Trying not to worry about little Cypher

[EyeLashViper]

:? Okay,
At this point in this hobby I know that Ball Pythons are apt to go on fasts at some point and that it is counterproductive to worry excessively about it, but all the same I am a little worried about my Cypher. Trinity and Apok are still feeding fine but Cypher has not eaten in about a month and a half. His weight still looks fine and he is seemingly healthy so I am figuring that he has decided to fast and will feed when he wants to. I am thinking that maybe I will encourage him to feed on my next feeding day by isolating him with a thawed and warmed mouse in his feed box....see if the delicious aroma gets to him..... :lol: do any of you think I should be overly worried??? I have been in the Ball Python hobby for a year now and a lot of these kind of things are still new to me...I must admit that I fret over my snakes a lot...always checking them for anything out of the ordinary ya know....

EyeLashViper

[invadertoast]

I wouldn't worry too much... my bp fasted for over a month last year and this year she's just passed the two month mark. Cypher will eat when he wants to... try not to worry too much and offer food occasionally. Don't worry unless he starts to get skinny. Good luck!

[Jesús]

don't worry he will eat when ever he feels like it

[BallKingdom]

I know exactly what you mean. It may be common, but fasts can be very stressful. I learned to deal with it tho, Monty hasn't eaten in a good while either. I'll try feeding him tonight.

You just gotta stop sweating it. Easier said then done eh? Soon you'll get used to it.

[Tigergenesis]

No worries! Just keep accurate weights (actually weigh) and watch for weight loss.

Best of luck!

[pimp_n_python]

your little buddy will be just fine
my advice is to sit back moniter for weight loss and enjoy the extra cash LOL!!

[Hoomi]

Magellan went for quite a while without eating as well, and although I knew intellectually that I shouldn't be concerned, it's still worrisome when one snake chows down regularly and the other doesn't.

I decided to try something a little different this weekend. Since the reptile shop didn't have any frozen small rats in stock, I asked them to whack a couple of fresh small rats for me (some shops will whack them for you if for whatever reason you don't want to do it yourself). I took those home and offered one to Phil, who took his immediately, and offered the other to Magellan, who kind of checked it out for a minute or two and then ignored it. I left him alone with the rat, covering his enclosure so that he had some "privacy", but a while later, he still hadn't eaten it. At that point, I was about ready to just remove it before it started to go bad in there, and on a whim, I grasped the back of the rat with the needlenose and jiggled it just inside the opening to Magellan's hide. Magellan struck once, hitting the rat but not grabbing it. I jiggled a little more, and Magellan struck again, this time taking ahold of the rat and coiling it up to constrict it. I replaced the top of the enclosure and left him alone again, and a few minutes later I peeked in to see him working his way down the body in the swallowing process.

It's odd, because the other time he ate for me, all I did was place the thawed rat in the enclosure at the opening of his hide, and when I checked later, there was no rat but one plump snake. He's been more active since I moved him to the smaller enclosure, so I was more encouraged to offer him food. However, even though I had jiggled to prey for him other times, it wasn't until this time that he actually reacted to it.

One caveat: If you decide to try jiggling the prey for him, make sure you're using something else to hold it with besides your hands/fingers. When the snake is on "final trajectory" for a strike, he or she is not using eyesight. They're using those heat sensing pits above their mouths, and the temperature of your hands is awfully close to the normal temperature for a mouse. It's real easy for the snake to zero in on the center of the heat source and get your hand instead of the mouse or rat if you're holding it with your fingers instead of with forceps or needlenose. Even though the snake isn't biting out of malice towards you, it still won't feel real great to get nailed that way. Besides, it's better to have the snake start associating the tool with food, rather than your hand. Keeps it safer to reach in and pick him or her up when needed or desired.

[gozetec02]

Whenever Jojo is reluctent to take a food item which is very very rare. I do what i do when i feed him pinky rats i have a card board box about the size of a shoe box and i put Jojo in there with the pinky rat and i come back in about 30 minutes and its gone works every time for me. It worked with my new BP too from what i have read ball pythons will not eat if they feel that they are vulnurable to attack from above ,ie, from a bird or something. This hold especialy true for WC ball pythons. Try the box thing if you are feeding live i recomend a pinky rat or a hopper i know the hopper is small but its better then nothing even a F/T would be good. Try this it works.