Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK I bought a non feeding hatchling ball python and I just wanted to know if any one have any tips I can try to get him to eat. The one thing I have noticed is that he has no interested in the food I leave for him,So if you have any tips and or advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Max

Have you tried feeding both live and dead? if it is dead, try dangling it infront of him with a pair of tweezers. My ball is full grown and I have never had a hatching so I dont really know how to feed them. I also had a python when it was only 2 feet and had a lot of problems feeding both of them. The only thing I can say is to try everthing and eventually you will find a way that they like to be fed. Try not disturbing the snake before you try to feed it. Try feeding in the cage and in a box. If you train the snake to feed in the box it will get into a pattern and when you go to reach your hand in the cage it will know that it is not food and then when it is being fed in the box it will know that it is getting food.

Em

First thing I would do, is not do anything with the ball python for about a week. He needs time to settle into his new home. Also, what are you housing it in? How large a cage, the warm temp? cool temp? Humidity level? Substrate?

Also, what have you tried so far to get him to eat? More information on what has already been tried and the snakes setup will make it easier to suggest what to do next. Also, has this snake ever eaten? and How old is it? If only a few days old, it wont' eat till it has shed and maybe up to a few days afterwards.

i have the snake in a 20 gallon tall tank the temp is about 80 i'm not sure about the humidity .I have everything the snake needs in the tank aswell. The snake is about a month to a month and a half old so i should of hade it first shed . I bought the snake saturday so i guess i'll see what happends when i try feeding him this weekend.

if your snake has already had its first shed then it wont shed again until it eats. It takes about a week and a bit for the snake to actually get used to its habitat. They have to adjust to the new settings and humidity levels and heat. Make sure to spray the tank once a day, I spray it at night just before the lights turn off. This will guaruntee that there is some sort of humidity. Also its a hatchling and I have heard lots of stories from the pet stores that their hatchings wont feed, for some reason. I got my first ball python when it was a couple months old and had problems actually eating. It would strike at the mouse until it died and then it would just leave it alone, not actually constict it. Ball pythons are very finiky eaters but once they get on a schedule there will be no problem feeding it once a week even when it is 4 ft long. Try feeding your snake a smaller meal. Maybe that will help, somone also told me that braining it works, this is where you cut the head open and let the brains out so that the snake it more able to see the heat. If your snake it eating finally, thats great if not reply...

I've been offering the snake food every other day and nothing . I've given it live ,dead ,fuzzies and pinkies and it's not even intertested in the food i've had the snake for almost 3 weeks and i can't get it to eat . Any one got any other ideas i can try i've tried a coulpe thing that have got my other snake to eat but nothing is working so i'm kind of at my wits eand with this one.

i found out that the snake went through it's first shed in april and still hasn't eaten.

has your snake eaten yet? ball pythons are very finiky eaters. you might want to try and see if your pet store or a supplier can get you fuzzy or pinki rats or fuzzy or pinki gerbils. try monitoring its weight with a kitchen food scale. you don't have to worry too much unless it's losing weight.

if worse comes to worse you might have to force feed it. the snake won't like it, but if it's losing weight you'll have to try. you could get a reptile vet to do it if you are unsure. you'll need to hold the snake's head in one hand and gently open its mouth. the instructions i was originally given said to pull on the underside of it's jaw gently. push in a small mouse with a pair of tweezers and try to get it in past the jaw. the snake's muscles should work by themselves after that point. put it back into the terrarium and leave it for at least 48 hours. any handling within this time could cause a regurgitation. good luck!