Reptile & Amphibian Forums

To start this thread is about feeding W/C balls..I would like opinions...I would not like people to talk about how they dont think people should buy W/C animals..thats no help to me. anyways on to the story.
Ok so I bought some W/C adults recently 2 1000 gram Yellowbellies to be exact...they were represented to be non-feeders and I believe the guy I bought them from had only gotten them recently as one seems to have just laid eggs (she looks rather deflated) and he said she never laid for him. anyways he claims to have tried everything from the type of rodent to live or dead and even tried changing the environment and still no luck. I get them and the one that didnt look like she laid eggs takes a pre-killed small rat from me the first time I offered! I was very excited about that...then to top it all off she took a F/T jumbo rat from me a few days later (yesterday) with little to no effort on my part. the other one on the other hand was very well represented on the non-feeder end. I broke down and force-fed her a few hours ago...basically I want to know is how much of a toll does it take on the snake to be force-fed? and in your force-feeding experience whats the best way to get the snake to start taking food on their own? sorry for the novel but I wanted to share the story of my triumph as well as my question.
thanks in advance for all POSITIVE and ON-TOPIC responses,
Levi

He recently posted some really good info on this subject. I have copied and pasted it below (Ron, I hope you don't mind. I just thought it was great advice, and I don't know how to link to it.) It really does work. It's basically the same thing I was told to do when I got my WC girl, and she ate right away.
Maybe Ron will post here and give you some more advice.

Here's Ron's post from before. I hope it helps.

Posted by: thebigsquease at Sat Jun 16 14:59:21 2007 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

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

Well force feeding should be a last resort and only as a life saving action . The stress can cause death in week as well as stronger reptiles . If you do force feed you should use a lot smaller than normal pray as it has come to this point they are more than likely lacking of Flora in there stomach and a large meal would rot before it had a chance to digest and cause a fatal infection . But know that you have a meal in her I strongly suggest that you read Ron’s or my own or both of our posts lower down the page , it is on feeding wild caught Ball Pythons . Good luck and if you still have questions contact Ron or me for more help . David of DS Reptile Rescue

thank you for your reply...the "egg smell" is an interesting theory that I never considered....I just assumed it was because she was so stressed from being moved from the wild. this animal to be quite frank is on deaths door. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't make it to be honest...she's not defensive in any sense unless she's just too weak to be defensive....she will hiss at me and it seems to take a lot out of her to hiss for even the shortest amount of time...impossible for her to hiss longer than 2 seconds would be a safe bet. thats the only reason I force-fed her...I've kept balls that haven't eaten for months and didnt resort to forcing them but with this one it seemed I should act fast. she shed when I first got her and done not much else...as far as rons advice it all seems great...basically the only differences between what I have and his advice is I have her in a 32qt tub and use aspen instead of mulch. but I will always offer food in every varity to her before I force her.

You do not get anywhere force feeding ball pythons. You assist feed them and they will eventually eat on their own. A female that has recently laid eggs may eat if you thoroughly wash her to be sure the smell of her eggs is off her so she does not have the protection of the eggs as her number one priority.