ballpython didnt eat for 2 monts...

[ifWill]

Hello everyone,
we got our first ball python from a pet store 2 Months ago.
Sadly we realized after a while that he had mites.
So we started a Nix treatment and it worked well. We are mites free for about 2 weeks now.
Sadly he hasn't been eating the whole 2 months. We are kind of worried now. He also didn't shed yet.
The guy at the pet store said he was about 2 months when we bought him.
So he is 4 months now. He weighs 82 g now which is not enough i guess.
We have him in a 20 gallon tank with 2 heating lamps (1 day, 1 night) and one under tank heater.
The temperature is around 80-90 during the day and around 75 at night. Humidity is usually around 40-60%
He also still has some raised scales but i checked there are no black dots underneath anymore...
Also his skin wrinkles up recently (maybe for a week now).
Other then that he seems healthy. He is running around and drinking too. We take him out almost every day to get him used to us.
Can anyone maybe tell us if the 2 months of not eating are really bad or what we could do to feed him... We tried fuzzies and pinkies so far.
Here are some pictures of the wrinkles and his general condition...
Thank you very much in advance!
Faby

[tttaylorrr]

Hello everyone,
we got our first ball python from a pet store 2 Months ago.
Sadly we realized after a while that he had mites.
So we started a Nix treatment and it worked well. We are mites free for about 2 weeks now.
Sadly he hasn't been eating the whole 2 months. We are kind of worried now. He also didn't shed yet.
The guy at the pet store said he was about 2 months when we bought him.
So he is 4 months now. He weighs 82 g now which is not enough i guess.
We have him in a 20 gallon tank with 2 heating lamps (1 day, 1 night) and one under tank heater.
The temperature is around 80-90 during the day and around 75 at night. Humidity is usually around 40-60%
He also still has some raised scales but i checked there are no black dots underneath anymore...
Also his skin wrinkles up recently (maybe for a week now).
Other then that he seems healthy. He is running around and drinking too. We take him out almost every day to get him used to us.
Can anyone maybe tell us if the 2 months of not eating are really bad or what we could do to feed him... We tried fuzzies and pinkies so far.
Here are some pictures of the wrinkles and his general condition...
Thank you very much in advance!
Faby

STOP handling him until he eats; ZERO CONTACT. you should not handle a snake that is not eating as you will further stress them out and cause them to go off feed, and this snake is far too skinny to keep missing meals. he has 20 years to get used to you, he'll be fine.

"running around" is not something you want to be seeing with a baby beep; that is a sign of stress. aside from over handling, baby beeps will not eat unless their husbandry is properly met to a TEE. could you show us pictures of the enclosure? you mention bulbs and a UTH, but how are you regulating those heat sources? ALL sources of heat MUST be regulated by a THERMOSTAT! or a rheostat, but thermostats are preferred.

read through this post and retain ALL the information: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101

mites take a huge toll on beeps; they need time to get their health and strength back, and it wouldn't surprise me if they don't eat right away once the mites are gone.

[Hannahshissyfix]

I only have a minute so someone can chime in with a more detailed reply but the biggest issue is probably stress from over handling. Do not hold at all besides spot cleaning tank and checking husbandry. There's no need to handle daily "to get used to" you, BPs are incredibly laid back naturally as far as that goes and can go months without being held and still be a pet rock when you pick them up. Heat lamps also usually kill the humidity and stress them out with all of the light. Does he have secure warm, dark hides?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

He weighs 82 g now which is not enough i guess.
We have him in a 20 gallon tank with 2 heating lamps (1 day, 1 night) and one under tank heater.
The temperature is around 80-90 during the day and around 75 at night.

Your feeding issue is 100% husbandry related, follow the link provided above to a T

No handling and no more night drop

[ifWill]

Thank you very much for your answer on my post. I have a couple of questions. Is it dangerous to feed a live mouse when he is so small and (as it sounds like) weak? Also how would i heat the 6 qt box? Lamp or UHT? How do I keep the temp at 80 at night? I thought they don't like the bright light (that's why i got the blue night lamp but it's only available with weaker watt). Another issuse is the humidity. Do i control that in the 6qt box? With a spray can? Also how do I ensure he doesnt just leave the box? Should i leave the top on and poke some wholes through the top for air? And why in the world do all the people tell me to keep handling him after buying him???? I mean with the mites we kind of had to handle him but a lot of websites said we should handle him at least every second day..... -.-
Sorry for all these questions but it seems like we only got misinformation so far and did pretty much everything possible wrong...
We are trying to get all the stuff we need today and get him back on track.
Thank you very much!!!!

