Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Any tips would be appreciated! Got in two gravid wild caughts in Feb, they laid fine, etc. but neither have eaten. Please gimme some tips!

They are housed in the same rack as my other adults who are doing fine - 32 qt tub, aspen bedding, 90 in back, 78ish in the front.

Sorry, no tips for you. If I were wild caught, I don't think that I would eat either...

Right.

Or he could try the following:

1) Plain trip back to Africa.

2) Release poor snake back into wild where it belongs and where her eggs where supposed to have hatched to support the natural ecosystem and balance of wildlife.

3) Help shut down the importation of wild animals, reptiles and other creatures from Africa, South America and other locations where poor governments and indigenous people will sell their heritage and destroy their countries natural beauty for the price of a few shekels.

African Soft Furs, a hide box with a hole in the top not side, and keep dark

I wouldn't personally buy Wild-caught adults for that exact reason. They usually have all kinds of internal parasites and they rarely eat. Many novices unknowingly buy them and the snakes literally starve to death over the course of a year or two. The only thing that seems to work for anyone is gerbils, the problem is that gerbils are expensive, addictive to snakes, and gerbils bite WAY harder and deeper than any rat.

The best way to get a wild-caught ball to eat is to leave it in Africa.

1. Treat - treat them with Panacur and Flaygl

2. Substrate - get yourself some cypress mulch and potting soil - mix it up and put a nice layer of it in the cages.

3. Hide - get a low lying tight fitting hide and cover it with the cypress mix.

4. Isolation - cover their rack spaces so they won't be able to see any of the movement around the rack. If your rack levels are open to the above tub - leave a blank level and cover that as well.

5. Leave them be for a couple of weeks (don't enter)

6. Feed attempt - African Soft Furred Rat, Gerbil, Hamster, Small dark colored rat (wean size) or Large dark colored mouse. Put a bit of rodent food in the tub so the feeder has something to nibble on if it gets hungry - drop it in the tub and leave it over night.

Good luck.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

Tosha,I agree with all that you suggest except the last part:

"- drop it in the tub and leave it over night"

Have you ever seen what a rodent can do to a snake? I have seen many snakes NOT survive the gnawing that rodents do on them when left for extended periods of time. I NEVER trust a live rodent in a cage with a snake for more than an hour or so. Perhaps for a few hours, but only if you can make quick peeks to check that all is okay.

The flagyl and panacur treatment should be repeated in two weeks and these usually help. Flagly often acts as an appetite stimulant. If you are tubing the drugs, add some Pedialyte or Gatorade too.

Good luck!

Susan
SSNAKES Reptiles

Taking the chance is better than letting the snake stave to death - any live feeding comes with issues - WCs don't feed on our schedule - stubborn WCs will starve - you have to do what you have to do.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

If a snake doesn't eat a live rat within a half an hour/hour, it is most likely not going too. I would take the rat out and give another week. Or try something new. If you leave the rat in it will stress her out more, and she definately will not eat. Hope this helps.

Seems like I'm becoming the expert on this topic.
I have not had one WC ball python I could not get to eat.
People like the ones, who posted earlier, need to stay as far away from anything, but CB animals. WC are not for lazy people.
They take work. Sometimes, a lot of work.
But the rewards can be well worth it.
This is how I set up my WC females, and it works wonders.

Tub: I use 44 Qt Rubbermaids. 23"x16.7"x9". I like the tall ones, cause I use quite a bit of mulch for bedding. (see bedding).

Hide: I use Large dark containers for hides. Either pre made hides you can buy at Repitle stores or swaps, or home made hides made from discarded kitchen containers.

Bedding: I use Cyress Mulch. Quite a bit of it. 3" to 4" of it as bedding. It holds humidity, and gives the animal(s) something to crawl thru, on and actually push around.

Heat: I maintain them at 88 degrees. Not much of a fluction.
A little from front to rear, but not much.

Handling: I don't.

Water: Large cermaic water dishes. Almost large enough for them to get into.

Food: Small to medium size rats. I do not feed anything to Ball pythons, but Rats. From hatchlings to adults. No gerbils, Guinea Pigs, Pot Belly Pigs, or Soft Furred Rats.

The key to maintaining WC animals is avoidance of STRESS.
Constant handling, checking, looking at, or just staring at, can cause un due stress in WC animals. Be Ball Pythons or Sand Boas.
They look at us (humans) as a threat. Only over time, will they settle down, and become more trust worthy.

I offer food to my WC females once a week. Late at night. Small rats. Not pinkies, not hoppers, not huge adults. The size most people would call teenager size.

After an hour or so, I remove the rodent if not consumed.
I do this every other week. To this date, I have not kept an adult WC Ball python, that has not started eating on it's own in my collection.

I do not recommend Force feeding. If the animal (snake) is not eating, there is a reason why. Almost 100% of the time, it is a husbandry issue. You have to look at your set up, and see what the snake is not comfortable with.

Keeping Wild caught animals is not for everyone. If you want something to eat 99.9% of the time, don't buy WC. If you want something that doesn't take time to acclimate, dont' buy WC.
If you want something that everyone else has, and be happy with your purchase, then for all means go buy a CB animal. Leave the WC balls to people who have experince with working with diffuclt animals. People who thrive on a challenge. People who are hoping to come up with the next new.... thing.....!!!
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Ron Billingsley
www.ronbillingsleyreptiles.com

Thanks Ron, I was waiting for you to post. I thought I read a good explaination on this subject from you before. I'm gonna print that out and save it in case I ever need it. It's probably helpful for picky eaters in general.

Thanks,
Shelly

First off ignore all the ones telling you to take them back to Africa . Those are the ones that for lack of intelligence or what ever are not capable of dealing with a wild caught animal . It is really simple just study the natural habits of a wild Ball , Make the enclosure as close to there natural habitat as possible , hides with a top access and a darker than normal environment , a night time temp drop is a must and the best thing as for as pray is the African Soft Furred Rat . And you can find breeders of them online but it is best to bye 12 females and 4 males and breed them your self ,when breeding the rats you would not wont to clean the cages as often as you would other rodents this is a hard thing to deal with as the smell can get intense to say the least but it will make them irresistible to the wild Ball . This is just a starting place for you all the rest depends on the circumstances and you can E-Male me any time for advice . Thank god everyone didn’t give up on the first Balls to come out of the wild or we would be missing out on all there companionship . A TRUE Herper can meat any challenge including raising wild caught reptiles with research and the help of those that have been there before them . So be patient and do your research and there is only one dumb question and that’s the one you don’t ask . David of DS Reptile Rescue , Removal & Rehabilitation

Thanks David!

Really appreciate the time it took for you and Ron to type all that! I will give it a try!

Yes Ron Has always had good advice . as a side note I prefer to get them to eat before I try to treat them for internal parricides just to keep from shocking there system with a empty stomach .I may be wrong but it has always worked out for me . David