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I have a November 2006 hatch female albino BP that from the beginning has been a sporadic feeder. She was tough getting started and never really ate with consistency. She was on the every 14-21 day schedule only occasionally eating 2 weeks in a row.
She was started on fuzzies and has never taken anything large than a 3/4 grown mouse.
Her last meal was November 9th. She refused food again last night. I have been offering weekly since her last meal but she is not interested at all.
I have tried moving her tub to a different shelf, lowering the temps a few degrees and raising them a few degrees. I have tried live, stunned, f/t, bag method, smaller/larger tubs and nothing seems to work.
I do not handle her much at all except the other night when someone was looking at her because I usually leave her alone since she has never been a good feeder.
I know this time of year is when BP's go off feed but she is a yearling so should still be eating. I fed the yearling spider and she ate no problem last night as usual. The males are off feed but they have been breeding or want to breed so I am not concerned with them.
I am concerned with this one because it looks to me that she is now getting the ridge on her back.
Any suggesstions on how to get her feeding would be greatly appreciated.
I am thinking of scheduling a vet appointment but I'd hate to sepnd all the money and stress her when the vets have been less than helpful in the recent past when I brought animals in.
I am getting stressed out like you wouldn't believe because this is the longest she has ever gone without eating.
Here are some pictures where you can see the ridge of her back now.

Hey Steve

Usually the ridge on the back means dehydration , make sure she isnt tipping her bowl every day LOL.

Hope she is ok , have a good.

Derek
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Romans 10:13

"For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved"

Hebrews 8:12

" For I will be merciful to their iniquities , and I will remember their sins no more"

That's the only thing she can't do.
The tub has a built in receptacle to hold the bowl.

Just for the hell of it, I put a smaller water bowl in the tub. I wonder if she couldn't reach the other one or didn't realize what it was.

Do you have a picture of her - where you aren't holding her up? She doesn't look that bad to me - but from the way you are holding her it's hard to really tell.

I've found after their first winter they do tend to go off feed - unfortunately your girl she was born late in the year and as a picky feeder she just hasn't put on as much weight as the rest of the 06 that are fasting. But I've had a couple of poor feeders at 400ish grams make it through several months of winter fast just fine. You just need to keep an eye on her.

Keep her warm with plenty of fresh water - don't stress her out and offer her food every couple of weeks - she'll likely eat when she is ready/needs to.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

This is her just laying there.

From those pictures I'd say she doesn't look all that bad. If she is off feed for the winter then there really isn't anything you can do about it - hopefully she will eat a little here and there and pick up to normal feeding in the spring. Remember these animals can go a long time with little or nothing to eat - just have patience.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

Maybe it's just the winter fast but since she has been sporadic from when she hatched, I worry about this one.

Hey Steve, Have you ever tried asf rats with her? She does look a little thin. But I notice in albinos it seems to be more noticeable LOL..
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http://www.myspace.com/jasballpythons

Never tried them. Looks like I need to get a hold of some though.

Give it a try, Good luck Man!
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http://www.myspace.com/jasballpythons

I feel your pain brother!
I have a female that when she is eating will only eat every 18-25 days . I purchased two het for albino females from the same litter . The sporatic eater is 1250g and the other is pushing 1800g. I weigh all my animals every 30 days so I have an idea of weight loss to judge by. I offer food every week in hopes of her feeding. There nothing that will drive you crazy like a anorexic ball. I feed my boas and it takes like 3min , feeding the balls takes forever! Good luck and be patient ...........Keep an eye on her weight .

I have noticed that stress can cause this. Make sure she has a good tight hide. I would not handle her at all. Have you tried rats? If all else fails, then african soft fur rats could do the trick... There are a lot of diffrient things to try, but first make sure she feels secure. Hope this helps, and good luck...

here is a shot in the dark thing to try, this link is what this person did to get WC to eat

http://www.thereddragonsden.com/wcballs.htm

I have found putting my snakes in total darkness for a number of days has snapped a few out of the non eating mode.

the link for feeding

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Misty Sprouse Ball Pythons