finicky eater

[daveyboy]

my 10 mth ball python hasnt eaten for two weeks is this normal for a young python?,i have been feeding one large mouse every week,but i have moved her into a wooden tank as her glass one cracked.

[rabernet]

Most likely it's a combination of a new home, and the fact that you are having some challenges keeping your cool side up (as you mentioned in another thread).


Get those temps stable, make sure the two hides you offer are not too big (should be very snug). He should start eating again once you get your temps in line!

[JLC]

Sometimes a new home like that can put them off. Is the wooden enclosure significantly bigger than the one she was in previously? Did you give her a "settling in" period of a week or more to get used to her new home?


Make sure she has at least two secure, snug hides.

If the wooden enclosure is bigger than what she's used to, you might try filling it with loosely crumpled newspaper so she can explore her new home without feeling exposed. Very gradually remove the crumples over weeks as she begins to feed again.

And lastly...I think you've got some threads about temperature issues? Fluctuating temperatures are a common cause of a BP going off feed. Once you get those stabilized, she should start eating again.

Two weeks (or more) without eating won't hurt her. Just get her new home stable and secure, and I think she'll pick right up again. In the meantime...offer her rodent once a week to see if she'd like to eat...but no more often than that. Frequent offerings of food when they don't want to eat will also add to their stress levels.

[iceman25]

In addition to the excellent advice above, toss in loosely crumpled up news paper to give the snake extra "security."

[iceman25]

In addition to the excellent advice above, toss in loosely crumpled up news paper to give the snake extra "security."

Doh! Judy already mentioned it.

[daveyboy]

thank you