Quote Originally Posted by Amy1217
well...you probably shouldnt feed her in her enclosure...give her a few days, then put her into a seperate place (like a cardboard box), and put the food in there with her, and leave her for a while. Thats what i do with mine whenever he wont eat (hes only not eaten once though.lol)
In my experience, they feed better in their own enclosures - with all their "furniture" in place. They should already feel safe and secure enough in their enclosure to have no problems eating there. I also eliminate the need to handle them after they've eaten this way.

I just know that I keep all of mine in tub set-ups or a rack, 15 quart for my '06's and 41 quart for my yearlings. Although I have some yearlings in my rack that are sharing 30 quart tubs (with the optional dividers that HerpEnclosures sells to make the 30 quart tubs into two long 15 quart enclosures). Other than Kashmire - who was my first ball python, I've not experienced any fasts other than the occasional one week refusal, which to me, doesn't qualify as a fast.

I'm a true believer (from experience) that smaller is better for a happy ball python - smaller enclosure, small tight hides, and I also keep them warm with the recommended temp ranges.

I do also feed live to all of mine, so I've not personally dealt with the challenges of switching a ball to pre-killed or f/t.