Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, I know an "off feed" period is normal for lots of balls this time of year. I was hoping my snake would be one of the exceptions to the rule, but like Murphy's Law, she's been off feed since the end of January. She's a yearling that fed like crazy right up until she stopped. Then, that internal switch flipped.

How long do these spells typically last?

I continue to offer food weekly, just to tempt her. What she doesn't eat goes to my other python--a blood.

Honestly, this is frustrating. Normal, I'm sure, but still frustrating.

Yes, the wonderful world of BPs. When mine go off, I don't offer food weekly. I start to offer once every 14 or so days. It saves time since it's likely they are not going to feed and stress on the animal.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Jay,

Do you find that most of your BPs go off feed each year?

How long, on average, would you say the fasting period lasts?

Thanks for your info.

I also keep Chondros and I have found that ALL of my animals go off-feed at some point during the winter months. It has been this way for well over 10 years.

Fasting is different for each. I have some that fast as much as 8 mos of the year. For 4 mos, they pig out, then shut down - all males. I'd say, on average, it's 4 mos.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

we got freaked out when ours quit eating last year. we took 'him' to the vet to check 'him' out... found out that 'he' was actually 'she'... we changed her name and after 7 months of not eating 'she' ate the very next day... I think the two things were related
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-0-1 Rescued Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-2-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet, Isis
0-0-1 Rescued Fit and Trim Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Hi Brian,
I am putting some information together on my site that explains that all Ball Pythons go off feed (especially first year at the sub-adult level but not limited to that), and would love to have a quote or two from you on the subject. If you get a chance in your busy schedule please help a brother out.

Thanks in advance,
Albey

Albey's "Too Cool" Reptiles

Anything for you Albey

Yes the dreaded 600 plus gram wall. We all have seen this happen and undoubtedly it always happens to our best feeders and most promising animals. The truth is that it’s just part of the deal. Some Ball Pythons will feed right through the “wall”, but a large percentage will go into a fasting mode around 600-800 grams or about 8-12 months old. I would imagine that this is because Ball Pythons in the wild are really binge feeders. They will eat as much and as often as they can through the summer getting ready for the times when food (rodents) is scarce. I’ve seen Ball Pythons come out of Africa that are only about two months old that are 500 plus grams. They must feed almost everyday to get that large, but when the time comes to fast they seem to have enough body weight to go a really long time. I agree that every animal is different and we’ve had them go off food for a couple months all the way to just shy of a year. The amazing thing is that they really don’t lose that much weight during this fast. Of course they don’t grow and it can be very frustrating, but I guess it’s part of the Ball Python game. Sometimes when you put them into very small caging and even offer very small meals it can snap them out of their self imposed fast. But sometimes only time will get them going again. I wish I had the magic answer, but I don’t. Patience is what Ball Pythons are all about, if you don’t have patience then you should keep Leopard Gecko’s (that’s for you Albey) Brian (BHB)

With prices coming down on some Ball Python morphs to a level almost anyone can afford, more people are getting into the Ball game. One problem I foresee for Breeders with this is, many new owners are not going to do their homework and learn proper husbandry. On top of that you have the fact that all Ball Pythons regularly go off feed. I can just see the potential problems with customers wanting to know why the animal they got from you is not eating. At least I have a few quotes from some of the big guys to throw at them now. LOL

Thanks again,
Albey

Albey's "Too Cool" Reptiles