Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last July, yes, LAST JULY, I purchased a group of BP's from a prominent BP breeder! They had all eaten before they were shipped! I had no reason to not believe this as they had obviously eaten SOMETHING at some point! Well, in that group was a male Mojave! I tried everything AND every trick I knew to no avail! Not until about a month ago, did I start to really get concerned as he mantained good body weight! Well, tonight, May 5, 2007 he has eaten!!!!! Ten months without a meal! So I hope this story helps some of the "newbies" who panick cause their new Ball they got "over the weekend" hasn't eaten yet! You've got some time! BTW, I witheld the name of the breeder cause even though this turned out fine, I don't want anyone to associate the breeder with this situation!

You have got to be kidding?!! That just plain sux. I'm not sure I have enough patience to handle *that* length of time. Oh man.

I believe the record was 22 months by a Ball Python the was in some zoo in Philly. My old male went 13 months one year so patience is definately a virtue when dealing with these guys. As long as they are holding their weight don't panic

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

I am curious does this apply to captive hatched imported babies also who have not fed yet and have not built up any fat reserves yet to maintain for that long of period, all of my 0.5 ch normals with the exception of two have already fed , I am not worried at all I will wait for a small period of time before I attempt to feed the stuborn two about another week, they are all in a vision rack with good temps and high humidity , I am very happy with them they are very active now and I just observe then from time to time I am not handling them at this point for some time until they get accustomed to their new enviorments and get at least three to four meals in them.

My old male went 13 months one year so...

{grin}Just exactly how did he squeeze 13 months of fasting into one year!{/grin}
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

It happens and if you want to avoid it, don't get a BP. I have one that went 8 mos for no apparent reason. Through the years, I have "lived" and "learned" so I just don't sweat it anymore.

On a side note, I have an adult male chondro that will gorge himself for about 4 months of the year. Then he just quits feeding.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles