Pet snake problem

[tonini3059]

I think she is actually afraid of the rat. My suggestion would be to offer her a smaller and different prey item. I never had this exact problem since I always feed frozen but I had a dumerils boa eat two mice then went on strike for a year. It wasn't until a friend of mine who breeds reptiles took her and tried quail that she actually ate again. Another tip you could try is dip it in turkey baby food, the guy I just mentioned says it is a trick he uses to get picky eaters going again. Besides it has only been two months, if it was a year I would be a little concerned but I am sure she is not starving. It may be good to let her go for a few weeks, then try the different item. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[farmerlor]

Actually it's been three months since her last meal so everyone is worried. I think I will suggest that they leave her alone for a few days before trying some smaller prey.

 

[tonini3059]

Yeah, three months is nothing for a snake, especially a larger one. I have found that if you push feeding them too much they often get worse. Give her a few weeks, if it was mine maybe a month or two, then try something. With mine I can tell when they are hungry because they always come up to the glass and start searching, so if you have noticed diferent behaviour when she is hungry just wait until you see that again.

 

[Dar]

Ball Pythons are notorious for being picky eaters!.. Trust me I have one..lol

When we got our girl she was eating very routine and on a schedule and then for some reason she stopped eating for like 8 months. I was worried but did my research. we finally got her to eat again and all was well in the world...

what I did was:
Offered her a rat on a weekly basis at first, then moved to monthly after about the 4th month.
when she was in her "off stage" we went from frozen back to live with no result, and then went to fresh kill. (after she refused the fresh kill we froze them so we were not wasting them)

make sure she has water and the tank and humidity are at the right temps/levels

check her for mouth rot, it is usually in the corners of the mouth and it kinda looks like the crust from scaly leg mites. also check her for mites

my ball is a female and is over 5 feet long and has the girth of a baseball (NOT soft ball)

it is also the winter and slowing down in eating is normal for this time of the year.. yes they cant feel the cold but they can tell the shorter days.

Gerbils are a favorite of ball pythons but you have to be careful its like giving them chocolate.. and it can be hard to get them off gerbils once you have started

some breeders have had luck with a frozen rat that has been thawed and then re frozen.. the freezing of the rat makes the red blood cells burst.. so with the thaw and re freeze and then thaw again.. the smell of the prey is stronger.

I would also try getting your feeders from a different place... this may sound funny but there is one feed store i cant buy my feeder mice or rats from because none of my snakes will take it (I have 4 snakes) I dont know what it is about the place.. maybe the stock is old.. maybe its they way they were killed (gas apposed to a swift wack) I would ask your feeder guy is he has changed his source for feeders/live feeders.

if i think of more i will let you know but this is just off the top of my head.. feel free to PM me

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I wouldn't worry too much yet. Snakes have very slow systems and can live off a meal for many, many months!

Try leaving her in a dark, quiet area and don't handle her at all for a week or two. Then offer food. Sometimes they just need a chance to chill out.

 

[CoopCrazy]

Could she be trying to Brumate??? Not sure if Boas do this but I have had a Bearded Dragon Brumate a few years ago.. Poor thing I thought it was dead...

 

[Skyesrocket]

We have several ball pythons. I think that the rat biting her did cause this. See if you can find any soft furred rats to feed her. Balls seem to love those. Also, like someone said, check her tank temp.
I think you said you wouldn't do this but chicks are one of our balls favorites. If one hatches with a problem and needs to be put down we give it to the ball.

 

[gritsar]

I agree that it was the rat biting her that turned her off rats. That's the danger of feeding live prey. In addition, the rat bites can actually cause an infection that kills the snake.
My ball Dixie was bit by a pregnant mouse once (I didn't know the mouse was pregnant until I got it home). Dixie went on a hunger strike and refuses first any mouse, then she would eat any color but white mouse (the color of the mouse that bit her) and then she would eat any color of mouse as long as it wasn't pregnant. I swear!
During her hunger strike, when she refused all mice and was too small herself for rats, I fed her gerbils. They love gerbils.

 

[Darkice]

Ho all im new here and i happen to breed ball pythons. Ill put some pics up later because im at work right now. I breed african soft furred rats for my balls because they are super picky. None of my snake ever skip a feeding because of it.
There are several reasons a ball python wont eat. Ill go over some of them.
The enclosure needs to be 92 on the hot side and at least 80 on the cold side. They need a hide on both sides of the enclosure so they can thermoregulate and hide at the same time.
If the snake can see sunlight coming in the house it knows what time of year it is by the shortening/legenthing of days. Its the breeding season right now and they will go off feed for a few months.
Ball pythons are desert snakes and need at least 70% humidity. it helps them shed and prevents respritory infections.
They also require belly heat from some kind of heat mat. The heat lamps dont work because they suck the humidity out of the air. Also heat rocks are a big no no. They get way too hot for a ball.
The heat should be regulated with some kind of thermostat. A normal heat pad gets up to 115 degrees and it will burn your snake.
Some ball pythons are only mouse eaters. They dont like the smell or taste of rats. They need to be fed several mice at a time to keep their weight up.
I feed my hatchlings every 4 days and adults every week for females and every 2 weeks for males. If your breeding they need more food. If its a pet its good every 2 weeks as long as the food item is the same diameter as the widest part of the snake.
They are reclusive and normally hunt at night. most of the time the food will come to them. Try feeding it at night.
Another trick is take a brown grocery bag. Put the snake and the food item in it all night long. The food item has to be dead. Roll the sack down so nothing can get out. Place it back in the enclosure.
If you can get the temps correct and offer 2 hides and have the humidity diled in you should be fine. If the snake wont eat after that then get a vet check up by a Herp vet. Not all vets will kniow what to do with a snake. It might have some parasites.

 

[Darkice]

Here are some that i weighed last month.

and my newest one. a 09 male lesser.