Hi guys, I have some concerns.

[SekiMoshu]

I know I haven't been on here much or anything but I'm rather worried about my boy. So my two year old pumpkin champagne hasn't been eating recently like since late November. I've been checking and double checking his husbandry every day, humidity is kept between 50-60% except during his shed which it was kept to 65%, cool side of tank is a constant 82-84 where he spends most of his time, warm side is 88-90. He's been wandering like crazy during night time hours which in my case since I actually am nocturnal is roughly 8-10 am. He'll come out a couple more times during the evening between 6-8pn. I've been checking to see if I hear any popping or wheezing nothing there, I've reduced handling him to see if he was just getting stressed out from that but that doesn't seem to be the case either. Before he stopped eating he weighed in at 1196 grams and currently he's at 1104. I took him to my preferred vet because it's been a couple months just to be sure everything is okay. Had a culture done, came back blank so had to get it done again. When I brought him in the second time they gave him an appetite stimulant (I don't think I ever want to do that again because I feel like all it did was serve to stress him out), tried to feed him just last Monday, two days after the stimulant and he still completely ignored the rat. I feed frozen thaw, warm it up to about 90 degrees using a hair dryer, he's taken food like this reliably since I got him and nothing has changed in his environment, hides are nice and snug and before he went off feed he was a super aggressive eater too, like rat was in there maybe 10 seconds before he was coiling it. Viscious little guy tore the leg off the rat once with his strikes. Now I'm a little concerned because the vet is suggesting force feeding to stimulate his appetite but I'm really not too keen on the idea of force feeding him since he's still looking pretty plump and I know he's been good on drinking water. I see him take a good drink every day right after I change his water. She also suggested getting a uvb light for him and get rid of his under tank heating which I have regulated by a rheostat. Suggestions?

Edit: I should note that I just recieved a call saying that his culture came back good tonight too. I'm wondering if maybe I should have a CBC test done. Also thinking I may buy him a live pinky rat to coax him into a little snack.
Below is a pic I just took of him tonight.

[zina10]

I think he is simply in "breeding" mode...both my males (voracious feeders normally) are refusing food right now.

One is used for breeding, the other is not. The one that is not breeding isn't even in the same room then the females and he is STILL refusing food. And he is "cruising" every night.

I think your boy is looking for some ladies !!!

I can't believe the vet put him through all that stress . Ok, you did cultures just to be safe, but an "appetite stimulate" ? And worse yet, force feeding ? Is your vet knowledgeable about snakes, in particular Ball Pythons ? They often go off feed, esp. males during breeding season.

You can kill your snake doing force feeding. That is the utmost of stress, and completely un-warranted !! That is last ditch effort when a snake is facing certain death from starvation and you have nothing to loose.

Your boy looks nice and healthy, the husbandry seems spot on, and you did all you could.

Just offer once every 2 weeks and unless he is taking a dramatic turn for the worse or loosing a LOT of weight, just let him be.

You sound like a wonderful and dedicated owner, wish everyone cared so much. But try not to worry so much. I bet your boy is just "in the mood"

[redshepherd]

Honestly, it sounds like just a winter fast that some ball pythons do, and I wouldn't even worry about it for another second. He especially did not lose significant weight. He looks huge and healthy from the pic.

And I would NOT go back to that vet LOL. She clearly doesn't have a clue! Force feeding is reserved for hatchlings who are near death and haven't eaten a meal yet. Like stated, it's super stressful and 100% unnecessary for any healthy snake.

I would stop using the "stimulants" or anything else to aid his appetite- he's an adult and isn't having an issue, no worries!

[SekiMoshu]

My vet is rather knowledgable with snakes, fixed him up right as rain when he got an RI when he first came to me back on my bday almost 2 years ago. Shipping incident, no one's fault really, I cant blame the breeder at all was 85 where she was and my area got a freak temp drop to like 50 degrees and raining so stress and cold temps got him sick. I dont understand why she wants to force feed, my guess is to try to trigger a feeding response since I'm worried. My question is, when is it too much weight to lose? And when about do you think the boys will not be wanting some snoot snoot? Also should i stick with my current heat or get him a uvb?? Also, thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

[SekiMoshu]

As for his cruising. Is there anything I can do to keep him from getting sores on the tip of his nose. He rubs so much at the top of the tank that it's in the same spot. I use a teeny little dab of neosporin without painkillers to just keep any bacteria from getting it infected but I'd like to keep it from happening. I check the screen regularly and there's no loose pieces of metal so I know its just from him rubbing at the top. Any way I can keep him from getting the sore?

[zina10]

The fact that you got him so healthy and well fed speaks for itself. Seems to me you should change nothing, since he is thriving and looks great.
The winter fast is just one of those things. Some do it, some don't . Some years they keep eating, then they won't.

