Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ive had my blood python (named kevin) for about 5 months now. it is sweet, puppy dog tame, and has been eating like none other...until now. he only eats live mice and this one has been in his cage and not eaten for 3 days now. its white. i have heard some pythons dont eat white mice. could that be it? im pretty sure he has eaten white mice in the past. help!

First, get that mouse out of there. It can be dangerous to leave a live rodent in with a snake for an extended period of time, especially unsupervised.

Now, first, how big is your python, what size and type of enclosure, how is the tank set up, substrate? What are your basking and cool side temps, what kind of hides are available, and what is your normal feeding schedule?

Once we have these answers, we will be more able to help.

the mouse went bye bye this afternoon. he did not eat it though, it is now a new member to our neighborhood and probably my cats diet...anyways, details: he is over a foot long, give or take a few, i have him in a 20 gal. tank right now, screened top. i am getting ready to purchase a bigger environment for him, being that he is growing pretty rapidly as expected. i have a big ass water bowl for him cause they are supposed to like to sit in water, he does not however. it is there for him if he ever changes his mind though. i did have him on some bigger bark as a substrate which wasnt bad but now i have him on the eco earth expandable cocunut bark which i think is better for him cause he burrows beneath it and does not even use the hides i have supplied for him anymore which is tree bark cut in half creating a hut. the cold side is about 75 degrees and the hottest side is around 95-100 degrees, made possible by a 100 watt uv basking bulb. i spray the cage down about 3x a day for humidity purposes.

this is kevin now ( yes those are snowmen on the blanket)

I mix the eco-earth with sphagnum moss for my substrate. Try rat pups and make that eco-earth nice and moist. Eco earth is good for either dry or moist substrate, but to keep it moist you really have to poor the water in it and let the moisture spread on its own. The 100 watt on a 20 gallon seems way too high. I would use a 75 watt bulb. If you keep the moisture up and refrain from taking it out until it eats regularly he should be fine after that.

It's a stresser when your snake suddenly stops eating. My ball python went 5 months last winter without food, and it drove me nuts...but my snake was none the worse for wear. That's a normal thing for many pythons over the winter. I also have a blood a little larger than Kevin that stopped eating last spring for 5 weeks.

Bottom line: try not to worry. If Kevin seems otherwise happy and you haven't changed something radically in his enclosure or life, he's probably just fine. A missed feeding now and then is perfectly normal.

Next time to try to feed him live. If he doesn't take it that way, try fresh killed. My blood seems to actually not like to kill her own food. She's now taking F/T small rats every week. I think she's a little shy or just plain lazy.

Give it a try, and hang in there. He'll come around.

also, many imported sumatrans just DONT EAT and die, or they aren't fed properly in the store, and then don't eat when they're purchased, and die at home.