New snake won't eat...help

[angie7]

Hi, I'm new. I've been lurking around for a few days now and have learned so much from all of you! But I have one problem, my snake hasn't eaten yet. I've had her for 1 week on Monday and tried to feed her twice with no luck. I bought her from a pet store (bad, I know) and they said they had her for about a week and they couldn't get her to eat either. I assumed the reason she wouldn't eat for them is b/c they weren't taking very good care of her. Her tank was barely heated, she was so cold when I got her out, she also had no hide, and her eyes looked bad, almost like she didn't shed correctly but I realized it was lack of humidity after I got her home. Her eyes look great now! So I figured I would bring her home and set her up right and hopefully she would eat for me, but that hasn't happened yet. I've only tried frozen but considering a live feed shortly. I'm worried about getting stuck with a mouse. They tried to fed her a live the nite I bought her but she wouldn't.

I had a redtail boa before so I'm not a complete novice. She was a great eater too so this is new to me. I have soon to be 3 y/o twin girls and this snake was a request for one of their bday presents (plus I wanted another one too ) My other twin loves mice, hence why I don't want to get stuck with a live feed b/c that would become a pet as well

She is in a 40 gal reptile tank with a CHE, UTH, the temp on her hot side is 92, the cool side is 83, and the air is 75. She has 2 hides on both sides but prefers the cool side. The humidity is around 50-60%. She doesn't run her cage which I know can be a sign of stress. She does come out at nite after everything is turned off. She is approx 3 ft long and seems to be at a good weight.

I know I probably shouldn't worry about her not eating since I know that they can go long periods without food but one concern of mine is the pet store where I got her is going to be calling me next week to ask if she has eaten. B/c if not, they want to force feed her which I DO NOT want them to do. But if I don't get her to eat in the future, I might have to resort to this and if I lied, well I can't really tell them about it.

I've tried feeding her in a bag and also in her cage, leaving the mouse with her for 30 mins. She just crawls over it like it isn't even there. I think I may be pushing her to eat too soon but I'm really worried about the place I got her wanting to force feed her! I told the lady that I bought her from that I did not like that and she said "well it isn't as bad as you think"...Any ideas?

TIA!

[Royal Exotics]

Hi Tia!
Congratulations on your new addition! I wouldn't get worried enough about the feeding to consider force feeding just yet. Force feeding is extremely stressful to snakes and you may end up causing more problems if it is not even needed yet.
Do you know how old the snake is, or have a weight on her? Do you know when her actual last meal was? If you could even post a picture this would help to determine if she looks to be underweight as you say..
I also get the feeling that her enclosure may be a bit too big for her. A 40 gallon tank is fairly large for a ball python, especially one that is young and this may cause her to feel insecure and therefore not eat.
Have you considered using a rubbermaid as her enclosure? There are strong sided debates to rubbermaids vs. tanks, but you may get a better feeding response in a rubbermaid, where its smaller and the snake feels more secure. They are also MUCH easier to control temperature in humidity in.
If she doesn't take a meal, I'd wait a week or so and then offer again, instead of offering every few days as this may stress her out as well.
Finally, I would try a live meal. Some snakes are very difficult to get to eat f/t in the first place, and she may have no interest in a f/t meal if she hasn't had one before. She may be used to live and you may get a better response from this. Just make sure to monitor your live feedings.

[angie7]

Thank you for your post. I don't think she is underweight, she looks good to me but I will post some pics as to get your opinion.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/gdlover5/010.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/gdlover5/078.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...over5/0731.jpg

We got the 40 gal so we wouldn't would have to buy multiple tanks (the only size we have here is a 10 gallon that isn't being used) and we got a glass tank so our kids could see her. Are there any signs of her being insecure in a tank?

ETA: I don't know her age, her last meal, nothing. They said she was around a year old but I'm not sure if they know for sure. I've been thinking about taking her to the vet for a check up but I don't want to stress her out so soon.

The pics of her being held are the day we got her. We have left her alone while she has been here but we were setting her tank up that nite is to why she was out.

[JeffJ]

let her get used to her surrounding. she will eat she is more then big enough to skip a meal or 2. she could be a little bit stressed from the transition and i might be missing them but i dont see any hides just dome objects in the tank. also whats you warm and cool side temps and whats your humidity at? some as simple as being too hot or cool by only a few degrees can cause a hunger strike.

