BP Not Eating

[Reptimom]

Hello!

My almost 1 1/2 y.o. female BP has decided that she doesn't want to eat. Period, end of discussion. I've kept offering but the last time she ate was 11/20/16.
Should I be worried? I know they often go without eating for long periods of time and this isn't technically very long compared to some fasts I've heard about, but she had never refused food before and now she hasn't eaten in over a month.
She was about 717g but has dropped to 692g last time I weighed her (last Wednesday).

Thanks in advance!

[Regius_049]

It is pretty common for males to go off feed during winter months, especially if they are breeders.

However, a growing female should be less likely to do this. Has anything changed husbandry-wise? It is winter now, so is it possible the temperature or humidity has changed? Also, sometimes snakes just decide they aren't happy with their setup anymore somewhat randomly. Is she overly active and surfing the walls of her enclosure?

[Reptimom]

The humidity had been a bit wonky for a little bit, but its all sorted out now and pretty steady. Temps have been steady too. She hasn't been glass surfing that I've noticed, but she only comes out once its dark, almost never in the day unless she is switching hides. xD

[Regius_049]

That sounds like pretty typical ball python behavior from your description. You might give it a little longer and see if she comes around. If worse comes to worse, there is always gerbils.

[cchardwick]

What do you feed her and how do you prepare the rodents? I use fresh kill now, I used to feed frozen thawed but if you give them one that smells off, is a bit freezer burned, not the right temp, or even a little cold / frozen in the middle or too hot / cooked that will make them go off of feed. I've had it happen several times. With fresh killed I get more consistent feeding. If using frozen thawed make sure they are fresh and the right temps before feeding. Often times you can increase the rodent temps a bit and encourage them to eat. If my fresh killed cool off I put them in the incubator at 110F for about ten minutes before I feed. I also had one freak out by not grabbing a live rodent very good and I finally had to take it away and try feeding live again. I won't do that anymore, a rodent bite or bad experience with a live one can make them go off.

How long have you had the snake in the current setup? Sometimes when I get a new snake they will eat for a few months, then go on a fast sometimes for months before they really accept and adapt to their new environment. What is your substrate? A dirty substrate will keep them from eating too...

What does your setup look like? I find that for my snakes a rack system seems to give the most natural environment, totally enclosed, dark and secure. I used to have issues when I kept them in glass aquariums, but now that they are in the rack they all eat like pigs LOL.

So many variables... Have you had a male in there? That will make a female go off of feed most times. I've also found that if I push a snake to eat too aggressively such as chasing the snake around with the rodent, even for more than 10 seconds or so, they tend to get scared of the rodents and go off of feed. Now I limit the pushing / rubbing on the snake to just about 10 seconds max. If they don't eat after 30 seconds total I move to the next snake. If they strike and miss you can usually rub the rodent on them and they will grab it, otherwise don't push it. I have a couple snakes that tend not to eat since I tried once to push them too hard.

What time of day do you feed? Try feeding at 10 PM. What size rodent? Some won't take them much bigger than the size of their widest belly. Also try an adult mouse or ASF vs. rat.

[cchardwick]

How often do you offer food? I offer twice a week for my females, at least once a week for the rest. If I go 1.5 weeks without offering they usually will start eating again since they have missed a couple meals. I also have a few snakes that are not ball pythons that just decide to coil up and sleep for a month or two at a time for no reason at all, I don't mess with them if they don't stick their head up at feeding time, I respect their space and they are much happier snakes! Most times I won't even handle them if they are in that sleep mode, otherwise they tend to get real cranky.

[Albert Clark]

Stay on top of your husbandry most of all your enclosure temps all around. Keep the water bowl clean and refreshed. Consider adding cypress mulch to your substrate or at least under the hides.

[PitOnTheProwl]

What is the weight loss?
If there is not a huge loss there is no worry.
I have a couple that only eat a couple times per year.

[Reptimom]

I'm so sorry I didn't get back sooner, didn't get a notification!
cchardwick:
I feed her f/t rats, thats what she's eaten since before I got her. I usually get the rat out of the freezer, put it in a ziplock bag and put that in a bowl of warm water in the morning of feeding day, change the water to warm whenever I remember and then right before I feed her it gets put in hot water again, then I take it out of the bag and offer it to her. She never strikes it though so I always try with the tongs and then just leave it and five minutes later she would eat it.
She's been in her setup since June, nothing has changed really. Substrate is Shredded Aspen. She is in a 20gal long tank with two hides (hot side cold side) a water bowl and a vine just for decoration. Three sides of the tank are covered in paper so it stays darker. I can get a pic if that would help more.
No males, she's too young to breed and she is my only BP atm. I try not to push her too much before leaving it in overnight.
I usually feed her around 9pm. She was just moved up to small's, she took one and that was the last time she ate. I offer food once a week.

Albert Clark:
I will, thank you! I'll look into cypress mulch.

PitOnTheProwl:
She's lost about 25grams so far, she gets weighed again tomorrow.

[PitOnTheProwl]

PitOnTheProwl:
She's lost about 25grams so far, she gets weighed again tomorrow.

Nothing to worry about yet.