Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've finally got my two shipments of farmed baby ball pythons. I was told that I should not feed live and use f/t rat pinkies.

The first shipment came in on 05/07 and only 4 out of 25 ate on 05/11. The second shipment came in on 05/19 and all were offered rat pinkies last night (05/23) and none have eaten so far.

Following the instructions that came with the 'food', I left the f/t pinkies in each of the babies' enclosures overnite. Still not one ate. I'm quite surprised that even the original four that ate didn't eat this time. I even tried live mice hoppers previously for the first batch of babies. Should I get more live mice? Will the babies be okay for a few more days? Should I go ahead and force feed now?

You need to try other things first. For example: Cut the head off a rat pink, and offer to one of them. If he does not take it, give it to another. I bet your batting average goes up.
(Let us know).
Ask the ball python folks, below, if they have any other ideas.
What, may I ask, are you doing with all those balls? It sounds like you are fairly new (am I right?) and went right for the big numbers of (potentially) troublesome eaters.
Don't try any more live yet, until you've tried other things. You may stress them out even more. Good luck. Duffy

You could also try (this sometimes works...not always)using chicken broth for scenting, as well as some sort of small bird. You also have to remember that ball pythons can go for LONG periods without eating. This could be due to stress from being shipped or even just some natural affliction. If most of them appear outwardly healthy and have been checked for parasites, I would wait until they appear to be starving to force feed. Forcing is a LAST resort and should only be used if the snake appears near death. If you do it while the snake is healthy, you could possibly stress them into a state where they end up dead either way. Another concern would be that you do something wrong with forcefeeding. No offense, but as Duffy said you do not exactly sound to have that much exp. Force feeding can be tough and if you do something wrong, you could end up hurting or killing the snake. If it ever comes to force feeding, get a vet or experienced person to teach you how first. Andy
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Andy Maddox
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

Actually, what I meant by 'force feed' is to just open the snake's mouth and put the pinky in it. I forgot that 'force feed' meant putting a tube down it's throat.

Some of the f/t pinkies actually did have a slit on their heads. I thought that was why the four who originally ate took to it. It just surprised me that they didn't take to it this time around. I'll definitely try thawing out a few more pinkies in a few days and I'll dip them in warm chicken broth before presenting them.

Last year, I had a smaller batch and by the time I was told it was ok to 'force feed' (meaning, just opening their mouths and putting the pinky in), it was already too late for some. I guess I'm just getting too anxious.

is the term you're looking for.
Both assist and force feeding are a last resort but are, of course, preferable to the snakes starving to death. It's not realy THAT tough if you can get someone to help you.

A few things you can try if the chickenm broth doesn't work. One is to heat up the defrosted pinks to 100% or maybe even a few degrees higher. BP's have heat sensors and will often show more interest in something that is warmer than it's surroundings.

Another is to place the thawed pink, brained if you like, in a paper bag, along with the snake. Put the bag in the cage overnight, they will sometimes eat if they can't get away from the food all night.

Last, if nothing else works, you can go to a pet shop and buy a gerbil. Gerbils have a scent very close to what a wild ball eats. Use the gerbil to scent the mice.

Ball pythons are notorious for feeding problems. Make sure that yours are all clear of parasites, and the cages are setup properly. With all those snakes, are they in individual cages or is there multiple snakes in each cage?
Good luck,
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Drew Z.
Member, NJHS

I'd say that pinkies are a bit too small. At their present sizes, it'd still be okay to use live rat fuzzies as the chances of injury by the intended prey would be negligible. Before doing so, try and give them some more time to get over their stress.

Good luck.
Francis