possible free ball python

[tomcanton]

I have a ball python that has not ate for about 4 months. I have tried everything. He/She appears to be in very good health and spirits. I do not want to hurt him and if I cannot get him to eat, I am willing to give it to someone who knows more about it than me. He is about 4 feet long and extremely nice. My kids love him and will be sad to have him go, but we all want him to be taken care of. Please respond with suggestions or if you are very experienced with ball python and eating problems, please let me know. I live in Ohio.

[tigerlily]

Are you looking for a home or advice on feeding? If it's the latter can you describe your setup and what you have attempted to feed. (If you can post a pic of the setup that would be good too) Most likely husbandry issues are at the bottom of your non feeding.

What is it housed in?
What type of substrate?
What are you temps for hot/cold sides?
How do you measure those temps?
Do you have two hides?
History of bp before you got it?
Has it been to the vet?
Fecal?

Oh and welcome to the forum.

[jotay]

First off how long have you had it?
How old when you got it?
And when did it stop eating?
Was it captive breed?

My bp stops eating every winter for about 4-5 mos then in spring starts back up again eats like crazy toward the end of summer/start of fall then stops
I seem to think he is wild caught as they do have a habit of doing this.
Not anything your doing wrong or husbandry issues could just be his routine
Let me know.

[ARamos8]

Christie said it best. Describe your bp's environment and provide some info on its history also.

[Beardo]

I have never met a snake that I could not get to eat....some take alot of patience, but I have had 100% success with picky eaters. If you still need to find a home for your BP, let me know...I am located fairly close to you, depending on where in Ohio you are.

[jotay]

Let me introduce you to my Ozzy then

Some bp's, mainly WC will fast during the cooler months as this is breeding time, no amount of patience in the world will make them eat short of force feeding.
I have tried everything as well as folks who have years exper w/ bp's and breeding bp's. My vet who is a reptile vet confirmed the theory that some just go on fasts.
This could be the case of this posters bp, no reason to get rid of it.

[Sassafrass]

I'm agreeing with Jotay. Both of my adult males are off feed for the winter. Mine were both cbb tho. I wouldn't worry until after spring.

[JLC]

My gopher went on a fast for about 4 months. And he's no beefy snake, but a thin little guy who didn't look like he should be missing many meals! My husbandry was spot-on (checked and re-checked and re-re-checked!). There wasn't anything I could do about it except continue to offer him food from time to time.


He finally started eating again sporatically...and became a regular feeder when I switched to fresh-killed instead of frozen. Now he gets live and feeds easily most of the time.

Snakes have their own minds about food, that's for sure! And they can go amazingly long times without eating. So long as you continue to care for it and give it the opportunity to eat when it finally wants to.....you'll be doing fine!

[frankykeno]

Like Christie and Jotay I think a lot more information about the age and current condition of the snake, length of ownership, husbandry, caging, etc. would be helpful.

I'm glad you found your way here Tom. If the forum can be of assistance in either helping you keep your snake or if you wish, rehome it - then I'm sure with more details on the situation you'll get lots of information to consider.


~~Jo~~

[tomcanton]

I have had the bp for 1 yr 1 mo. I do not have any history on him but he was a good size when I got him. I estimate he is about 3.5-4 ft. I keep him in a 55 gallon tank with a red heat lamp and an under the tank heating pad. I have several rocks, large drinking bowl and a tree limb in the tank. I only have 1 hide toward the middle. the warm side is 85 degrees air temp. He can go to the heating pad or climb the limb to get closer to the heating lamp. The cool side is 75 degrees with about 50 percent humidity. I use newspaper as a substrate. I read that it was as good as any to use. He does move around the cage to regulate his temp. He has only eaten live rats and mice for me. I got him last January and I did not even try to feed him for a few weeks as I heard they should get use to their environment before trying to feed them. I take him out of the tank and put him in a darker rubber maid tub to feed. I would like to keep him but just do not want to harm him by something that I am doing to keep him from eating. Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions. Keep them coming!