Feeding issues

[PitOnTheProwl]

Okay. Thanks for the advice. Ill clutter the tub uo tomorrow morning and find out if theres anywhere around here that I can get live rat pups

Did you think to ask or do you have a way of contacting the breeder you bought your snake from to find out what it was eating.
A LIVE small hopper mouse will probably get down the hatch quickly.

[PitOnTheProwl]

She's not been eating and she's looking thin so she could easily dehydrated. .. Nobody here could possibly rule that out .
A short soak won't do her any harm and it won't be half as scary as the attempted force feeding she's been through already.

Surely they don't just eat mice in the wild so they're not-wired to eat many different types of small rodents / mammals is I understand , so why not try something different - as long as they leave a week or so in between attempts . Ive a mate who's Royal will only and has only ever eaten chicks ....that's why I suggested it .
I've had enough experience with youngsters but I'm not suggesting that I'm any kind of expert on anything ... I've not suggested anything that will cause harm to the little thing .imho,

That's fair enough then .... it worked for my friend and thought it was worth mentioning .. Even though its refused those mice that are apparently candy to BP ..
I'm off .. I don't even like hearing them called Ball Pythons either when their correct name of Royals sounds so much classier .

So much to pick apart here and I really don't have that much time....................
First off assist feeding and force feeding are two totally different methods. Force fed means there would be a meal in that snakes belly. Second the OP tried to assist feed so please read the whole post before recommending advice.
Why in any ones right mind would you possibly get your ball python that is well known to imprint on a food source stuck on something you don't have readily available? In the wild they eat when the opportunity presents itself, they are not in the wild any more. If you have a constant dependable supply of chicks, gerbils, ASFs, or hamsters AND don't ever plan to sell the snake to someone else then by all means feed whatever you want.
Hopper mice will get just about any hatchling balls attention. As long as it keeps moving and they stay interested in it, it will trigger a strike.
If you want to get totally technical please use Python Regius, other than that welcome to "Ball Python . Net"

[Zincubus]

So much to pick apart here and I really don't have that much time....................
First off assist feeding and force feeding are two totally different methods. Force fed means there would be a meal in that snakes belly. Second the OP tried to assist feed so please read the whole post before recommending advice.
Why in any ones right mind would you possibly get your ball python that is well known to imprint on a food source stuck on something you don't have readily available? In the wild they eat when the opportunity presents itself, they are not in the wild any more. If you have a constant dependable supply of chicks, gerbils, ASFs, or hamsters AND don't ever plan to sell the snake to someone else then by all means feed whatever you want.
Hopper mice will get just about any hatchling balls attention. As long as it keeps moving and they stay interested in it, it will trigger a strike.
If you want to get totally technical please use Python Regius, other than that welcome to "Ball Python . Net"

First off I did read the post , that said I'm dyslexic ....


I'd also say that there's a very fine line between assist feeding and force feeding when the person doing it is a NOVICE ...

Also who says there's not a readily available source of day old frozen chicks ??? In the UK virtually every pet store has a freezer stocked with frozen rodents with at least one huge bag of frozen chicks ....they're also a fifth of the price of similar sized mice incidentally . As I said before feeding chicks to a long time non-feeding Royal worked a treat for my friend so I don't really know why you're showing so much animosity towards me .... I've only been trying to offer advice gained from my own experiences ..

I bid you all farewell .

I'll stick to the UK forums as they seem far more tolerant and indeed welcoming .

[SnakeBalls]

Just had to say LOL

[Lizardlicks]

First off I did read the post , that said I'm dyslexic ....


I'd also say that there's a very fine line between assist feeding and force feeding when the person doing it is a NOVICE ...

Also who says there's not a readily available source of day old frozen chicks ??? In the UK virtually every pet store has a freezer stocked with frozen rodents with at least one huge bag of frozen chicks ....they're also a fifth of the price of similar sized mice incidentally . As I said before feeding chicks to a long time non-feeding Royal worked a treat for my friend so I don't really know why you're showing so much animosity towards me .... I've only been trying to offer advice gained from my own experiences ..

I bid you all farewell .

I'll stick to the UK forums as they seem far more tolerant and indeed welcoming .

Yeah, you keep saying, "in the UK...." and then throwing around a lot of one time use stuff that worked for your specific situation to a novice who has no way to tell apart good advice from bad. Then you defend it with "just my opinion!" You wonder why the more experienced keepers are shutting you down? Opinions get snakes dead. We need tried and true methods based on facts and backed up through multiple successes. A lot of people on here are state-side though, bro. Our pet stores don't carry feeder chicks, some of them don't even sell rats! We call them ball pythons, and just because one thing worked for this one guy you know for one specific circumstance, doesn't mean it should be offered as a tried and true under every circumstance. Most of the people that replied before you have several years experience breeding and raising babies, including finicky ones, that go on to become model eaters and great pets.

If being told that your "advice" is not helping is too rude for you, then yeah, go stick with some other forums.

[Zincubus]

Yeah, you keep saying, "in the UK...." and then throwing around a lot of one time use stuff that worked for your specific situation to a novice who has no way to tell apart good advice from bad. Then you defend it with "just my opinion!" You wonder why the more experienced keepers are shutting you down? Opinions get snakes dead. We need tried and true methods based on facts and backed up through multiple successes. A lot of people on here are state-side though, bro. Our pet stores don't carry feeder chicks, some of them don't even sell rats! We call them ball pythons, and just because one thing worked for this one guy you know for one specific circumstance, doesn't mean it should be offered as a tried and true under every circumstance. Most of the people that replied before you have several years experience breeding and raising babies, including finicky ones, that go on to become model eaters and great pets.

If being told that your "advice" is not helping is too rude for you, then yeah, go stick with some other forums.

I promised myself I wouldn't get drawn into this kind of nonsense but being Aspergers I'm helpless and can't stop myself so -


I simply wrote .....

"As she's probably distressed after being force-fed I'd leave her a week or 10 days before trying again . Are you warming the mouse /rat up before offering to the Royal ? Some will strike at it and others will only eat if you leave it in with them and leave them in peace for a few hours or even overnight . You can also try chicks or Multis as other options ."

I can't really see a great deal wrong with any of he above .

Also , I really don't see how YOU have managed to change " You can also try chicks or multis " into YOUR interpretation below tbh

"just because one thing worked for this one guy you know for one specific circumstance, doesn't mean it should be offered as a tried and true under every circumstance"

[DVirginiana]

I'm in the UK - what kind of bugs are you referring to ...

Nearly everywhere you go there are going to be isopods and mites in soil and plant matter. Some are harmless, some are annoying, and some can actually be a health risk for you or your snake. Fungal spores are also nearly everywhere and generally love the warm/moist conditions in snake housing.

[Zincubus]

Ah well ... New Years Eve !!!
I'll offer the olive (un- disinfected) branch to everyone and wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Sorry if I've annoyed anyone - my Aspergers sadly comes with bad points as well as the good ones

[thehonestpirate]

Still hasn't eaten, I offered a live pinky mouse as I couldn't get a hold of any other live rodents in my area, I also left a pinky rat in there for her, neither have been touched, should I assist feed a pinky mouse just to get some food in her? I could try and get different live prey at the reptile expo next weekend.

[PitOnTheProwl]

A pinky mouse is no where near the right size and not enough movement.