Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So, i acquired a het for piebald ball from a friend of mine about 4 or 5 months ago. The entire time I have had him, he has not eaten. I have offered him F/T mice and rats and he will not take them. The food offered is not too large for him. I keep the temperature and humidity correct. He has a water bowl, hide box. None of my other snakes have any problems. Maybe after a month of having him and him not eating, he started his shed cycle, so I figured maybe that is why hasn't eaten. That was not it. He still would not take the food after shed. I am wondering if he is possibly constipated because he has not went the entire time I have had him. I have soaked him a few times in warm water to no avail. I spoke with my friend about it and he says that he never had that problem with him. Is there something I am doing wrong? I have done just about everything I can think of. I consider myself an intermediate collector and know quite a lot. Like I said, all of my other snakes are happy and feeding like horses and I keep them all in the same climate controlled environment. Any ideas? I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!
Heathen

I hate to say it, try a gerbil.

And the no potty may be due to nothing in there to poo out.

Food in=feces out. NO food in=NO feces out.
-----
Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Dances With Reptiles

1.0.0 Ball Python - Python regius "Cain" Rescued from a crack house
0.1.9 Eastern MilkSnake WC "Carmella" adult super sweet temperment (Eggs all hatched!)
1.3.13 Storeria dekayi - Brown Snakes Casper, Xena, Athena, Copper, Sharon & Kids
0.1.0 Thamnophis cyrtopsis Easter Black Neck Garter "MoJo"
0.2.0 Thamnophis ordinoides - Northwestern Gartersnake(Blue Phase)
1.1.0. Thamnophis elegans vagrans Wandering Garter
2.2.0 Thamnophis Sirtalis - Florida Blue stripe Garter
2.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters
0.0.1 Thamnophis HybridAlbino Checkered Normal eastern"Mutt"
2.0.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters (xtreme orange phase)
1.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Snow Het
0.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Christmas Albino
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - Red Phase Eastern Garter red and white stripes
0.0.1 Thamnophis butleriButler's Garter Snake
0.0.4 Thamnophis proximus orariusCoastal Ribbons
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis - Eastern Garter babies 7/11/08
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis HET Anerythristic Scott Felzer stock.
0.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis Eastern Snow "Snowflake"
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis California Red Sided (R.I.P. little guy)
1.0.0 Thamnophis pickeringi - Puget Sound Garter "Sky" (adult, Sky blue)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua" adult WC Pink eater!
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Sub-adult CB
1.0.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major"Limon"
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER" Getting Huge!
1.1.3. Green Anole "Crystal" & "Chris"
0.1.0 Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) - "Peach" (A Monitor with fins)
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
0.2.0. Feline"Felix"(R.I.P. 4/27/08) "Kaja" & "Silver"
2.1.0. calico RATS
??.??.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish / Giant roaches
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.

Yea, I was thinking about the gerbil. I know that it is very enticing to them. And I figured that he would have some feces in there because he fed regularly until I got him. This makes me feel like I am doing something wrong with husbandry but I know that I am not. I can't imagine that my environment is worse than where he came from. He is in a calm quiet place as opposed to in the middle of a HUGE bearded dragon and rat operation. Maybe he missed the chaos, not sure. Any other ideas?

if the snake was eating mice before he will eat mice again, i would not intruduce something as food that you would not want to feed all the time. i have had balls go of feed for up to 6 months. the one i have now only eats live wild coloured mice. are you using the same type cage and substrate the previous owner was using. when i switched my ball from a glass terrerium to a shoe box rack he went of feed for about 3 months. it can be frustrating, i have a 4 month old black pine that has eaten anything and everything since the day after he was born, he has been off feed for 3 weeks. just be patient and try different things.
-----
1.0 dumirals boa
1.1 childrens pythons
1.0 woma python
2.2 hondurans
1.2 cal kings
0.1 baja king
1.1 black pines
1.1 rough scale sand boas
1.1 bay of la rosy's
0.1 ball python
1.1 heleri
0.1 mojave green
1.0 false water cobra
0.0.1 crested gecko
1.0 yorkie
0.1 german shorthair
lots of fish
0.1 wife
2.0 children

Yea, I went as far as going back to the previous owner and getting one of the exact thing he was feeding it (he runs a rat operation too and fed him rats). So, I went got one of his rats live and frozen and he still will not take it. After that I didn't offer it to him for a while. Then I tried again, and still the same results. A friend of mine suggested that I implement an electrolyte supplement. He has a Burmese rescue that went off feed. Said that he administered electrolytes by thawing the prey in a solution of it with water and now he can't get the burmese to stop eating. Eats everything, anytime. So, I have began small doses of electrolytes, but I don't think that hydration is the problem. It is very frustrating and it makes you feel like your still a beginner fumbling around with gauges and scratching your head. I feel for the poor guy though. I feel like I am stressing him out and I don't know how or why because I am doing everything right. I have tried so many things and I think its just going to have to be put up to fate. If he doesn't eat after the 6 month mark, we're going to take a trip to the vet and see whats up. Thanks and keep the advice coming!

Most baby balls will not eat frozen thawed for the first 2-3 months, for me anyway. I get mine readly excepting live and then present a frozen thawed to the snake the same way the live would look to the snake, they should take it. And if all else fails, try a gerbil.

Kyle
Kyle's Reptyles
www.freewebs.com/kyleherp/

Well, the snake is 3 years old. He has always eaten F/T rats according to the previous owner. When I got him he was nice and plump, he looked like a very good eater and they owner confirmed that. When I got him home and he got settled in, I tried to feed him and he wouldn't eat. That was maybe 4 or 5 months ago. He still hasn't eaten. My last attempt was two days ago, Saturday. What is very strange to me though is that he just shed Saturday as well. So, he has now shed twice and won't eat. So, he is a healthy snake. I am thinking that he must have been a breeder at one time and he is off feed during the breeding season. I think he'll start eating again once it gets warmer.