Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My ball python Max has not eaten in 2 months. I've had him since he was a couple months old. Now he's almost a year. He's always eaten once a week live or frozen small rats. One week it was live, the next week frozen. And he would always eat. But it's now been 2 months....I've tried frozen small and medium rats, live small and medium rats, live mouse, and frozen mouse (adult). Wouldn't touch any of them. Well, he did strike at the live rats that I put in his cage. He stuck them numerous times (I think out of anger?) I've seen him strike one or two times before actually constricting his prey, but he always eventually constricts. This time he just strikes numerous times.

What is going on here?
I don't have the money to take him to a vet....could he have parasites? I've checked for external mites, but maybe he has internal mites?

Is this common for a juv. ball python to not eat for 2 months?

Please help, I'm very worried about losing my baby.

0.0.1 Banded Sand Snake
0.0.1 Boa Constrictor
1.0.0 Sugar Glider
1.0.0 Ball Python
0.0.1 Tarantula
1.0.0 Gerbil
1.0.0 Ferret
0.2.0 Cat
0.1.0 Rat

Max looks good. Yes a juvi will go off feed also. I am going to assume that your temps and everything else are fine. Just keep offerring him something weekly. As long as he is not losing a lot of weight He will be fine. From the pic he looks healthy. Be patient soon enough he will eat again.
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1.0 Het for pied
0.1 Het for Pied
1.5 normal balls
1.1 bearded dragons
0.1.0 Sulcata tort
1.3 kids
1.0 husband
To many little critters list

Like melindas said, your snake looks healthy and it is pretty common for ball pythons to go off feed.

The repetitive striking is the snake defending itself because it feels threatened by the rat. The rat is getting severely traumatized by the event and so is the snake, because the snake doesn't want to eat the rat and both parties just want to get away but can't.

Try leaving the snake alone for a couple weeks without offering any food and then offer the same prey item that it had the last time it ate. Make sure that your temps are as close to perfect as you can - 90 degrees hot side, 80 degrees cold side. Sometimes a temperature drop will trigger going off feed for breeding season.

Don't start to worry until it's been at LEAST 6 months or the snake starts to visibly lose weight.
Good luck!

~jenny
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1.2 normal ball pythons (Cindy, Darwin, and Periscope)
0.2 rescue chinese water dragons (Yoni and Linga)
0.0.1 Mountain Horned Lizard
1.0 rex rat (Scurvy)
1.0 gerbil (Yerbul)
0.1 mice (Cute Girl Mousy)
0.1 bunny (Spazz)
1.1 betta fishes (Vicious and Killer)
2.2 great danes (Shasta, Odysseus, Merlot, and Watson)
1.0 fat fuzzy mutt (Smokey)
1.1 cats (Thidwick and Turtle)
3.0 horses (Buddy, Sam, and Scout)
1.0 goat (Billy Jack)
0.0.1 chupacabra (it ate our chickens)

jenny.thegreenes.org

Try not to handle him , make sure his temps are good , do not introduce any food to hime at this time it could be stressing him out anyway, wait ten days and then offer him live prey , his weight looks good , he will feed when his body tells him to just be patient and give him plenty of privacy and make sure he has plenty of water availuable at all times , it is common for this to happen sometimes with ball pythons, Max will be fine.

Thank you everyone for all your help. I was starting to get really worried. I will take everyone's advice. And give you all an update on how he's doing and when he finally eats.

Thanks again.
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0.0.1 Banded Sand Snake
0.0.1 Boa Constrictor
1.0.0 Sugar Glider
1.0.0 Ball Python
0.0.1 Tarantula
1.0.0 Gerbil
1.0.0 Ferret
0.2.0 Cat
0.1.0 Rat

ok, mine hasn't eaten in 3 1/2 months. he's still fat and he's exactly 36 inches long. he's 3 1/2 years old. and i have no clue y mine isnt' eatin either! but i aint' worried. neither should u, mine eats live rats and. and one time he just ate it and hasnt eaten since.

GOOD LUCK! and DO NOT WORRY!