Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know this has probably been discussed before.. My 3 ft male won't eat anywhere but his cage lately, and when I put his rat in there with him he got some of the bedding in his mouth pretty good. I was able to get what I could out (he cooperated very well, no hissing or anything, still holding the rat). I am not sure if I got every bit of it out. Will it hurt him if any was left? I just need to know what to look for and if there is anything I should do.
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2.1 Dogs
2.1 Ball Pythons
1.0 Cat

Your python will be just fine.
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Morph Evolutions
www.morphevolutions.com
www.myspace.com/morphevolutions

He's almost 4 and never got any in his mouth before so when I saw he had some in his mouth I paniced and picked him right up (my others I never would've tried it ). Thanks btw. I was worried for my boy. He's a little piggy but he's just not growing the greatest. He is an 05 and only about 700 grams. He eats every 10 days or so, I don't get it. Should I maybe start giving him a mouse along with his rat?
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2.1 Dogs
2.1 Ball Pythons
1.0 Cat

I wouldn't bother with the mouse idea. Chances are at this point, he wouldn't take it anyway - he is most likely already conditioned to accept rats as prey. Adding another item to his menu won't help.

However, if you are concerned about his weight you could either offer larger rats every 10 days or offer small meals but more frequently.

No problem. He'll be fine, you don't have to worry unless it's a massive amount or very large pieces of lets say bark attached to a prey item.. normal ingestion occasionally will be just fine.

Feeding a mouse will not help that much.. if he'll eat more rats, feed him more rats more often if you want to get him bigger quicker, otherwise what you're doing is okay.

Goodluck!
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Morph Evolutions
www.morphevolutions.com
www.myspace.com/morphevolutions

n/p

n/p

he's never had interaction with other snakes apart from his clutchmates so i don't see how? So external is a no, and he is CB so I wouldn't think internal?
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2.1 Dogs
2.1 Ball Pythons
1.0 Cat

He could have a high amount of parasites causing issues.. a simple fecal check would tell you if he did or not. Without knowing a ton of background and husbandry information, it's really too hard to guess.

My advice, if this is just a pet and not a breeder, and his stools look good, continue what you're doing and feed more often if you want to increase size faster.

If he's going to be used as a breeder, cooled down or introduced to other snakes, take a fresh stool sample to get tested. It's not expensive and will help confirm or eliminate one of your problems.
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Morph Evolutions
www.morphevolutions.com
www.myspace.com/morphevolutions

i just dont see how.. ive had him since he was 3 or 4 weeks old, he came from a breeder. he has 4 generations back that are captive. he's never been outside unless i was holding him. and he has never been around other snakes.. i mean i guess it could be positive i just dont see how?? maybe he is just a slow grower? he spent the first couple years of his life on mice then switched to gerbils.. now hes on rats.. could the first 2 years of mice have been anything that slowed him down for a while?
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2.1 Dogs
2.1 Ball Pythons
1.0 Cat