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[tttaylorrr]

Thank you very much for your answer on my post. I have a couple of questions. Is it dangerous to feed a live mouse when he is so small and (as it sounds like) weak?

there is always the risk of injury and possibly death when feeding live and i can't say i'd recommend it here.

Also how would i heat the 6 qt box? Lamp or UHT? How do I keep the temp at 80 at night? I thought they don't like the bright light (that's why i got the blue night lamp but it's only available with weaker watt). Another issuse is the humidity. Do i control that in the 6qt box? With a spray can? Also how do I ensure he doesnt just leave the box? Should i leave the top on and poke some wholes through the top for air?

you heat the box with a UTH controlled by a thermostat and monitored by a probed thermometer inside, no lamps needed.

keeping ambient temps up depends on your own environment in the house. how are you measuring your temps now?

a good substrate will keep humidity well. something like coconut husk is fabulous for humidity and should work well.

tubs keep their temp and humidity very well.

for security: get a plastic storage container with a lid from target ($6). the lid has latches but i would put something heavy on top to ensure he can't push up any corners.

you'll need to make airholes in the SIDES of the tub. some people use a soldering iron but there are many ways to accomplish this. just make sure you don't leave any SHARP edges.

And why in the world do all the people tell me to keep handling him after buying him???? I mean with the mites we kind of had to handle him but a lot of websites said we should handle him at least every second day..... -.-
Sorry for all these questions but it seems like we only got misinformation so far and did pretty much everything possible wrong...

no offense but it seems you've been researching very inaccurate info. handling only applies to healthy and thriving snakes.

this forum is full of friendly people with DECADES of experience in keeping ball pythons. you should stay a while, there's so much you can learn just browsing here. you're already on the right track with asking questions and taking our advice. DON'T EVER feel like you can't ask a question; we're here to help!

keep us posted and ask us anything. 😀

[ja88er]

Another option for heating (either instead of or in addition to an UTH with a thermostat) is a ceramic heat lamp. They only emit heat, not light, so it won't disturb your or the snake's sleep schedules, and I've found they help keep the ambient warmer than an UTH alone. The only caveat is that because they don't emit light you can't tell at a glance if they're on or not, you'd have to check it daily to make sure it didn't fail or get accidentally turned off. Dimmer switches are a good idea for lamps in general, to give you finer temperature control and prevent overheating.

[ifWill]

Ok Thank you everyone!!!
I bought a UTH today and we will get the box and the saucer hide later today too. Ill post a picture of the setup later today. Sadly the pet store didn't have the thermostat so i will try and get one tomorrow. I always just used a digital thermometer that showed me the temp and humidity in the tank. As far as that was always in the temperatur needed we never got a termostat. I'll buy one now...
we also bought some frozen fuzzies for in a week. if he doesn't heat that I'll try live prey. I'm just a bit scared the mouse might hurt him in his current condition.
Thank you again and I'll keep you posted!
Should've done that a long time ago....

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[LiadanCroft]

Quick reminder that if possible try not to go cheap with the thermostat if possible, The reasons they are necessary is to prevent the UTH from getting too hot burning your BP or even your house (rare but its hppened) and if it fails and your BP gets too cold thats really bad too, Not always possible to get the best one ever made, just try no to get the cheapest one.

Also yes feed frozen thawed, live not recommended here, it needs to be placed in warm/hot water until defrosted but not allowed to cook. If your snake refuses to eat for one or 2 more weeks I suggest assist feeding. My first BP didn't want to eat for a good few months either and we had to resort to it but after 3 times being assisted he got the message that food goes in mouth. To assist feed (which again is a last resort) you need to very gently but semi firmly hold your bp by the part after it's head ends and very gently put the mouse into is mouth until its back teeth are holding it, do not push into throat ir anything, at this point put them back in and leave them alone for 10-20 mins and he should've either swallowed or spat it out. if it fails try 5 days later. Hopefully you wont need to do this, adjusting all your husbandry with the advice of everyone here should be more than enough. Best of luck!

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[ifWill]

Ok just a quick update.
Here are some pictures of his new setup now. I didn't get a chance to buy the thermostat yet but we put the box right next to our pcs so we can monitor it closely until we get a chance to buy one (hopefully tomorrow)
Any suggestions for good thermostats? also we thought of buying an automated humidifier because the wintera here in Jersey are a bit dry. Any suggestions?






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