Ball python won't eat (yes I read the pinned posts)

[waymire01]

Bought a pastel spider morph at a herp convention last fall. He's a juvenile about 16". Physically he's a bit thin, not terrible considering it's been months since he has fed, and otherwise in good shape and active. Can't get him to eat. I own five others of various colors.. some I've had for many years. Two adults, two "teens" and two juveniles including the spider. Got them all as juveniles some younger than him. They are all 100% healthy and currently eat every feeding with only the occasional issue.. never go more than one missed feed. Temp and humidity are fine and we never have shedding problems, they are also soaked weekly. Including a pied I bought at the same time as my non eater who had no issues whatsoever. I've dealt with feeding issues in the past (strike and miss, strike wrap and give up, spit out half way, regurgitation, picky eaters that will only eat certain colors or sizes, snakes that insist on their food being blown dry, ones that will only eat in a hide, I have one that has to be hooked out of the main tank and jumps out of the feeding box like she's spring loaded to strike her rat, etc) but nothing I've tried works.. it's like he doesn't see the rodent as food. I've only had one successful feed with him, in feeding box, nasty store bought frozen mouse, three feedings after I bought him. I've tried frozen mice of different sizes, frozen rats (home grown) of different sizes and colors, and live pups of different sizes and colors. Tried feeding box, feeding in tank alone, leaving live or frozen in with him in tank alone overnight.. even tried putting him in a paper bag with it overnight (came back to him curled up with the rat pup both asleep lolol). Tried every wiggle trick I know, dangling, sliding them in on the ground.. he wants nothing to do with it. I house my balls communally in a very large tank with felt substrate, two large heat pads, basking lights day and night on both sides, a pond, a collection of resin branches and a cement hide which they love to shed against... they are happy as they could be. They are very social with each other including the non eater and have never shown any aggression toward each other. He's also fine with humans, non aggressive and friendly. I tried giving him his own tank but he simply sulked in the corner as close as he could get to the other tank, refused to go in the hide or to the warm side. I tried putting him in the hide to feed him manually but he just leaves and goes back to his corner. Tried putting the hide in the corner and he smashed himself between it and the glass... and he still wouldn't eat no matter where he was. After reading all the pinned posts and some of the links within here, I put him in a very small plastic box, with shavings to bury, and a hide, and a water dish, with the sides blacked out with paper.. in the empty tank so I could stick a corner on the heat pad and so nothing and no one would bother him, and no lights. Haven't touched him in over a week other to peek in make sure he had water and was planning to attempt a feed tomorrow. Went to water him today and part of him was sticking out and looked bad so I took him out and found a severely dehydrated snake who had completely failed to shed.. soaked him and peeled him and put him back in the main tank where he snugged up under a mature female and hasn't budged since. I was suspicious about the substrate but that was what was suggested. Poor guy, I felt terrible.. like he needed that on top of everything else. Any suggestions would be appreciated.. I read somewhere to dip the prey in chcken broth.. about the only thing I haven't tried. Did this work for anyone and do you offer it wet or dry after dipping? At this point I will try anything.

[Sunnieskys]

Snakes together in one tank. There is one problem. What are your temps exactly? Reading husbandry is fine doesn't give us any info. Also include a picture if you can please. We are here to help.

[Craiga 01453]

Problem number one is that most species of snakes, ESPECIALLY ball pythons are solitary animals. Housing them communally is your first problem. Your snake wasn't "sulking" in the corner. Nor do snakes happily interact with one another or are they social with one another. Also, you're eventually going to find yourself with eggs one day, are you prepared for that?

And am I reading that right? You have ONE hide in a communal enclosure?

Felt substrate?? That's just going to be a breeding ground for bacteria.

Why the weekly soaks??

What are your temps? Where and how are you measuring temps?? Are your lights and heat mats regulated by thermostats?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I house my balls communally in a very large tank with felt substrate

Problem #1

in feeding box

Problem #2

leaving live or frozen in with him in tank alone overnight

Not the best idea when it comes to live.

they are happy as they could be

Your perception, BP are not communal animals and what I see is anthropomorphism

I have not read the rest (paragraphs would help making it easier to read) but anyway because it has worked for the others until now that does not mean it works with this one, obviously it's not.

Not sure why you would house snake together, especially housing a new acquisition with ZERO quarantine but it looks like you have a lot to brush up on.

[Kira]

You're keeping SIX snakes in one enclosure? As others mentioned- that is the main problem. Separate them ASAP into six individual enclosures or tubs. Each enclosure/tub should have two hides- one on the cool side and one on the warm side. Ball pythons do not socialize and there are no benefits of keeping them together like that. I'm sure all of them must be very stressed out since they are fighting for the one hide. It may look like "cuddling" but it's not.

Honestly, it seems like you have some more research to do. The way that these snakes are being kept currently is inadequate and unfair to these animals who rely on you. Telling us your exact temperatures, humidity, and if your heating elements are regulated by thermostats would be a good start towards improvement.

[Cheesenugget]

You was almost there! Feeding day was coming up and you returned your bp back to the main tank? /facepalm.

He may dehydrated because he ate nothing for weeks. Getting him to eat will help him gain some weight and some liquid in him. Mine looked that way too when he refused to eat for me.

