He's a ball python. Patience is the order of the day. He will eventually eat. I'm not kidding when I tell you that I have had ball pythons go the better part of two years without eating. Healthy one's can do it and still look pretty good. They lose weight but not as much as you would think after that much time has passed. It's amazing, actually. Fasting for a year or longer is not common but having animals go several months without eating is quite common. I have more than a few ball pythons in my group that haven't eaten since September. I'm not worried about them. It's frustrating but not terribly dangerous (provided they are in good health to begin with). They will eat when they are ready. The propensity to stop eating for prolonged periods is one of the things about ball pythons we don't fully understand. We know that they do it but don't know exactly why. Why one animal stops eating while the one in the cage next to it continues to gorge itself is a mystery.
Having said all that there are some other things you can do to try and stimulate a feeding response.
- Try different types of prey items. Try mice, rats, african soft-fur's, gerbils, etc. Do this only if you are really concerned about your animal. Rats are the best/cheapest source for ball pythons (using protein:dollars as the ratio). Having them develop a taste for something else isn't something you want to have happen.
- Try different bedding/substrate. Some ball pythons feed very well on newspaper, some on cypress mulch, and some on aspen, etc. I can often stimulate feeding by changing the bedding type.
- Try feeding at different times of day.
- If your cage is large, try a smaller cage.
- If you don't have a hide, add one to the cage. If you do have a hide, take it out.
- If you have been feeding pre-killed/FT, try a live animal.
- Offer food when a weather front is moving into your area. If a rains storm is moving in, offer food. I have had great success with this in the past.
- People are going to disagree with me on this but don't be afraid to leave a live food item in the cage for a few hours. A well-fed rat/mouse is not likely to become aggressive toward your snake in such a short amount of time. If it worries you just make sure you leave a water source the rat can use as well as a few small pieces of food. I have some ball pythons that eat regularly, but only do so after the food has been in the cage with them for an hour or more.
Feeding ball pythons can be an art form. They aren't like many other types of snakes that eat whatever you put in the cage. Patience and time. Patience and time.
Regards,
Reply With Quote