Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a ball python, nothing really seems to be wrong with him except he wont eat. i raised him up since he was almost a hatchling i had him eating every week, doing very well he was growing and sheding reqularly. i had a friend who wanted a snake and this was the perfect snake for her. i let the snake go home with her and a month later she said he was not eating she brought the snake back to me and the same day i got him to eat. it has been about 2 1/2 months since his last meal. i have kept the snake ever since to try to get him to eat reqular but he refuses'. every time after he eats he has a prolapse of the rectum. i have takin him to my vet, and he says there is really nothing he can do. i really am going to hate to lose this guy because he is a great little snake. i have tried frozen thawed, live, rat pups small mice, pinkies almost everything i can think of. i hope i have clearly described my problem. any suggestions would be a big help.

Jeff,

How long have you had this Ball Python?
I've had some that stopped eating. A couple for almost 2 years, then just resumed like nothing happened.

It may have been stressed from the move and need to settle back in. I'd keep the temps at approximately 75 degrees for a couple of weeks. Make sure it has water, and give it a place to be out of any light if it chooses. Then start the daily lights again. Hopefully that'll get it to eat again. Try a small meal at first. Don't handle it again until it eats.

Ball pythons can stress an owner alot, but be just fine themselves.

i have had this ball since november. he ate weekly in november. i let my friend take him in january, he came back to me in febuary and ate the first week in febuary and has not eaten since. he live in a 20 gallon long tank with a log that goes up to the heat lamp for him to bask and a water bowl changed daily. and a hide box. i have stopped handling him since he stop eating. i was handling him for 30 minutes every other day before.

Kay, things to try:
Toss the heat lamp. Chances are the snake doesn't really need it and it's drying out the air. Instead, get an appropriate sized Under Tank Heater. Then, get two hides (my snakes seem to enjoy empty cereal boxes) and put one on the cool side and one over the UTH.

Then, leave him alone for about a week, and offer whatever he was eating before he went on the hunger strike.

Hides are essential. If you do nothing else make sure the snake has something to hide in/under.

~jenny
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"The python has, and I fib no fibs,
318 pairs of ribs.
In stating this I place reliance
On a seance with one who died for science
This figure is sworn to and attested,
He counted them while being digested."
~Ogden Nash

jenny.thegreenes.org

"If you're happy and you know it,
Bomb Iraq!
If you cannot find Osama,
Bomb Iraq!
If the terrorists are frisky,
Pakistan is looking shifty,
North Korea is too risky,
Bomb Iraq!

Oh! And you might wanna switch the substrate. I could never keep up good humidity levels with bark. Try aspen or cypress mulch.

~jenny
-----
"The python has, and I fib no fibs,
318 pairs of ribs.
In stating this I place reliance
On a seance with one who died for science
This figure is sworn to and attested,
He counted them while being digested."
~Ogden Nash

jenny.thegreenes.org

"If you're happy and you know it,
Bomb Iraq!
If you cannot find Osama,
Bomb Iraq!
If the terrorists are frisky,
Pakistan is looking shifty,
North Korea is too risky,
Bomb Iraq!

I'd cover the tank so that it's dark through most of it. You could leave the light off if your room stays around 75 degrees.

Also try misting the tank a couple of times during the next couple of weeks. Give him/her a chance to get settled again. If your snake is healthy, and not kept too hot, a few months without food is nothing.

A couple of items that got non-feeders going for me in the past were f/t gerbils and f/t chicks. I just fed one of my finicky ball pythons chicks this past week. Thawed them under a floodlight to make them warm and just laid them in the enclosure and left him alone. They were gone when I checked 30 minutes later.

First - in order for us to be able to help you more, we need information about your setup. Just telling us he's not eating doesn't give us any idea as to why
Information that could be helpful - how old is he? What's his setup like? Is he in an aquarium, tub, shoebox? Whats the temperatures on hot/cold sides? Does he have hides? Have you or your lady friend been handling him? If you do handle him, how long do you have him out for?
Stuff like that will let us know if there is a potential husbandry problem that might be easy to fix.

Second... This is a ball python, my friend. They do this sometimes. I have a male whose last meal was in January, and just last Saturday he finally took a rat for me. He didn't lose much, if any, weight, and he's otherwise just fine.
If your snake is not losing weight, and otherwise looks healthy, don't worry about it not eating until at least 6 months have gone by. It's hard to wait but the snake will start eating when it's ready. So...stop worrying! Your snake looks fine

In the meantime, don't handle it much, if at all, and don't move it around or put it somewhere new to live. Stuff like that might stress it out and make it take even longer to start eating again.

Hope that helps!

~jenny
-----
"The python has, and I fib no fibs,
318 pairs of ribs.
In stating this I place reliance
On a seance with one who died for science
This figure is sworn to and attested,
He counted them while being digested."
~Ogden Nash

jenny.thegreenes.org

"If you're happy and you know it,
Bomb Iraq!
If you cannot find Osama,
Bomb Iraq!
If the terrorists are frisky,
Pakistan is looking shifty,
North Korea is too risky,
Bomb Iraq!

In humans a prolapsed rectum requires surgery. Unless there is something about ball pythons that makes them different in this regard I would assume (someone correct me if I am wrong) that this snake needs surgery. If your vet can't do it find another vet. If you can't find one contact your nearest zoo. They will probably know of someone who can do it.
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I eat human infants. They, like everything else, taste like chicken. What?

the nearest good reptile vet is over 100miles away and he says he will stitch the rectum until it is about time for him to pass fecal matter and remove the stitches after he is done deficating then reapply stiches this become very expensive and the zoo closest to me recommended me to this vet. thats why i am on here trying to find some alternative.

keep him of feed so the vet can just leave the stitches in. As long as his weight is stable and he doesn't look skiny he can go without food for a long time. I have one that goes six months with no negative outcome. I would be more worried about that prolapse for now.
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I eat human infants. They, like everything else, taste like chicken. What?

I'm a little confused. Did the snake have a history of prolaspes in the past? You said it does it every time it eats. If so you thought that this was a good snake for a beginer?

Prolapses are fairly common in GTP's. They can be gently coaxed back in by a variety of methods. One way is coating the prolapse with a sugar and water solution. Another is gently using a q-tip. Follow this link- its very helpful:

http://www.sprucenubblefarm.com/chondros/greentreepythoncaresheet_uncommonproblems.php