Stuck shed does not mean you need to step in right away. Give him 24 hours to remove as much as he can on his own and raise the humidity. An already stressed out snake don't need to be soaked and poked at. Some snakes will eat during shed. And don't use your fingers to peel the skin off. The stuck shed should slide right off after soaking. I sometimes use the shed ease solution mixed with warm water and it helps.

Once your set up is fixed correctly, then try feeding again.

[waymire01]

I can't believe the judgemental and ridiculous comments. Half this nonsense isn't even accurate.. of course I quarantine new animals, when did I ever say otherwise?.. I said I had one concrete hide they love to shed against and that means I only have one hide period?... and to accuse me of animal abuse is insane, not to mention horribly offensive, you should be ashamed of yourself. My felt substrate is a "breeding ground for bacteria"?!? That is going to be rather difficult when it's laundered and disinfected weekly along with all of their furnishings and the tank itself, not to mention daily spot cleaning. You need numbers to "prove" my temps are good? Seriously?

I've kept the same (various) species of snake communally for decades, of this group I've had some for up to eight years. They are all fat, shiny, eat great, and are active and yes.. social, both with humans and each other. They are in a HUGE enclosure (over 18sq ft floor space) with multiple areas to shelter, warm, etc and a variety of environmental options. For your information they don't just hide in a hole 24/7 when given other options. My oldest was sitting up like a meerkat the other day watching birds out the window lol. Not everyone chooses to keep an animal in a freaking drawer for it's entire life... and I did provide him with an independent enclosure for the first month and then another go of two months solid and he still refused to eat.

While you were busy tearing me apart while in no way addressing the problem, a HELPFUL person contacted me with information that I will share for any other person dealing with this issue that had the misfortune of coming here for advice: It is common for exotic morph babies to have little to no natural feeding instinct, it is common for breeders to dump problem snakes at snake shows (lesson learned there)... and detailed instruction including VIDEO for "braining" and assisted feeding (search those terms on Youtube or Google). End result he had his first feed in five months this afternoon.

[MD_Pythons]

Wow..
Ok, what was wrong with asking for the temps in your enclosure? Most of the time when a young BP isn't eating it's due to improper husbandry. Do you have any idea how often people come on here saying their BP isn't eating while they throw some low wattage heat lamp or unregulated heating pad saying their temps are "good"? And when did anyone acuse you of animal abuse? You just got told what was wrong with your husbandry.

How could they be social? You're anthropomorphizing your animals, remember that snakes lack a frontal lobe. They are not emotional or social animals.

Nobody here is going to waste time commenting trying to get a rise out of you, what you like isn't always the best for your animals. Do you really want them fighting for warmth and hides in a communal enclosure? You purchased these animals and it is now your responsibility to care for them, you don't have to shove them all in a rack but is your communal enclosure really the best for your snakes?

[MissterDog]

Cool. Clearly we were all in the wrong to ever question you and your expertise OP.

Where has anyone accused you of animal abuse? How was anyone here not been trying to be helpful? They were trying to help you address the problem. Oh wait, because it wasn’t praise? Because you didn’t expect any critisism? Because people asked important questions that implied you might be doing things wrong? You??? How could that be??? You came here to the forum asking for advise and you didn’t like the answers so you’re purposely interpreting that as everyone tearing you apart for the lawls?

You need numbers to "prove" my temps are good? Seriously?

ANYONE can say their husbandry and temperatures are fine. But how do we know that without being presented with the exact numbers? How do YOU know your temperatures are fine without referring to number values? We’ve seen it countless times, new members insisting their temps are fine but later finding out they were totally off and didn’t know the different between surface temperatures and ambient. Most had unregulated heat sources.

You can keep bad husbandry for decades. Snakes are surprisingly resilient even in a stressful environments. I guess the question is for how much longer when you can’t even recognize displays of stress? Hopefully we won’t see another thread by you about your ball python being eaten by the other. Oh didn’t you know? Snake cannibilism is definitely a thing and could very well happen.

NO your ball pythons are NOT social. Some snakes such as garter and rattlesnakes do live together, but pythons are NOT the same. Doesn’t matter how much you think they are or want to project mammal characteristics to them, it doesn’t change the fact they don’t product oxytocin - which is the “bonding hormone” in your brain.

That’s the scientific truth. Plain and simple. I’m not saying they don’t appreciate enrichment. But you have to make sure you are giving them species appropriate enrichment. Forcing your ball pythons to interact with eachother is NOT it. The behaviors you think you’re seeing are a misconception because you are constantly comparing them to mammals.

Get over yourself. Do the basic research needed for the species you’re looking after instead of projecting your own variation of how you WANT them to act. Don’t willfully choose to stay ignorant for the sake of your pride over the well being of your pets. I don’t doubt you love them and thought you were doing them right, but sometimes you have to be honest with yourself;

Are you doing everything for them or yourself?

Doing the right thing isn’t always going to be what you want and it’s okay to admit that and do something about it. Just take a moment and think about this without any ego involved. Not for us. But for your snakes.

[PitOnTheProwl]

It is common for exotic morph babies to have little to no natural feeding instinct, it is common for breeders to dump problem snakes at snake shows (lesson learned there)...

This is the most IGNORANT thing I have read in a long time!!
Communal housing, not long enough quarantine and the list could go in.....
If you want help then correct your husbandry practices first.
There is a reason people come to this forum for help, it is full of knowledgeable keepers that have been doing this for decades.