so much.

Your handling seems to be okay. As long as you keep it brief, and don't do the 15 minutes every hour.

Can I ask why you feed him in a separate tank ? Is it because you are worried about him swallowing substrate or because you are afraid he'll get nasty if you feed in his home tank? I've rarely heard of a ball getting nasty from feeding in the home enclosure. I feed all of mine in their tubs, and have for years with no trouble. Of course, you don't want to reach for him if you recently handled a mouse or rat. If it's the substrate thing, I can understand your concern. It is a bit un-nerving to see them with a mouth full of mulch or aspen. I avoid this by placing a small piece of construction paper in the tub and offering the food on that. This also works for live, just hold it in the tongs on the paper until he strikes and you're good.

Quite often, a ball will stop eating from being moved to a feeding tank, however some are fine with it, so you will just have to try it and see with him. I do recommend you give him a full 7 days without being disturbed. Only check and change his water if needed, other than that just let him chill. At the end of that week, try offering him food in his home tank. if he takes it great, if he doesn't just leave him be and try again in a week. Offering food too often only seems to perpetuate the problem. It is nerve wracking I know, but try your best to just wait him out.

By the way, what is Reptisafe ? I've never heard of it.

I hope this helps you out some, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask and we'll try to help you out.

Gale