Ball Python Question

[Serpentine99]

One of my friends got a baby ball Python for Christmas and i saw it today and he said it hasnt eaten since, im pretty worried about it and i was wondering if you guys could give me some advice about feeding these things, since i know many of you have some of these snakes yourself. That way i could go over his house and try to help him get it to feed or just tell him what he should do. Thanks

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

has he tried live?

Originally Posted by Serpentine99

One of my friends got a baby ball Python for Christmas and i saw it today and he said it hasnt eaten since, im pretty worried about it and i was wondering if you guys could give me some advice about feeding these things, since i know many of you have some of these snakes yourself. That way i could go over his house and try to help him get it to feed or just tell him what he should do. Thanks

[Lori P]

They sure can be very difficult feeders. Do you know what the baby was raised on-- mice pups, rat pups, live, or f/t? I've found that once they start on something, it's hard to get them to switch. You may have to go back to what it was eating and start from there.

It's not unusual for them to go a month without eating. When I got my baby, Sguiggles (sorry Greg) she didn't eat for me for 3 weeks, and that was with the breeder holding my hadn through the whole thing. And even now, in order to get her to eat, she has to be in just the right mood, the mouse has to be just the right temp, and I have to dangle it just the right way or she won't go for it!!!!

Has he been leaving the snake alone to settle in? They are often quite shy, too...

Hope others far more experienced than I can help you, but maybe this gives you a start... :-)

[enigma200316]

pythons can be extreme when it comes to eating, some won't eat live, some won't dead, they even can be picky with color, or fur of food....
you can try mixing up diff. things like color, and live or dead.......
also pythons sometimes won't eat for weeks between meals....... so at this point I wouldn't worry to much unless there is something visually wrong like mites, or respiratory problems............I had one that was 5 feet long one time eat a large rat and didn't eat again for 8 months no matter what I tried...........so like said I wouldn't worry just yet, and try those diff. things or you could just take it to a vet..........................
these are my opinions and I'm not a vet, but I do have experience with them.................................

[Lori P]

I wonder why they are so difficult?! I'm incredibly lucky with Fluffy, my first ball python (the one who started it ALL!! lol) in that she eats both mice and chicks and never misses a meal unless she's in shed. But Squiggles is a whole different ball game.

You're right about the fur thing, too-- Squiggles ate fuzzies for a while and then started refusing them, and out of the blue I tried a small mouse and wham, that was it. Never ate fuzzies again. Like she wanted more fur all of a sudden, lol.

[tikichick]

Have they tried isolating the snake with the food, say in a paper bag or small container (with air holes), overnight?

The food should be the same size around as the largest part of the snake's body. Some snakes will eat things that are huge, but these seem to prefer tummy sized prey.

Mine prefers to eat female mice over male mice, but I've found that getting the f/t mice around 70 - 85 degrees and dangling or walking it along in front of him works regardless.

I recently visited a friend with a large bp that hasn't eaten in a month. She was offering food to him in the cage and the cage has two hides and a small water bowl, aspen bedding, vines, and hardly anyplace to move around. I suggested a larger enclosure, bigger bowl so he can soak, and to remove the hides and water at feeding time and put some newspaper over the aspen. Mine will move around a lot when he's eating and needs space to do the constricting and getting the mouse in his mouth. So he's got about the equivalent of 10 gallons of free space at feeding time to do his thing.

I hope it eats for them soon

[Serpentine99]

Thanks guys, im going to ask him today what hes tried and what he hasnt, also if he is feeding it live or dead, but apparantly i dont have to worry too much at this point. i wasnt sure exactly how long they could go without eating so thats why i asked, thanks again.

[enigma200316]

not a problem, any time, thats what we're hear for............

[adamanteus]

Someone touched on the handling issue already. I have found that newly acquired Python regius (we call them Royal Pythons in the UK) settle to eating more quickly if they aren't handled. But then I'm not a great advocate of unnecessary handling anyway.

[enigma200316]

Originally Posted by adamanteus

Someone touched on the handling issue already. I have found that newly acquired Python regius (we call them Royal Pythons in the UK) settle to eating more quickly if they aren't handled. But then I'm not a great advocate of unnecessary handling anyway.

I call them that as well James, it just seems the are commonly known as Ball Pythons...............