Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 9 year old ball has not eaten since January. It appears to be fine, still drinking, urinating and shedding but when do I need to start worrying? I feed frozen/thawed and leave it in the tank overnight. It will often appear interested, come out to sniff it, then go back into the hide..... would increasing the temp help? Wiggle the rat? (Never used to have to!) Thanks for any advice!

I warm the mouse/rat in a plastic bag until it is warm to the touch. I then wiggle it in front of the snake holding the rodent by the tail with a pair of tongs. This method has worked with all six of my BP's.

The mouse needs to be warm so the python can sense the IR radiation (heat) from it.

In nature, as far as I know, Python's only eat things that are alive, so you need to wiggle it in front of the python a little (or at least a routine is established with the snake)

I have not had to wiggle the rat in the past and quite often have found it gone in the morning but I'm afraid that's not going to be good enough any more. I will get some tongs and try the wiggle thing.... Thanks.