If everything else checks out, I wouldn't worry to much.

To much weight loss would be more then 10-15%. Or when he just starts looking "off". Breathing loudly, mucous, etc. But you already checked all that out.

Did your vet check for internal parasites ? I would have done that, rather then forcing some appetite stimulant on him. I doubt that he has internal issues, though, since you feed frozen thawed. Is there the possibility of cross contamination from other snakes ?? Again, I doubt that is the issue, but that is one of those things you check for when everything seems fine yet they loose a lot of weight.

I know you trust this vet, and its great they helped you. But there are a LOT of different snakes, they probably can't know every detail about every snake. BP's often go off feed. And force feeding is terribly stressful.

Take a deep breath, relax, and offer food every 2 weeks.

[zina10]

As for his cruising. Is there anything I can do to keep him from getting sores on the tip of his nose. He rubs so much at the top of the tank that it's in the same spot. I use a teeny little dab of neosporin without painkillers to just keep any bacteria from getting it infected but I'd like to keep it from happening. I check the screen regularly and there's no loose pieces of metal so I know its just from him rubbing at the top. Any way I can keep him from getting the sore?

Is it a screen top ??

If so, is there anyway you could line the bottom with something "smooth" in some way ?

[redshepherd]

My vet is rather knowledgable with snakes, fixed him up right as rain when he got an RI when he first came to me back on my bday almost 2 years ago. Shipping incident, no one's fault really, I cant blame the breeder at all was 85 where she was and my area got a freak temp drop to like 50 degrees and raining so stress and cold temps got him sick. I dont understand why she wants to force feed, my guess is to try to trigger a feeding response since I'm worried. My question is, when is it too much weight to lose? And when about do you think the boys will not be wanting some snoot snoot? Also should i stick with my current heat or get him a uvb?? Also, thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

Force feeding doesn't trigger a feeding response, even just the opposite. It's basically forcing food down their throat just to keep them alive in times when the situation is really that extreme... Maybe she means assist feeding? Even then, it's not necessary for 99.9% of adult ball pythons! They'll get over it and start eating again.

Last year, my albino male went off feed from about November~February? Something like that. I offered every 2~3 weeks, and one day he just started eating again.

I'd stick with your current heat. I wouldn't worry about it at all! Like Zina said, vets might know about RI, but it's normal that she doesn't know every behavioral detail of every species. If your temps and husbandry is correct and they go off-feed for a few months as an adult with no ill symptoms, it's nothing to worry about.

[zina10]

If you have a screen top and he is rubbing on it you could do this (idea out of the blue, so not perfect..lol)

Find some of those "wipe-able" table cloth fabric. Where the printed side is that smooth, plasticky stuff.

Then cut a piece the same size as the inside of the screen top. Put your table cloth against the inside of the screen top (plasticky side towards the inside of the cage) and then STITCH it together with yarn !! The needle should go right through the fabric and also through the screen top, without damaging the screen.

Make sure you make SMALL stitches on the inside and larger one on the screen top. You don't want large stitches on the inside, just in case one might get loose and the BP would try to get into the loop.

Its kind of hard to explain and I made a quick drawing. Granted, its late, I'm no artist and its just a idea that popped into my head. So not sure it makes sense to you, LOL. I'm not that great at explaining.
English is my second language and when I get tired it "goes away"..

Well, here goes:



You can leave some round holes in the fabric where he can't reach to rub, for air flow

[SekiMoshu]

I wouldn't see any cross contamination with any other snakes, he's the only snake in my home. I did rescue a bearded dragon a month before he stopped eating but she was seen by the vet and checked out for all parasites, no respiratory infections. And I followed quarantine process. She was the last one taken care of during the day, last one touched and I'd had a change of clothes and shower before I came into contact with my boy or the three leopard geckos I've got. Gecks are doing great, bearded dragon had some runny stool for quite a while which was why I was thinking she had parasites of some sort but she's doing great now, stool is nice and firm. Poor little dear was stunted when I got her, she grew over a foot in a month. I did notice that the rats I'd been getting from my previous source which was a local store were starting to look really gross, covered in urine and tails stained with feces so I changed who I got from, ordered a batch of rats from rodent pro but my boy had stopped eating before I bought those so he's passed on every one from there so far. ::shrug:: I was beginning to worry maybe because the rats were starting to look dirty that maybe that had gotten him sick. And he hasn't had a poo since December because he hasn't eaten any. So is there another way to check for parasites? And is it possible he could have gotten something from the bearded dragon coming into the home? I'm not sure about lizard to snake cross contamination chances even when super careful.