Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i recently bought a young female ball python, about two months of age. ive had her for 2 weeks, and she is yet to eat for me. ive tried multiple sizes of f/t mice, but to no avail. should i go back to step 1 and try lives mice, or would scenting the mice work, if so with what? any help would be greatly appreciated.

Had she eaten before you got her? What had she eaten? Do you have her warm enough? Lots of things - I am sure others will jump in with far better advice, but if you can find out what she was eating before you got her that would be helpful - and then try and replicate it as best you can.

Definitely go with what the previous poster had to say. Find out what she ate before you got her, check and control temperature. There are many factors that could be involved. Most importantly though, I would say, give your new serpent some time to get adjusted to its new environment. When she feels secure enough to come out and eat, then you know you've done your job.

-Patrick

Exactly what they have already said..
If shes warm enough, and the humidity is good then give her a bit of time to settle in. Shes just an itty bitty- big things eat her when shes that little. Shes probably scared.
So long as shes in good health, give her a few days quiet time and then try.
Perhaps try the tongs. And make sure the food is small enough too.
Anyways, just give her a bit of quiet time to settle and to trust that shes safe.

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~Snake Charmer~

3.1 dogs (church, bandit, willy and tonka)
0.2 cats (squeaky, cami)
1.1 'normal' ball pythons (zenith, zahara)and i want more snakes. guess you can say im developing a "reptile addiction"- lol

see, thats the thing though. shes cruising around the cage. i have her in a basic tank as of now, and the temps are the same as my other ball who is thriving. shes got a hide, and is hydrated. the guy told me it had never needed scented, which i figure, but it had eaten both live and f/t.. im going to try live pinks tomorrow, and if it dont work, should i think of force feeding? again thanks for everyones help

Hold off on the force feeding. You've only had her for 2 weeks, and they can go quite a bit longer than that without eating. Don't know if its been asked yet, but what is her weight?
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1.0 Pastel Ball
1.1 Het VPI Axanthic Balls
1.1 Het Albino Balls
0.0.2 Red Tail Boas
1.0 Albino Nelsoni Milksnake
1.1 Room mates
2.2 Dogs
0.1 Cat

thats something im not quite sure of, i dont have a working scale yet because these are the first animals i got that weight is a factor in breeding, and ive just decided on breeding. she doesnt look malnourished yet, and is drinking, id just love to get her to eat at least one mouse soon.

I had a couple females that wouldn't eat for me ,I raise mostly dark mice and had no luck,so I tried a white hopper mouse and they both ate, and eat twice a week now .Also feed them late ,they both ate after dark ,good luck ,hope this helps

Terry M

Nothing gets a feeding response like a live mouse/rat will. I would start with that then move to the f/t. If she wont take a live mouse then you know there is something wrong with your enclosure or she may be ill.

I had this problem when I first received my male pastel through fedex overnight. What worked for me was to make the snake feel secure. So what I did was covered his cage with a dark towel and left him alone for about 4-5 days. Then I put a pre-killed mouse in his cage and covered him back up (The mouse was not completely dead but he was twitching kinda paralyzed because he would not eat a DEAD one) And I waited about 20-30 minutes and peeked back into his cage, and it was gone! Sometimes they just need to feel secure and not feel like we are staring at them all the time. Hope this helps!