Baby Python won't eat. Help!

[SnakeMomma22]

Hey All, I'm trying not to panic but I'm definitely a nervous python mom. We bought our baby from PetSmart a week before Christmas. She is so gentle and did great on her first feed about 2weeks later. Every since though she has no desire to eat at all. It's been about 6weeks now & I'm getting nervous since she is only 5months old. We keep the humidity levels at 50-60% with a cold side around 75degrees and warm around 90degrees. She has two hides on each side and water in the middle that she loves to utilize. We've tried feeding both outside & inside her tank. We've done fuzzies and pinkies. Everytime she just looks away & does not want anything to do with the mouse. We even tried leaving the mouse overnight. HELP! This is my first ball python & want to make sure she is healthy. Thanks in advance for any advice available.

[tttaylorrr]

what type and size of enclosure are you using? what are you using for heat, and how is the heating element(s) regulated? how much does the snake weigh?

75° F on the cool side is the absolute lowest temperature i'm comfortable with. i'd try to up that to 77° F or try to keep it around 80° F.

at 5 months old i'd expect your snake to be eating adult mice/rat pups. ball pythons fresh out of the egg eat bigger meals than you are offering, so you need to up your prey size according to the weight of the snake. here's a nifty chart!

[SnakeMomma22]

She is currently in a 15gallon terrianium & we are using day/night heat lamps. She also has a heating mat on her warm side. Not sure on weight. We have left her alone for about a week now trying to ensure she isn't stressed when we try to feed.

Appreciate the advice, I'll try to get bigger prey. Is it recommended to leave the prey in her terrianium overnight in case they get stressed with us feeding? Right now we try to move the prey around to entice.

[tttaylorrr]

She is currently in a 15gallon terrianium & we are using day/night heat lamps. She also has a heating mat on her warm side. Not sure on weight. We have left her alone for about a week now trying to ensure she isn't stressed when we try to feed.

Appreciate the advice, I'll try to get bigger prey. Is it recommended to leave the prey in her terrianium overnight in case they get stressed with us feeding? Right now we try to move the prey around to entice.

i noticed you do not mention how your heat lamps and heat mat (UTH) are regulated. ALL heat sources MUST be regulated. this is non-negotiable. for the UTH you need to control it with a thermostat like this one; this protects the snake from being burned as well as ensuring the UTH does not get so hot that it starts a fire. for the lamps, you can get away with using a rheostat/lamp dimmer but a thermostat will always be the superior choice.

weight is the single best indicator of overall health in a snake. i'd recommend getting a digital kitchen scale so you can track weight. i use this one.

also, do you feed live or f/t? and if f/t then yes i'd leave the feeder in the enclosure overnight if it is not taken right away. my oldest male doesn't even strike the prey (f/t) anymore so i always have to leave it and check back to make sure it's gone.

[SnakeMomma22]

We currently use timers for the heat lamps. The heat mat is always on. Daylight/night switch at 7am and 7pm.

Thank you for all the sugestions on what we need to get! Last time we put the mouse right outside of her hide overnight & was still there in the morning. Any tricks we should do to help entice her? We read putting tuna could help but wanted to check first.

[tttaylorrr]

We currently use timers for the heat lamps. The heat mat is always on. Daylight/night switch at 7am and 7pm.

Thank you for all the sugestions on what we need to get! Last time we put the mouse right outside of her hide overnight & was still there in the morning. Any tricks we should do to help entice her? We read putting tuna could help but wanted to check first.

sorry to digress from your post, but how are you checking your temperatures? you mention a 90° F hot spot, but where are you taking that temperature from, and with what? thermometers? probed thermometers? with the UTH being unregulated i can almost guarantee you that hot spot is closer to 100° F if you're lucky; they can easily reach 120° F when unregulated which is extremely dangerous.

the #1 reason a new/young beep won't eat is poor husbandry. you need to get your husbandry 100% on point (which includes getting the thermostat for the UTH) before we try offering food again. once your heating elements are regulated and you're POSITIVE your temperatures are where they should be, then we can try some things to get her eating.

[CALM Pythons]

Everything tttaylorrr said... A UTH (Heat mat) unregulated will cook a snake . Even on the instructions it says must be regulated. I just plugged in a small 8 watt ZooMed and within 30min it was 127... My XL ZooMed UTH is 143. Thats a guaranteed neurological problem. This is why people have so much trouble with their first Snakes. It isn't as simple as a Pet Store tells you, they could care less and just flip snakes and know nothing about them.

[SnakeMomma22]

We have thermostats on both sides of the cage (hot &cold). The cold side also has the humidity levels reader. That is how I know the temperatures.

Hot side is at 90 right now with both lamp & mat on. Should I only leave the mat on for certain hours? We've been leaving it on consistently for her.

[tttaylorrr]

We have thermostats on both sides of the cage (hot &cold). The cold side also has the humidity levels reader. That is how I know the temperatures.

Hot side is at 90 right now with both lamp & mat on. Should I only leave the mat on for certain hours? We've been leaving it on consistently for her.

a thermoSTAT and a thermoMETER are two totally different things. a thermoSTAT controls the electrical output of a device, and a thermoMETER just reads the temperature.

so i'm guessing you have two thermoMETERS on each side of the enclosure, yes? you need a probed thermometer to place under the substrate over the UTH so that you can read the temperature of the bottom of the enclosure. you need to be measuring the hottest part your snake can touch, which is at the bottom of the enclosure below the substrate. here's how everything should be set up; i couldn't find PitontheProwl's original diagram so here's one i made: