New Ball Python Not Feeding

[LilDiabeetus]

Hello,
I made a thread last week about my ball python who is refusing to eat. She was hatched 8/16/17 and was shipped to me on 10/3/17. Upon arrival I had a tub ready to go with high temps at 89-92 and low temps around 78, with an ambient temp around 80-82 and a humidity 50-70%, depending on how full the water dish is. I tried feeding her 3 days after getting her with no success, and then waited 7 days to try again with no success. I took to this forum and with your suggestions tried adding more clutter to make her feel more secure. I didn't check on her often these past 7 days but when I did she seemed to be in her hides during the day and coming out to explore at night, flicking her tongue often. I just tried feeding her again with no success and I'm starting to get worried. I plan on leaving the mouse in the tub overnight to see if she will eat it, but otherwise I'm looking for any ideas or suggestions on how to feed.

With the feeding tonight I thawed the hopper mouse out completely for 10-15 minutes, and then heated it up for a minute or so directed at her tub to get the smell to possibly get her interested. I also did take a razor blade and "brained" the mouse to see if that would peak her interest. Upon opening the tub she was moving about and flicking her tongue, and after I dangled the moues an inch or so in front of her she did strike but missed. Afterwards I tried dangling it more and she was not interested, instead moving about the tub and exploring towards the top where I had it open. I placed the mouse in the tub and am now gonna wait overnight. A minute or two after leaving it in there she did go over to it and look down and kind of sniff it but then continued to explore the edges of her tub.

[cchardwick]

Personally I would feed her a live rat pup. Do you know any rat breeders in your area? Maybe you can call a pet store? Live rat pups are perfect for hatchlings, I actually feed 2-3 per week. Since I breed rats (by the hundreds) its easy for me to just pop a rat into the tub and walk away, they always eat it by morning. And if the rat pup is small enough to have it's eyes closed it's perfectly safe to leave in there overnight.

Ball pythons don't want to be fed, they want to hunt. It's instinctive. Just look at all the problems with the big chain pet stores, they have a policy against feeding live so their baby ball python hatchlings that they sell don't eat and they wither away. If the snake was bigger I wouldn't worry too much, adults can fast for months with no problems. But a two month old hatchling is another story. Personally I'd be calling all the pet stores in the area for live rat pups, also see if you can return it if it's not eaten (otherwise it will die without it's mom). FYI, if you have an incubator at about 95F you can put a rat pup in there and it will last for several days, but I'd bring it back to the store after a day or two if not eaten. It's actually easier if you have more than one snake, if one doesn't eat the other one will. And if you have a whole rack of snakes it's really easy, no rodent ever goes to waste. I use King snakes and Retics as my garbage disposals, eating all the left over rats LOL.

[LilDiabeetus]

As far as I know there are no rat breeders in my area but there is one smaller "hometown" petstore that offers frozen feeders so they may have live. If not, would you suggest trying a frozen rat pup instead? Or would "scenting" the mouse/rat with rat litter be effective?

[Sunnieskys]

Just leave it overnight. See what happens.

[LilDiabeetus]

Update because I wasn't able to access the site yesterday:

She did not eat the mouse so I will try picking up a rat pup (frozen or live if I can find) and maybe some litter to try scenting. When I removed the mouse I also weighed her quick and before shipping she was listed at 66g for weight and she was about 64-65g so it doesn't seem like she has lost much weight. My new concern is today I looked in and she was constantly parolling her tub, even though her tub is constantly in the dark, her hotspot was at 92, her cold spot around 80, the humidity was about 45-50%, and she still had the two hides and some vines over the rest of her tub: could this be a sign she is hungry, or somehow still stress?

[Sunnieskys]

I would get the humidity up to 60 and raise you cool side 3-4 degrees. It could be a sign of either or. Also you might if you haven't tried to just leave the mouse in there and walk away. No dangling, just lay it down nice and warm and walk away and check in 3-4 hours. I have a snake that will not eat unless there is no outside stimuli.

ok I read you left it overnight. Try live. Sorry you are goi g through this with your beep.

[LilDiabeetus]

The little hometown store did have live feeders! Would it be too early to try feeding again or should I wait a day or so?

[Sunnieskys]

I would put it in in the evening. Like after dinner. Then leave it till morning. If it didn't work you can always take it back to the store.

[LilDiabeetus]

Just picked up a live pinky rate about the size of the small hopper mice I was trying and will try feeding her later. Any idea on why she is so active? As soon as I open the tub she's trying to make a break for it and even when I pick her up to put her back in she curls slightly but then tries to explore more.

[Quahog]

Bummer you and your lil' noodle is having a rough go of it ! I'm still a newbie myself, and there are more experienced keepers here, just trying to offer some help .

The first time I fed Coco was after a stressful first 2 weeks. (week 1 bad shed, and week 2 letting her settle back in). She was on live when I got her, so switching her to F/T after a bad 2 weeks was a bit stressful!

If your husbandry is on point, you could try covering her enclosure with a hand towel so the snake feels fully secure. I covered the tub for about a week with the hand towel. My first successful feed was F/T hopper left overnight and the tub covered with a towel. Woke up and the hopper was gone! Granted it was a F/T, but could work for a live prey item?

As for the F/T/, After that, the following week, I thawed the hopper next to her tub for a few hours (3-4) may be slight overkill, but this drove Coco nuts. Like a snake's version of a Holiday feast ! She was roaming her tub looking for the mouse. The last 15 minutes is when I put the hopper in a plastic bag, and I put it in hot tap water for 15-20 minutes. After that, I can feel if the mouse's head and belly are warm through the plastic bag. I take it out of the plastic bag, I use a hair dryer on low for 10 seconds, get the head nice and "warm". Coco is "S"ed up even before I open her tub and she strikes, coils, and eats like clockwork. For Coco, I don't get the hopper wet, as she may not be able to smell the prey item. Also forgot to mention I'm using feeding tongs for all food handling.

This chaps guide is what helped me get Coco to switch over:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSX79DpN2b8&t=446s

One sidenote, is it possible your beep is nearing a shed cycle?

Hope these suggestions help and good luck!

(Just saw your new post) It sounds like she may be stressed out a bit .