Ball Python Refuses to Eat!! Any Help???

I got a Ball Python on May 21 and was told that she ate f/t on May 16. I have tried to feed her several times but she has refused. It has been less than a month so I am not overly concerned yet but starting to get there.

She is about 18 inches long (45 cm). I was told she eats hoppers. I was trying to feed her a f/t fuzzy just to make sure that she could eat it and if she had no problem, I was going to move to a f/t hopper next time.

I heard that if a Ball Python does not eat for awhile, you should try to feed it a live mouse. I was wondering if that is a good idea and how long should I wait before trying? Also does that affect them with eating f/t? If there are other suggestions, please let me know.

Thank you!!

It's to be expected with balls really
What size of tank do you keep her in?

Stress is usually the main reason why they wont eat, and open spaces they can easily get them stressed out.

Do you have lots of hides or plants etc?

Have you tried braining, scenting etc?

She is in a twenty gallon long. She has two hides, a branch for climbing, a plant (covers about half the tank) and lots of aspen covering the floor.

I have tried braining.

I heard that ball python are picky eaters, I guess this is true.

Maybe try divinding half the tank so shes in a much more closed in environment... i have seen balls not eat for months and when put into a much smaller tank, calm down and eventually eat.

They are easily strung out little snakes

BP's seem to have issues about eatting.. I have started to use a 5 gallon bucket with lid to feed the BP's.. I have had BP's take 2 to 3 monthes before they ate.. Live or F/t.. Here is something else I have noticed with one of BP's.. It does not like white mice or rats, they need to be brown or black.. Go figure a racist python.. *LOL*

Regards Tim of T and J

BTW Tula, nice lucei BP for your avatar.

Regards Tim of T and J

Who did you get her from (if you remember)? I'd try picking up a live fuzzy at the next show and going from there. They can be very picky (I'm fighting with lots right now) and you might just need to jump start her again. Let me know who you got her from though if you can remember.

~Katie

My suggestion, is to leave the snake alone for a week. Put somethhing around the glass of the viv, like a towel to obstuct view and do not bother it at all. After a week, quietly put a f/t fuzzy in the viv at night and leave it overnight. Quietly check in the morning. I would hesitate to feed live right away. I once had a Ball Python that was doing the nervous anorexia thing, and when I tried to kickstart it's appetite with a live mouse, it was terrified. That snake held out for 3 months and barely lost weight, so you shouldn't worry too much. Another thing to remember, is that even though you are worried, don't attempt to feed too often. Wait 5-7 days between attempts.
Ball Pythons can be (but aren't always) some of the most nervous snakes ever and they stop eating at the drop of a hat. It seems to me that 2 weeks acclimation is not enough for them in alot of cases.

PtDnsr said:

Who did you get her from (if you remember)? I'd try picking up a live fuzzy at the next show and going from there. They can be very picky (I'm fighting with lots right now) and you might just need to jump start her again. Let me know who you got her from though if you can remember.

~Katie

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I can not remember the guys mane. It was that the Harmar House. He was younger, late twenties/early thirties. His displayed had kings, corns & pythons. I think he is usually along the back wall. The snakes were displayed in the plexiglass tiered display. Will you be at the next show?

lefty_mussolini said:

My suggestion, is to leave the snake alone for a week. Put somethhing around the glass of the viv, like a towel to obstuct view and do not bother it at all. After a week, quietly put a f/t fuzzy in the viv at night and leave it overnight. Quietly check in the morning. I would hesitate to feed live right away. I once had a Ball Python that was doing the nervous anorexia thing, and when I tried to kickstart it's appetite with a live mouse, it was terrified. That snake held out for 3 months and barely lost weight, so you shouldn't worry too much. Another thing to remember, is that even though you are worried, don't attempt to feed too often. Wait 5-7 days between attempts.
Ball Pythons can be (but aren't always) some of the most nervous snakes ever and they stop eating at the drop of a hat. It seems to me that 2 weeks acclimation is not enough for them in alot of cases.

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Thank you. I will leave her alone for a little while.

My Boa was a picky eater at first then we found out why. He was fed live rats before. So now we feed him live stunned rats and he eats. and hes a fierce eater.

Baba-Lou said:

My Boa was a picky eater at first then we found out why. He was fed live rats before. So now we feed him live stunned rats and he eats. and hes a fierce eater.