[Royal Exotics]

She looks to be a fairly decent size.
One thing I did notice in the photo..it seems that you are using one of those dial stick-on thermometers. Those are notorious for being incorrect in taking temperatures. I would get a digital thermometer and that way you know your husbandry is ok.
You seem like you have a lot of "stuff" in your setup, which is good, it would help to keep her secure as opposed to having a large open space.
Going to the vet for a checkup is a good idea in general to make sure nothing is wrong. If you can, try to save a stool sample when she next goes and bring that with you so the vet can check for any possible parasites.
In the meantime, I would say to leave her alone as much as possible, and when it comes time to feeding, I'd offer her a live meal. From my perception in the pictures, I think that a mouse would actually be too small a meal for her. She could take a rat if there are any in your area. But you could always start out with a smaller meal just to get her started. The only problem with that is that some ball pythons can get hooked on mice, meaning having to feed multiple mice when they become too small for a single feeding. This is not the case for all, but it definitely happens so I'd try and go for a rat feeding if it's possible.
I hope this helps somewhat!

[micbrown]

hello,

I had the same problem..mine didnt eat for a month after bringing him home. I also had too big of tank (40ga). After much good advise from this site he is eating now. I would recomend to clutter the tank as much as possible. Give it some time. only offer food once a week. Try live. It took mine weeks to get adjusted.

Try wadding up newspapers & cover the bottom of the cage..It will make him feel secure.

Good Luck!

[mooingtricycle]

dont let them forcefeed that snake.

Wait for the weather to warm up. The snake will be fine without food for quite awhile..

In the meantime. get yourself a scale. Staples or wal mart will have one ( Mail type scales are fine)

Weigh her, and just check her once every two weeks to monitor her weight. If she starts rapidly losing weight you need to see a VET. NOT the petstore.

Otherwise, that animal looks in very good health, and just needs to be left alone to settle in. Let things warm up.


If you INSIST on the animal feeding, try different prey items ONLY once a week. Otherwise, Leave the animal alone, in a low traffic area of the home. Stress can cause them not to eat. But also, its winter, and breeding season. Many many ball pythons go off feed around this time. Its not much to worry about so long as the animal isnt losing weight rapidly.

[angie7]

Thanks so much for all your advice! She is in our living room right now which might be too noisy for her so we will move her to our bedroom where it is more quiet.

She looks to be a fairly decent size.
One thing I did notice in the photo..it seems that you are using one of those dial stick-on thermometers. Those are notorious for being incorrect in taking temperatures. I would get a digital thermometer and that way you know your husbandry is ok.

I do have a temp strip but I don't follow what it says. The thing in the back is for the humidity. I actually use a thermometer for baking (that has the long metal probe on the end) to check the substrate temps. I did buy a digital but the darn battery is dead (I didn't check it before I bought it) and I haven't had time to get one yet. The baking thermometer says the sustrate temp is 92 on the hot side, 83 on the cool side and 75 for the air. From everything I have read, that is okay?

she could be a little bit stressed from the transition and i might be missing them but i dont see any hides just dome objects in the tank

There are 2 hides in her tank. Her body is hiding one of them in the one pic and I didn't post any of the other hide. Here is a pic with both of them...they are the same, just one is a little taller then the other.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/gdlover5/004.jpg

[Kaorte]

I can think of one good reason why she isn't eating.

You said she spends most of her time on the cool side. Are you controlling the UTH with a thermostat or Dimmer? She is not going to eat if she doesn't have a place to properly digest her food at the right temperature.

You should get some proper thermometers and hydrometers pronto! They sell Acu-rite indoor outdoor thermometers at wall mart, home depot, and lowes. They are about $12 and they work wonderfully. Make sure when you get one, you get the one with the probe thermometer!

:3 Hope this helps.

Edit: also, the petstore has no right to force feed her. Don't let them. It is not their snake anymore.

[angie7]

I can think of one good reason why she isn't eating.

You said she spends most of her time on the cool side. Are you controlling the UTH with a thermostat or Dimmer? She is not going to eat if she doesn't have a place to properly digest her food at the right temperature.

I have seen a lot of people talk about this on the site yet I don't really understand what it means. Are you talking about a timer and only let it come on certain times of the day for so long or something that doesn't allow it to fully heat up? Can someone explain this and what I need to do?