BP Not eating, afraid of food?

[Eric Alan]

1. Won't she get cage-aggressive? People have told me they can get that way if you feed them in their home enclosure.

Cage aggression, in regards to feeding in a separate enclosure, is an old-wives tale. Here's a nice, long, thread that goes into detail if you want to read it for yourself.

2. I did actually go back and get a smaller rat and she still wouldn't eat it live so we killed it as the RM instructed (to see if she is indeed picky about her food) and she still hasn't touched it so far.

How often are you offereing food? It sounds like it may be more often than necessary, because you're concerned about her not eating, and that may actually be adding to the stress.

3. She ate last about 3 weeks ago before we bought her from the pet store and she's doing all the signs people say are typical for hunger? She's yawning constantly, she's roaming and flicking her tongue. Plus the RM said she should be ready to feed about now.

In general, roaming and restless behavior are signs of stress. Here's a thread on some of the other signs. Yawning constantly isn't a sign of hunger, at least not in my experience, and could actually be a sign of respiratory illness. These things point towards needing a comfortable environment with the proper husbandry (set-up).

4. If you are right and she is stressed and uncomfortable, what would you recommend we do?

Check out a few of the links in my signature. The Care Guide and Glass Tank Setup Guide are good places to start. Another good idea would be to post pictures of and describe your current enclosure for us.

5. She's about 3.5 feet. I thought snakes bred throughout the summer into early/late fall? Could this be why she's not eating?

Most ball python breeders tend to start breeding pretty late in the year and don't finish until late spring/early summer. Cooler temperatures also tend to correlate with hunger strikes. A combination of these two things could be impacting her eating habits right now, but it's really tough to tell as it could really be any number of factors.