Ball python feeding Q.

J.huff23

Arachnoking
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I have been offering my ball python food every week, but he/she ha been refusing food. Not unusual. But when I picked him up so I could get to his water dish, I noticed that his stomach was starting to sink in. So he is getting skinnier even though he has a chance to eat every week.

Im going to get more mice and rats at the pet store tomorrow (closed today). If he doesnt eat then, what should I do? Just let him get skinnier? Or is there some other alternative?
 

David_F

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How are the temp and humidity in the enclosure? What's the ambient temp...not the temp directly on/in the hot spot?

Sometimes BPs just stop feeding for extended periods. Does your snake *look* like it's getting thinner? As long as it looks healthy it probably is. With the BPs I've kept I noticed that they would...erm...suck in their stomach when picked up. Not really an indication that they're losing weight. If you get too worried about it you could get a kitchen scale and monitor the weight with that.

Keep offering food every once in a while. Eventually it'll start eating again.
 

8by8

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I agree with david on this one. I could be temps. I have had some of my bigger snakes go off food during the winter even though the temps were still the same, but never started to loose much weight and get sickly. If you are still worried take it to a good reptile vet. There is also appetite stimulaters you can get at most pet stores. I would check with a vet before I tried that though. I would weigh him and then try to feed him again, then weigh once or twice a week then on until he gets a good appetite going.
 

satanslilhelper

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What size is your BP? I know once mine reached 3ft. that it will sometimes go for the majority of the winter months without eating. It usually starts in Nov. and eats again in March. I always feed it especially well leading up to Nov. so that I know it will be fine. This year mine has still been eating which actually surprised me. If you could post a picture that would also help.
 

jayefbe

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How long has it been off food? What size is it? Where did you buy it (import or CB)?

In all likelihood it is fine. Ball pythons can go months without feeding to no ill effect. There are some tips to get them going though.
 

J.huff23

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How are the temp and humidity in the enclosure? What's the ambient temp...not the temp directly on/in the hot spot?

Sometimes BPs just stop feeding for extended periods. Does your snake *look* like it's getting thinner? As long as it looks healthy it probably is. With the BPs I've kept I noticed that they would...erm...suck in their stomach when picked up. Not really an indication that they're losing weight. If you get too worried about it you could get a kitchen scale and monitor the weight with that.

Keep offering food every once in a while. Eventually it'll start eating again.
Maybe it was just sucking in his stomach. It scared me though. The temps in the room he is in are in the mid 70's.

Like I said, tomorrow I will see if he will take a frozen/thawed rat. If not, then I will just keep trying later.
 

J.huff23

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What size is your BP? I know once mine reached 3ft. that it will sometimes go for the majority of the winter months without eating. It usually starts in Nov. and eats again in March. I always feed it especially well leading up to Nov. so that I know it will be fine. This year mine has still been eating which actually surprised me. If you could post a picture that would also help.
Well over three feet. Longer than my leg. I couldnt tell you an exact measurement. If I had to guesse I would say close to 4 feet.
 

J.huff23

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How long has it been off food? What size is it? Where did you buy it (import or CB)?

In all likelihood it is fine. Ball pythons can go months without feeding to no ill effect. There are some tips to get them going though.
Has been refusing food for a month, maybe longer. I got it from a relative who must have gotten him dirt cheap (somewhere in ohio).

So I have no clue whether he was imported or CB. I will see how the feeding goes tomorrow, then update this thread.
 

satanslilhelper

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Can you post a pic? I think from what info. you've given us that you'll be fine. Almost everyone that I've talked to that owns bp's go through this every winter.
 

ZooRex

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Temps are important, but I think the reason your BP is refusing is because you were feeding him on a weekly schedule.

Honestly, its one of the biggest misconseptions of reptile keeping: "gettum on a feeding schedule." What could be more unnatural? Snakes are not meant to be constantly full and when they are kept that way they often start refusing food.

I learned from my female BP that she simply did not want to eat on a weekly basis. She has been quite happy with a small rat every three weeks or so.

For years I had my carpet on a weekly schedule every friday night. All of the sudden last december he stopped being interested in food. This continued for two solid months and it really freaked me out. Upon visiting my reptile vet (a real one with an actaul degree in reptile veterinary) he looked him over, and gave his diagnosis: "Give him another three weeks." I was surprised, but truth be told, a 21odd days later he ate. He has since eaten six meals of varying size since then and has been doing well ever since.

If your BP honestly looks sickly, or there is an obvious problem with this environment then by all means fix it. But it is also entirely possilbe that he is just full and needs some time to sit without any food - as a snake normally would in the wild.
 
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jayefbe

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Do you not have the snake's enclosure heated? Ball pythons are not like a corn snake. They need a hot spot of around 90 F. Get a heat pad (with a rheostat or thermostat) if you don't already have one. Also, definitely make sure he has a good hide so he feels secure. In all likelihood, it's probably an import. And imported juvies or adults (which at three ft it's a juvie) can be a real pain to get feeding.

Also, the weekly schedule thing...I've had balls eat every 4 days for months and then go off feed for months. In the wild they generally go through fasting periods which carries over into captivity.

I breed ball pythons as a serious hobby and have laid out a lot of money in them. Therefore, getting them up to breeding weight is extremely important to me. I've found that the best success comes with offering them food every 4-5 days. Ball pythons will go off feed no matter what you do, they just do that. So my method is to pack them with as much food as possible when they are feeding. If I offer once a week versus once very three weeks it will still go off feed from time to time. It's how much food they get when they are feeding that has resulted in success.
 

J.huff23

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Still not eating. Im not so worried now that everyone says its normal. Im working on getting a hide big enough for him.

Thanks for the help everybody.
 

satanslilhelper

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They LOVE their hides!! I've always used thick cardboard boxes that I've brought home from restaurants that I've worked at. Stuff like wine and beer boxes. After awhile you'll have to swap these out of course.
 

ShawnH

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If it's still not eating and the temps are right try this trick , offer it a frozen thawed baby chick or if those arnt available or are too big , take a regular can of chicken broth and dunk your rodent in it before offering. Some pythons prefer a bird smell to a rodent one and this usually works for me. If that doesn't work you should see a vet.
 
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