I usually do not enter threads that seem to have veered off the track a bit, but I thought I would throw my opinion in the mix as well. Like Adam, I have never force fed anything in the 6 years we have been doing this. With that said, I have had to assist feed plenty of hatchlings to get them started. Fortunately I have never had to force feed one to keep it alive. In my opinion you should never have to force feed an animal over say 120 grams. If a Ball Python is 400 grams, for instance, it has apparently eaten before and knows how to eat. It will eat again when it is ready (assuming there are no husbandry issues). I believe that someone else mentioned somewhere in the thread that Balls can go long periods without eating. I had a WC girl go 55 weeks before she started eating (I don't know how long she had not eaten before I got her). I treated her for internal parasites when she came in, set her up properly and commenced to attempting all types of food item in many different fashions until she decided it was time. Now she is a great breeder for us.
My .02.
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