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I have to agree, the first time I tried to feed my Ball, after acclimation, I offered a pre-killed mouse. He didn't want anything to do with it. I waited three days and put a live rat pup in his viv late at night when he was out, and it lasted all of two minutes. I now feed him live rat pups in a 18 qt sterlite every week, (at night), without problems. Yesterday was the first time I tried offering him a stunned mouse, (they were out of rat pups), and he didn't want anything to do with it until it came to and started to move around the tub. Also, do you have a basking spot? I have a red heat bulb in a corner of the viv and noticed him basking on feeding day before and after eating.... The thing with balls is that they are picky and you have to experiment until you find the right combo, good luck....

Penman6668 said:

I can not remember the guys mane. It was that the Harmar House. He was younger, late twenties/early thirties. His displayed had kings, corns & pythons. I think he is usually along the back wall. The snakes were displayed in the plexiglass tiered display. Will you be at the next show?

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Hmm...wonder if it was Carl or Chris. I don't think we'll be at the next show (not sure if Jonathan wants to make the trip) since we just moved down to VA. You'll see pics when our eggs start hatching though so if you want one just let me know and we can work it out. Sunglows are on day 75 and flourescent oranges are on day 76 so they're starting to drive me crazy.

~Katie

I have a pair of balls. One seemed real finicky at first. I moved her from an all glass aquarium, to one of my tubs in a rack. From that point on, she has been a great eater. I think it did 2 things 1) gave her more privacy 2) upped the humidity I knew I had the right temps, but the screen on the top of the 10 gal let all the humidity out. From my previous experience with them, there are times that they seem to go off feed for no reason..good luck.

John

We had this problem with a Ball recently, my girlfriend bought a newly hatched one. The ball would not eat for about a month. She was getting worried over the snake. I told my GF to not hold the snake for a week or 2. Then I had her try a live feed, placed the hopper in a white bucket (used a litter container with a lid) and set the snake in there for a bit. Came back after an hour. Mouse was gone.

Now we feed this snake live feeds, everyone else gets frozen.

TandJ said:

BP's seem to have issues about eatting.. I have started to use a 5 gallon bucket with lid to feed the BP's.. I have had BP's take 2 to 3 monthes before they ate.. Live or F/t.. Here is something else I have noticed with one of BP's.. It does not like white mice or rats, they need to be brown or black.. Go figure a racist python.. *LOL*

Regards Tim of T and J

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Time for a stupid question:

Is there any way to SAFELY "color" a white mouse? I checked all the fuzzies and hoppers that I have and they are all white.

my guess on coloring... no. Not really safe at all. What is your temp range? They like it warm... I had one in my corn rack and it was a sparce eater... put into my new ball rack with higher heat... eatin machine!!!

If you are trying to feed F/T, what is the temp of the mouse? Make sure it's nice and warm, not room temp, and do the mouse dance with it at the end of some tongs or hemos. Have you tried live yet? I've tried to give mine dead twice now, and both times he went up to it and rubbed on it then nudged it, but didn't eat. I gave those to the Emoryi and threw live in and he perked right up and charged both times.... The last time, I gave him a stunned one that was still kicking, and he went for that too...

My bp's only like white mice and not colored. I guess it is just the snakes preference. I had 13 small hatchlings last year. WHen I got them they wouldnt eat f/t or live for about a month or so. They would have nothing to do with the dead ones and the live ones just scared them. I finally put them in little rubbermaid tubs and then covered the tubs from the light. A week after that I fed them at night with mice that I had stunned. They all ate except for the two that had brown mice. Those two ate white mice a week after they got the colored ones. You wouldnt think (from common sense)that color would have anything to do with it but It might from what I have seen. They still prefer live but If the mouse is too wild the bp's get scared( i also like them stunned so they cannot bite the snake or hurt them). I would reccomend you stun the mice so the snakes can still kinda feel the heart beating but the mouse isn't spastic or harmful to the snake. And please dont leave a live mouse in with a snake overnight (im sure you know that). I have seen horrible pictures of what a mouse can do ... chewing on the snake .

Just my two cents from my experiences hope it helps.
Good luck! those bp's can be a pain.

Meeghann said:

Good luck! those bp's can be a pain.

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Yes they can. I love her but she is a pain. But she is very cute.