Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have tried small adult mice and hoppers-lights on and lights off-hiding spot and no hiding spot-still my little albino has not fed. No one around here sells rat pups so I haven't been able to try those. She is now over a month old and hasn't touched food yet. How long can she go before I need to be concerned? I really don't want to see anything happen to her, as she is the very first ball python I hatched.

don't you think you are stress the ball out?

give the snake a bowl of water, heat, a hide and leave it alone for a week or two. then feed a hopper at night with the lights off.

be patient

Pitoon

I agree with pitoon. Young snakes especialy, are easily stressed and will eat only when they feel secure. A dark, warm, snug hide and no handling will help it feel secure and hopefuly start eating. Add handling a little at a time after it is an established feeder.

This may have already been said but have you tried leaveing the hopper or pinkie in their over night ?
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Education is Everything.......

I have tried leaving food in with it overnight, and I try to disturb it as little as possible during the week (I offer food usually on Sunday night). The majority of my other babies have eaten, but this one hasn't taken anything in the month since it shed, and I'm just concerned about it starving itself to death.

Don't worry just yet about it starving to death -- a snake full of yolk can go quite a while without feeding.

Don't try to feed it more than once a week.

Try to get a small dark hopper mouse -- these seem to work the best for stubborn babies.

Feed at night.

If he doesnt take it -- kill it and leave it overnight in his cage right outside his hide.

If he starts to look too thin or lethargic -- then you should consider assist feeding him a prekilled animal - usually one or two assist feeds is enough to kick their instinct into gear. This is a last resort - don't go trying this tonight - just cause you are worried.

Good luck.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

good advice from Tosha here. being a month old, you should have offered it food twice, maybe.

offer it too much, keep changing the variables, and you will keep getting poor results. ALWAYS offer a hide, and on top of that, a great hide, tight, dark, heavy, low to the ground.

be sure to use a small cage, shoebox size, or at the very least, take steps to make a bigger cage look much smaller.

temps are important, 90-92 for a hot spot, low 80's for an ambient temp.

choose your prey wisely. in addition to a dark colored mouse, err on the large side. balls will be more tempted by something big, and not tempted at all by something overly small, like a pinkie.

and consider getting some rats. some snakes will only eat one or the other. we start 95% of our baby balls on rats. some will absolutely refuse. it works the other way as well. your ball may very well take a thawed rat pup (of appropriate size) within 2 minutes, while never showing interest in mice at all.

as a breeder, prey choice is one of the obstacles you have to deal with, you should always have at least some access to both mice and rats for special needs. don't bother with ASF rats, chicken broth, or black magic, it is not needed.

what you need is consistency, a solid approach, and minimal stress.

wait at least 4 days and offer your food again. no handling in the meantime. best of luck.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

We were dealing with this situation as well with an albino common boa. She was born with a knot in her yolk sac and couldn't absorb any yolk. We had to remove the sac with in 24 hours of her birth. All of her siblings shed and have eaten 6 times since they were born May 9th, but the albino has yet to shed and fed for the first time last night.

It can be frustrating as we worry so much about that first meal! In the end, as the other posters mentioned, it is very important to create a stress free environment...eventually the snake will do its job

Good luck!
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Thanks,
Amy

My Boids