We often hear of snakes not eating f/t rodents and offer many suggestions for what could be wrong. I made a very obvious mistake last night that illustrated one reason why a snake may not eat. Those of you with more experience may not think of this one, but I wonder how many of my fellow newbies make this mistake and wonder why their ball python isn't eating.
I had put a rat fuzzy in a plastic bag and put the bag in moderately hot water to thaw the rat. I became involved in a few things but eventually took the rat to feed my ball python. She seems to respond to spinning, so I spun the rat by its tail in front of her hide. For a few weeks now, she's hit her food items within seconds of my using this technique. Last night, she wanted nothing to do with it.
At this point, I hadn't really touched the rat except by its tail. As I lifted the rat from the cage, the body swung against my hand and felt cooler than I would have thought. I shot the rat with my temperature gun and found the skin to be about 77 degrees F.
I rewarmed the rat in more hot water. I forgot to check the skin temperature when I finished, but it felt warmer to the touch. When I offered the rat again, she took it immediately.
In the past, I remember successfully feeding her mice that were about 88 degrees F skin temperature. I'm going to try to remember to check skin temperatures before feeding and see what temperature range she likes.
More good news is that this is the biggest single food item that she's ever eaten. I realize that I'm not being aggressive enough in giving her food, but I'm increasing her intake. She weighs 155 grams, and this rat was 20 grams.
Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.
