feeding

[shawn2881]

ok my bp still hasnt ate
its been about 5-6 weeks since shes late ate
only 2-3 weeks with me
im worried BC she is kind of skinning
she up and about in her cage right now
i guess she likes the new branch i put in there

should i try F/T
and leave it in her cage over night

[Sunny1]

I am wondering how you are trying to feed her and what size and type of prey? Do you know what she was eating before you got her? When I got my girl I couldn;t get her to eat f/t so after going without eating for about 2 weeks I tried live and now she hasn't missed a meal the last 5 weeks now. I feed her in her tank where she is comfy. Lately I have been holding the mouse near the top of her tank so that she will get interested and come out of her hide, I guess kinda prescenting her tank. I would guess that if your girl is 3 ft long that she is on rats and not mice??? You may try feeding her a few large mice just to try to get her to eat something, or try a smaller rat. Maybe the prey item is too big??? I am by no means an experienced BP mommy, just trying to maybe throw a few ideas out there. Also, do you handle her alot and especially on the day that you are going to feed her?? I've read in other threads that stress can be a big factor in a BP not eating. Just make sure that your husbandry is all correct, temps. etc. I was looking at some of your other threads (to try to get some back ground info on your snake) and saw a pic of your setup. Is it still set up that way? You could also try covering up 3 sides of the tank to make her a little less exposed feeling. If she is feeling all comfy then she may decide to finally eat.

[Kagez28]

Well it could be a number of things...
1. you hides are too big, and she is feeling stressed.... get some smaller
2. you haven't got rid of the mites she had... get some PAM
3. are you watching over her when you put the food in? just imagine if a huge figure stood over top of you while you where trying to eat.... just throw the fuzzy in there and walk away.
4. is she in a low traffic are with little noise or vibrations? she might not be settled in and all the feeding attempts and such are stressing her more.

[shawn2881]

I am wondering how you are trying to feed her and what size and type of prey? Do you know what she was eating before you got her? When I got my girl I couldn;t get her to eat f/t so after going without eating for about 2 weeks I tried live and now she hasn't missed a meal the last 5 weeks now. I feed her in her tank where she is comfy. Lately I have been holding the mouse near the top of her tank so that she will get interested and come out of her hide, I guess kinda prescenting her tank. I would guess that if your girl is 3 ft long that she is on rats and not mice??? You may try feeding her a few large mice just to try to get her to eat something, or try a smaller rat. Maybe the prey item is too big??? I am by no means an experienced BP mommy, just trying to maybe throw a few ideas out there. Also, do you handle her alot and especially on the day that you are going to feed her?? I've read in other threads that stress can be a big factor in a BP not eating. Just make sure that your husbandry is all correct, temps. etc. I was looking at some of your other threads (to try to get some back ground info on your snake) and saw a pic of your setup. Is it still set up that way? You could also try covering up 3 sides of the tank to make her a little less exposed feeling. If she is feeling all comfy then she may decide to finally eat.

im feeding her what the pet store was feeding her
my temps are around 80 cool and 89-92 basking and humidity is at around 56%
my setup is a lil different
as for my hides i put alot of aspen inside to have a snugg fit
i got rid of mites(havnt seen any more)
when i feed i sit near her bc she can get out(i might need to try to feed her in a tub.... not a shoebox)
i have aspen as substrate so i dont feed her in her cage
ima wait till monday to try and feed her again and try to get my corn too(its settling in)

[frankykeno]

"around" isn't a way to monitor temps. What are you using to get those readings? Stable temps are a must with ball pythons.

Putting aspen inside a hide isn't the answer. A smaller hide is.

How did you get rid of the mites? What product did you use? Just because you can't see any mites doesn't mean the adults or their eggs aren't still there.

What exactly where they feeding this snake (mice or rats and what specific size)? How big is the snake? What method were they using to get her to eat (live prey, frozen/thawed or pre-killed)?

Feeding in a shoebox isn't likely to encourage any snake to eat. I'd suggest you feed this snake directly in it's home enclosure where it feels safest. You don't really need to worry about that aspen unless your prey is soaking wet, it won't pick up much if any substrate. If you are very worried about that you can either switch to plain newspaper or layers of papertowels until this snake is settled in and eating properly or just place a good layer of newspaper down over the middle of the enclosure to cover the aspen (again really not needed, a wisp of aspen is not going to bother your snake's tummy).

Speaking of enclosures can you give specific information on the size and type of enclosure this snake is living in.

[sweety314]

Hi,


Bump your temps up about 3* on both ends (82 minimum on the cool and 92 min. on the hot spot).

If you're concerned about the aspen, try putting paper down before feeding. Either paper towels or newspaper will work. For a lot of BPs, the moving from home to feeding box is stressful and can cause them to be unwilling to eat.

Are you trying to feed her more than once a week? Too many attempts, especially if the live prey walks on the snake while it's avoiding, or in hiding, will actually scare the snake and make it even more reluctant to eat.

Have you eliminated the possiblity of internal parasites by having the vet do a fecal float?

Consistancy is really important for balls. Have you changed procedures from the times she ate, to now? If you've changed her environment/husbandry recently, allow a week for her to get used to the changes.

How large is her home compared to her size?? Does she need to have the wads of newspaper throughout the tank/tub to provide more "cover" in order to feel safe and secure?


Just a few ideas.......




Whooops!!! Jo, you beat me to it!