OH NO!.....HELP!

[roadkill317]

I tried to feed my BP today and he didn't eat, I fed him last week on thursday and he ate a pinkie mouse and I tried to give him another one a couple days after that just to see if he was still hungry but he wasnt, so I waited and he hasn't been eating since I fed him that one day, what do I do???

[steelsack]

Relax!
They are notorious for random fasting, especially males. Mine hasn't eaten in almost two months now.
Remember, they have a very slow metabolism so if your husbandry is in the green chances are he's just not hungry. It can be nervwracking, ask anybody here, buy just keep trying weekly on feeding day. Try not to offer every couple of days because that can stress him out. If he doesn't look like he's wasting away I would say you don't really have anything to worry about. I assume that since you're feeding pinky mice that he's a young one?

[kontron]

reading this brings a question to mind. I feed my snake in a cardboard box evey time. i take himout play with him while the mice get gased, and then i put my hand in the box so he can crawl into it. i let him set there for a moment so he will know what is going on. i like to get the scent of mice in the box so he goes in to hunt mode. i never just offer the mouse. i always let him smell it first, and let him look around for it. i then walk the mouse around using tongs. make the snke think there is something really there. again i do not want my snake to just have it.. he has to hunt for his food. i will only make him hunt for 2-4 minutes. everytime he finds the mouse he strikes hard and fast. never has a problem.
can feeding them like this trigger an instinct, making it less likely for him to go on a hunger strike? or does trying to kick in his hunting instinct not really make a difirence?
I would assume that getting him "triggered" would make him eat... just a thought? i also like to know what he looks like when he is searching for food, and hunting, so i may never accidently become the prey. i would know what signs to see... i hope....

[Stormyva]

It sounds like you may be trying to feed to often too. Once every seven days is the best schedule. Also try to feed only a single item that is equal in girth to the thickest part of the snake.

[roadkill317]

Oh, I don't feed him like every couple of days I just tried that one time because the breeder was feeding him pinky rats so I thought he would need two mice to be full enough but he didn't want it, and then I tried a week later and still nothing, and yes he'll be a month old on Saturday (torromow).

[gen]

Is your husbandry right? Temps, humidity, 2 hides, etc? If so, just relax, and wait another week.

[sophie42204]

Kontron, I really don't think your ritual makes a difference. They are instinct eaters regardless. Our male hasn't eaten since we got him and we've tried everything. Sophie on the other hand only refused once and she was in shed, so that's typical. I don't even have to do anything to get her to feed, I just put the mouse in her house and w/in a couple minutes she strikes....so, it's my opinion that 'making him hunt' his food really doesn't do much of anything...have you tried feeding him w/out doing those things? If so, did he eat for you?

[VFT]

it has been stated allready but relax. he will eat again

[roadkill317]

Ok well yeah I have 2 hides plenty of water and that helps keep the humidty at the right percentage and yeah my temps are right but its been cold around here and my temps have dropped a few degrees but I'm working on that right now to get them back up!

[RobertCoombs]

One little thing I think most over looked in this situation. You changed his diet!!! . though ball pythons are certainly not the hardest babies to get to feed after hatching they generally have a preference for either mice or rats it very well could be since the breeder started this little guy out on rats ..... that he wants a rat. btw a pinky mouse is definatly not large enough to sustain a growing hatchling
try him out on a nice fat warm rat pup and see how he likes it