Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I acquired a ball python in early January. He has not yet eaten for me. I've tried F/T pinkies, F/T fuzzies, dark quiet rooms, wiggling the mouse, dipping them in chicken broth, warming them up body temp. NOTHING works. I'm starting to become extremely frustrated. He doesn't have enough body mass to be not eating. WHen I got him he weighed 90 grams. Currently he's around 85 grams. My other ball will eat ANYTHING I offer her. I don't understand it. What can I do? If he doesn't start eating soon I won't be able to keep him. It's not fun for me to be this frustrated every week when I try to feed him.

No where around where I live will sell anything live less than adult size. He can in NO way eat a live adult mouse. So offering live prey is not an option.

I think that if this trend continues, I sadly may have to try to find someone who could take better care of him than me. I apparently am not doing something right. Temps are perfect, I don't handle him much as he hasn't started eating. I'm so upset and confused.

My new BP will not eat F/T either. If you want to feed him then you might consider live food. BPs are very stubborn at times, you might have to start him on live.

Jason

I am sure if you look hard enough you will find small live mice. Where are you located? Someone on here will help you out!

you really need to try live. if the snake is anywhre near 85-90 grams it should be able to eat a hopper mouse. buy the smallest mouse u can & try it. if it is to big for him he will know & not eat it. if that doesn;t work buy 1 male & 2 female adults and breed your own mice for a while. its not difficult. most ball pythons especially youngsters will only eat live. hope i could help.

np

Someone in your area must have some pinkies they can part with.

State College pa. Right in the middle of the state

I am not close to your location.

You really should try calling local pet shops or maybe someone on here is closer to you than I am. As Corey said above you may have to assist feed the snake. Also, if you are really unable to find baby mice you can make a food mixture and tube feed the snake. I think you use chicken baby food and pedialyte (sp?), I can get you the exact recipe. Let me know what you want to do and I would be glad to help if I can.

I had a little female that wouldnt eat for 7 months. She dropped from 90grams to 65. I force fed her pinkies at that point a few of times and she gradually showed more and more interest in food (maybe its an age thing?), until one day she took a very small fuzzy and has been eating like a champ ever since.

an 85-90 gram snake can handle an adult size mouse - go to the pet store and find the smallest one they have - talk to the manager and see if they can order some smaller ones from their supplier.

Your snake needs to eat - but I would use assist feeding as the very last resort - like I said the last time you posted - the pet store had to be feeding him something - so they'll have more of it there - go ask.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

11.42.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.1.0 Bredls Python (Smurfette)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.0 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

I agree...85 gram bp can handle a small adult mouse without any problem

I usually start feeding females small adult rats (50-90 grams) once they reach 400 grams.
I never feed hatchlings anything smaller than a rat pup or small mouse (15-30 grams).

Sometimes putting assisted feeding does work, but this is not the same as force feeding. Assisted feeding for hatchlings consists of taking a small warm pinky and placing it deep in your hatchlings mouth and then put the snake back in its container...about 1 time in 10 it will actually eat the pinky instead of spitting it out. So basically you just keep trying until it eats. I would try a small live mouse first, however

Good luck
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when life hands you lemons, make super lemons, bumblebees, etc...

I just fed my other snake an adult mouse. Are you sure the baby could eat that? It seems significantly larger than he is. I thought the food was supposed to be as wide as the snake at its widest point.

I think a 90 gram snake CAN eat a small/med. mouse, its just that the non-eaters usually are very timid and the larger the prey, the more it seems to scare them? Pinkies seem to peak the snakes feed response without scaring them as much? At least thats what I have found to be true - I have been known to be wrong however- ohh well?

Time to switch to live...even if you have to breed you own..i had snakes like this..the dark room method ...that usually does it but start you snake on small prey pinky's/fuzzy's i know it seems small but the snake need to develop confidence..it may sound strange but your snake needs to build it up and feel strong and in charge.. a loss of 5 grams isn't that big of a deal and really isn't that uncommon at this part of the season...I do not recommend force feeding unless ABOSULUTELY necessary..the stress can kill your snake as well as too much pressure... Try finding those really furry mice too they almost look like nappy hamster mice hybrids lol...their more tempting than gerbils because they hold so much scent..drives my snakes wild....The best thing about fuzzy's and pinkies is you can leave them in the tank over night and their not old enough to attack your snake...thats a big plus..that way you can give your snake the distance it may crave..if not scent the mice with rat scent
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we're here because a hobby became an obsession... if only every one had this much fun

some days your the dog, some days your the hydrant...don't know who started this saying but it's the truth

HE ATE!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited!

Thanks for all the help everyhone!

details! lol congrats
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we're here because a hobby became an obsession... if only every one had this much fun

some days your the dog, some days your the hydrant...don't know who started this saying but it's the truth

I held a fuzzie mouse warmed up to body temp from a pair of tongs. I wiggled it around and he struck. He bit it and then let go. Then curled up into a ball. So I pushed the mouse against his mouth and he opened and took it.

I tried this again a few days ago and he wanted nothing to do with it. I'll try again tonight. How often do you think I'll have to help him eat before he'll start on his own?

its hard to say how often you will have to do this...i have had them start feeding right after the first tease feeding...but sometimes it will take you more....just be patient ..if he did it once he will most likely do it again later
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we're here because a hobby became an obsession... if only every one had this much fun

some days your the dog, some days your the hydrant...don't know who started this saying but it's the truth