ballpython didnt eat for 2 monts...

[predatorkeeper87]

The temp was now always between 80 and 87. Yes i have a UTH and the thermostat is on the way.
Okay thanks for the help

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please double check the temp on the side with the UTH under the substrate on the plastic, if its still unregulated those things get every bit of 110 degrees in a matter of minutes.

[ifWill]

i have a timer on it that turnes it on and off every 2 hours. that gives me a pretty steady temperature so far as long as i keep the room temperature steady. Also he has a decent amount of bedding in there and i haven't seen him ever trying to get underneath so i guess it should be fine... I'll definitely check though

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[predatorkeeper87]

- - - Updated - - -

i have a timer on it that turnes it on and off every 2 hours. that gives me a pretty steady temperature so far as long as i keep the room temperature steady. Also he has a decent amount of bedding in there and i haven't seen him ever trying to get underneath so i guess it should be fine... I'll definitely check though

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yes definitely still check, only takes 5 minutes to hit 100 degrees on those. I only press the issue because its harder to deal with burns than not eating.

[ifWill]

Okay thank you very much for the warning! Where do i best put my digital thermometer to control the heat all the time? should i put it underneath the substrate? right now it's right at the entrance of his hide.

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[predatorkeeper87]

Okay thank you very much for the warning! Where do i best put my digital thermometer to control the heat all the time? should i put it underneath the substrate? right now it's right at the entrance of his hide.

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Whereever the snake can reach, in your case under the substrate on the plastic. even if you never seen him burrow it doesn't mean he wont.

[tttaylorrr]

also how did you thaw/prepare the f/t prey? and what size? just trying to cover all bases.

[ifWill]

also how did you thaw/prepare the f/t prey? and what size? just trying to cover all bases.

I put it in hot (not boiling) water for 15 minutes then changed he water for new hot water for another 5 minutes. the mouse was pretty hot when i touched it. I know it has to be over 100 degrees but my infrared thermometer gun didn't arrive yet either so I can't tell you exactly the heat. It was a small mouse because I've read in several threads here that fuzzies are too small for any BP.

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[Zincubus]

I put it in hot (not boiling) water for 15 minutes then changed he water for new hot water for another 5 minutes. the mouse was pretty hot when i touched it. I know it has to be over 100 degrees but my infrared thermometer gun didn't arrive yet either so I can't tell you exactly the heat. It was a small mouse because I've read in several threads here that fuzzies are too small for any BP.

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Never heard anything about warming to 100F to be honest but I warm with a hairdryer plugged in next to the vivs so you can offer whilst still warm plus the hairdryer doesn't wash all the rodent aroma away..

This method WORKS if done properly ...
I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .
A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm , continue until it's grabbed ...
I always wait until evenings to feed as they're nocturnal of course .

Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so.

[ifWill]

Never heard anything about warming to 100F to be honest but I warm with a hairdryer plugged in next to the vivs so you can offer whilst still warm plus the hairdryer doesn't wash all the rodent aroma away..

This method WORKS if done properly ...
I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .
A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm , continue until it's grabbed ...
I always wait until evenings to feed as they're nocturnal of course .

Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so.

Okay I'll try that later tonight then...
Weirdly enough he is now up and about sniffing around the place where the mouse was lying the whole night...
I don't thaw them directly in the water. I put them in a sealable plastic bag to thaw them so they keep the gross smell.

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

So yesterday evening I tried one last time to feed him a frozen mouse... Because i Reeeeeealllyy dont want to start with live prey..
I moved it around a little bit away from him and then left it in the cage overnight (as some here in the forum suggested).
It was dark and he was in his hide so i thought he will probably eat it when i leave him alone with it...
Didn't work. My husband is going to buy a live mouse on Friday and we will try that.
If this doesn't work we will have to take him to the vet...
I honestly have no idea what is wrong this time. The temp was perfect yesterday the whole day the humidity was around 70% I put a shirt over his box the whole day so he doesn't see me while working...
So much for the update... Really disappointed i hoped it would work yesterday...

What the vet will likely do is he will recommend tube feeding which should not be done, everything you need to do can be done by YOU if you are patient and follow instructions to a T (live was one of them)

If you handle, do not offer the proper prey size or type you will get a refusal again, it can take time to adjust and privacy is imperative including during feeding. If you offer too often you will end up with the same result you should only offer once a week.

When you decide to switch to F/T now is not the time you want to thaw at room temp near the enclosure once thawed you want to warm up with a hair dryer grabbing the prey from behind the neck and moving it in the enclosure as if it was alive (I get 100% success rate switching this way).....again now is not the time LIVE should be offered regardless of what YOUR preference is.

A vet will likely take you on a trip from un-needed prescription to tube feeding (which is never needed with BP)

Fixing your husbandry is not something that works overnight especially when a snake has not ate for so long, the less they eat the longer between meals the more emaciated the more they adjust to it and the more it becomes a viscous circle, this is why you should never wait that long for an hatchling to take a meal.

With hatchlings the more you feed them the more they want to eat the less you feed them the less they want to eat.