My ball doesn't want to eat!

[betoiguanas]

I bought a 3 foot ball python at a reptile show, the guy told me to feed him on live med sized rats, but gave me two frozen rats to try to switch him on frozen, I tried but no luck, waited for 10 days and I brought a small mouse to see if really would take live food, at first the ball struck and killed the mouse, but somehow he lost interest and went back to his hide, I had to go somewhere and when I came back home, the tiny mouse was gone! I called up the breeder and he said to switch to med sized rats, no mice! Ok, and I brought a med sized rat, but the ball look like he was afraid of the rat and only was biting when the rat was approaching to him, just like to get away, I killed the rat and offered to him, but no luck, has been like 3 weeks since the mouse, then I offered another tiny mouse, but again he was like terrrified with the mouse, the mouse was pretty active and the ball scared! I simply don't know what to do next, any advice or info will be welcome!

[dr del]

Hi,

Sounds possible he is feeling a little insecure. Are you making sure he has enough tight dark hides and not handling him till he is eating regularly?

And it doesn't really matter if he preferrs to eat mice - they can grow just as well on a couple of adult mice a week as a small rat.

I would try making him feel more secure and only offering the food once every 7 days.

It would also be helpfull if you could describe your setup to us to see if any obvious thigns spring out.


dr del

[Mike Cavanaugh]

1.) post your exact setup so we can critique it.

2.) Do not handle the snake at all. Only exception is to hold it momentarily when cleaning the enclosure.

3.) Offer food to it no more then, no less then once per week.

4.) Offer the same kind, same size live prey every week. Wait until night. Put the rodent in and keep a distant eye on it for 10 minutes. If he doesn't take it within the 10 minutes, take the rodent out and try again in exactly one week. For gods sake, if he does strike and kill the rodent LEAVE THE ROOM!!!!!!!

5.) Do NOT attempt to feed any more frozen / thawed rats or mice. Get it eating regularly, then try to switch. Be prepared, it may never accept frozen / thawed.

[naba2002]

i had the same thing happen so i double checked my temps, gave him a few hides to choose from, real tight ones too and i left the mouse on top of the cage and covered it with a towel so that the smell would get into the tank, i left it there when i went to work and 10 hours later i offered it to him and he struck n ate in about 3mins. this worked on the first try after i couldnt get him to eat for almost 2months. good luck

[betoiguanas]

Hi!
Thanks for helping me out with this matter, the setup that I have for my ball it's simple: Half log as a hide, water bowl, repti bark as substrate, heat pad, that's what I was told to be needed, maybe I would need extra stuff, if Im missing something important, please, let me know, but for me, my ball looks afraid of live prey, he just attacked the rat to defend himself, and for the mouse, he was under the ball and not even noticed!, but I just noticed that he has two small scars on the neck, maybe an old bites, but at night he is pretty active, always trying to escape or just checking out, I wouldn't say that he is stressed or something, but I'm not too experienced with snakes, perhaps I should stick with frozen ( to avoid unnecesary bites ), but well, this is the ball python setup, oh and 20 gal tank! Any comments will be welcome!

Thanks a lot!
Beto

[betoiguanas]

But frozen or live?

[dr del]

Hi,

But frozen or live?

Well, if the person who sold him to you was right, your snake has never eaten F/T.

I would concentrate more on getting it eating on a regular basis rather than stressing about changing its diet just yet.

There is nothing wrong with sticking with smaller live prey - either a mouse or a fuzzy rat.

The mouse would be more able to bite the snake so should never be left unattended and , if not eaten in 15-30 minutes, should be removed. The rat couldn't hurt the snake at all and could be left in overnight (as, of course, could F/T if your determined to try it).

The leaving alone only applies to F/T and fuzzy or crawler rats - bigger rats also need to be supervised. You really don't want to see what a rat can do to a snake if given the chance **shudder**

You should get a small rodent holder to keep any uneaten meals with water and food etc - no reason they can't be re-offered next week after all.

Hi!
Thanks for helping me out with this matter, the setup that I have for my ball it's simple: Half log as a hide, water bowl, repti bark as substrate, heat pad, that's what I was told to be needed, maybe I would need extra stuff, if Im missing something important, please, let me know,

First thing that jumps out is that you would be better with 2 snug dark identical hides rather than only one half log - this doesn't have to be expensive though as there are a lot of things in the local dollar store that will work like plastic bowls or plastic drip trays (for under plant pots) with holes either cut or melted into them to let the snake in and out. I tend to cut then sand the edges and always make it from the edge of the hide rather than cutting a circular hole in the bottom or something.

How are you measuring the temperatures and what are they at both ends of the tank? (we like to measure inside the hides as that is where the snake will spend most of its time once its settled in).

Do you know what the humidity is? (probably not relevant just now but worth fixing while you are doing everything else to minimise disruption).

but for me, my ball looks afraid of live prey, he just attacked the rat to defend himself, and for the mouse, he was under the ball and not even noticed!, but I just noticed that he has two small scars on the neck, maybe an old bites,

They tend to be ambush predators striking from their hides a lot of the time and I have seen insecure pythons eager to feed get "scared" by the prey and immediately go out of hunting mode and into defense mode. Getting him to feel secure in his environment should hopefully help with that.

but at night he is pretty active, always trying to escape or just checking out, I wouldn't say that he is stressed or something, but I'm not too experienced with snakes, perhaps I should stick with frozen ( to avoid unnecesary bites ), but well, this is the ball python setup, oh and 20 gal tank! Any comments will be welcome!

Actually that does sound like he is slightly stressed. Most Bp's spend most of the time in their hides rather than constantly active (you did mean all night yeah? ).


dr del

[betoiguanas]

Well, not exactly, sometimes at night I go to the restroom, and then I go to take a look at the tank, and he is in his log, not moving at all, of course this doesn't happen all nights, but yeah, most of his daytime he is inside his log, sometimes he moves around a while, then goes back to the log, I guess it's typical in ball's behavior, right?

[betoiguanas]

I have another question, how often ball pythons shed their skin? I'm asking because mine shed about 3 or 4 weeks ago, and now I noticed that its eyes turned blue and its belly got a pinky red or some! I tought that could be a thermal burns but no, just checking its eyes I knew what's going on! Could be this normal?

[Schlyne]

I have another question, how often ball pythons shed their skin? I'm asking because mine shed about 3 or 4 weeks ago, and now I noticed that its eyes turned blue and its belly got a pinky red or some! I tought that could be a thermal burns but no, just checking its eyes I knew what's going on! Could be this normal?

That's pretty normal for a shed cycle.