new ball python didn't switch to rats but stopped eating

[Kokorobosoi]

Just a thought. Op has had the snake for two months. Has fed four times in two weeks, not counting the refusals. That's quite a bit of food for a bp, so some refusals right now are well, okay. So it's eaten four times, and from what I can tell, 2 or three refusals. That's a lot of commotion for a bp who is really still just settling in.

I think we should just leave the snake alone for a week with no handling. And space out the feedings a bit more.

[Terminal]

Helló

Lássuk, tudok segíteni. Az én magyar nem olyan jó, szólj, ha megérted.

Két hónap nem hosszú ideig nem eszik. Próbálok több, mint hetente stresszt okozhat. Ha a kígyó nem eszik, tedd el, és várjon legalább hét napig. Kígyók gyors hónapokig, nem probléma. Freeze a baba patkányok, akkor lehet újra, ha még friss, ha fagyott.

Megváltoztatása a környezet is okozhat stresszt. Ami miatt nem eszik. Akkor lett volna, hogy a két hónap, igen? Várjon egy-két hétig, és nem kezelési egyáltalán. Ezután próbálja meg újra baba patkány. Kölyökkutya? Nem, nem egészen szó.

Próbáld ki, hogy a beteg, tudom, hogy nehéz.

remélem ez segít

oh!- Mivel az aktív is lehet a jele, a stressz. Ő egy új otthon, úgyhogy neki megnyugodni. Túl ideges enni.

No comprende. LOL

[ShaggyRS6]

Just a thought. Op has had the snake for two months. Has fed four times in two weeks, not counting the refusals. That's quite a bit of food for a bp, so some refusals right now are well, okay. So it's eaten four times, and from what I can tell, 2 or three refusals. That's a lot of commotion for a bp who is really still just settling in.

I think we should just leave the snake alone for a week with no handling. And space out the feedings a bit more.

This ^^^

[Kerol]

Helló

Lássuk, tudok segíteni. Az én magyar nem olyan jó, szólj, ha megérted.

Két hónap nem hosszú ideig nem eszik. Próbálok több, mint hetente stresszt okozhat. Ha a kígyó nem eszik, tedd el, és várjon legalább hét napig. Kígyók gyors hónapokig, nem probléma. Freeze a baba patkányok, akkor lehet újra, ha még friss, ha fagyott.

Megváltoztatása a környezet is okozhat stresszt. Ami miatt nem eszik. Akkor lett volna, hogy a két hónap, igen? Várjon egy-két hétig, és nem kezelési egyáltalán. Ezután próbálja meg újra baba patkány. Kölyökkutya? Nem, nem egészen szó.

Próbáld ki, hogy a beteg, tudom, hogy nehéz.

remélem ez segít

oh!- Mivel az aktív is lehet a jele, a stressz. Ő egy új otthon, úgyhogy neki megnyugodni. Túl ideges enni.

Kedves Kokorobosoi!


Köszönöm szépen a magyar választ! Nem mindenhol értem pontosan, mire gondolsz, de nagyra értékelem, hogy az anyanyelvemen írtál! Ha nem bánod, visszatérnék az angolra, bár nem megy tökéletesen, de hogy a többiek is követni tudják.


In the first month I had my snake she ate 4 mouse with no problem. She was active only when hungry, after digesting. Then I offered only rats every 5-7 days, and she refused all. She became more and more active since then, and yes, I would say she seems to be stressed now. The reason I see for stress is she spends the whole day under her warm hide. She never went her cooler hides, I'm afraid she does't termoregulates properly.


Do you mean try to give her rat again the next week?

[Kokorobosoi]

Yeah, wait a week. Snakes can fast for months. Sorry for the English, my phone keeps deleting my Hungarian lol. Auto correct hates me and I give up.

I feed every week, but my picky girl gets fed every two weeks simply to prompt a better feeding response.

I would just leave her alone for this next week. It's pretty normal for a bp to just stay in their hide for days. I haven't actually seen my pastel in about four days. I know she comes out at night, so I'm not worried.

How are you measuring your temperatures? What are you using for substrate? Mit hasnalsz alata?

[Kerol]

Ok, thanks for the answeres! I will let her be for a week! A smaller tub is under preparation for her, too.

I have 2 digital thermometers. The probe is inside the warmer hide, where she is always in, its 30-32,5 C. The other probe is on the cool side on the ground, its 26-28 C. I also have infrared temp gun, it measures little bit different temperatures, sometimes a little higher, like 34-35 C on the hot spot, but if I measure the snakes temperature, its just 29 C like always.
I use coconut husk for bedding. Yeah it is lot of work to keep the humidity in this tall terrarium, but I manage. its varying: 40-80 %. She shed in one piece, so I think it should be ok. I also put some moss inside her hiding place recently. I also covered most of the front of the terrarium some days ago. She seems to be a little less restless since.

[Kerol]

Hi, it's good news!

My snake finally ate a rat! It was simple, I jut put a small rat in, watched until I was sure it won't bite my snake, then turned off the lights and left the room. 20 min. later when I came in, only the hind legs could be seen from the rat! I'm sooo happy! I was on the edge to give up and try mouse again!
I don't know, what was the key factor to accept rat, but sure she became more calmer lately. I covered most of the front of the terrarium which surely helped. I also raised temps a little, 1-2 C, and made a little more stable. And sure she was hungry :-)

Thanks everyone shared his/her thoughts!

[chrid16371]

What do you mean left until you knew it couldn't bite your bp? Like after she coiled it or after she started swallowing? You should never leave live rats unattended. If you left after she struck and coiled she could of decided not to eat and unwrapped and if the rat was only stunned then could of woke up and became aggressive. Yes the odds of a bp doing that are probably very very slim but you can never be to safe with live prey. I'm happy that you have gotten her to eat but never leave until you 100% sure the prey is dead.

[JodanOrNoDan]

There are probably two keys to your success this time. Better duration between feedings and lights out. My refusals are always far lower if I wait until after dark and the animal is awake and alert.