Sick of wasting food

[zina10]

Trust me, I understand your frustration. Their fasting and so called picky-ness can really get to people, esp. if you buy and waste a lot of food.

Forgive me for asking though, how much research did you do before you got a Ball Python? They are not the "easiest" . At least not for people that do not understand how they work.

1900 grams is not that bad for an adult Ball Python. Especially if it was a male. Are you sure its a female ?

How BIG are the rats she eats ?

Many BP's (esp. males) will only eat about 8 to 10 meals per year, depending on the size of the feeder. More, if the feeder are on the smaller side. However, there are some females that behave much like males when it comes to diet.

They are opportunistic snakes. In the season when food is plenty, they will take whatever they can get. Because there always comes the dry season, when food is scarce or non existent for many months. During that time they fast.

If they were to continue eating year round like they do when they are in "eat plenty" mode, they would get obese and eventually the organs fail because they can't support the blubber. Their entire system is built for the "eat>fast" seasons.

Now, there are some Ball Pythons that will eat year round, but most adults WILL slow down, if fed larger prey, they will take longer breaks in between. And then come weeks or months of fast.

That is simply part of Ball Pythons.

You say everything is perfect. But humor us and describe her setup, what kind of cage, how big, hides, how you heat, how you regulate heat, how exposed or not, humidity, temps, how BIG are the rats she does eat.

And again, you are sure of her sex?

You can try smaller prey and less often. Let her build up an appetite. At that size she isn't going to starve anytime soon !!!