Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Could someone help me figure out what's going on with my little ones please? Little bit of history- Born in June, had there 1st shed but nothing since, feeding on frozen defrosted pinkies every 3-5 days, deficating regularly, heated with heat rope and a thermostate, water dish, newspaper as substrate, housed in plastic shoe boxes with holes for air (of course) placed in a home made rack. 2 out of the 3 that have just died had to be force fed, never had any problems with that. This Wednesday Fed them 2 live pinkies each, maybe something was wrong with them, don't know. I only have 1 baby left plus a baby Boa who is housed in the same area. With all this info does anyone have any ideas.
Thanks for the help.

I dont' really know what could be wrong, but if your feeding them 2 pinky mice a feeding I don't think thats enough. Mine can eat an adult and a hopper at one sitting easily and it is only 5 months old, like yours.
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1.0 ball python (vakker)
0.1 dogs
2.1 cockatiels
1.1 chinchillas
Coming soon... 1.1 corn snakes
0.1 axanthic ball python

you aren't feeding them enough. mine is a little older than yours but he has been eating adult mice for a few months, and he eats 2 of them each feeding. the way I see it pinkies are for baby corn/tree boas, fuzzies and hoppers in the early months of the ball pythons. Run out and get some food for the snake, and maybe you can still save it.

my ball is about 7 months old 2 feet long and he eats weanling rats. it needs food.
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*John*
1.0 ball python
1.0 red-tailed boa
1.0 albino corn snake
1.0 green iguana

baby BP's can easily eat an adult mouse.
i'd say the problem is the amount your feeding them..........

Were the pythons all housed together?
How well did you quarantine the boa?
Did the babies show any symptoms before dying?

I don't think they starved to death like the others insinuated, I think you're looking at some kind of nasty disease.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

Thanks, for the insight, um I quaranteed him pretty well, they were all in individual boxes but just in the same rack. They showed no signs at all, I checked the one that died today and nothing he was flicking his tongue moving when I touched him and picked him up and a couple of hours later I go and check him and he was dead. The same thing like the other 2. They died one day after another. I don't know what's going on. I doubt they starved to death because if that was the cause I wouldn't have them now. I don't know it's just upsetting to know that I won't really know why.
Thanks again.

Can you get a weight on any of them so we can perhaps rule out the starved to death theory (i.e. have they gained a fair amount of weight over hatchling weight)?

Also, do you have a thermometer with a probe you can check different places in the cage, particularly under the hide spot(s)? I've seen ball pythons get too hot in a hide spot right over an unregulated heat source. You would think they would leave but apparently the urge to stay hidden is very strong and I guess in the wild the hole is the place to get away from the heat so maybe they just don't think of leaving.

It might also be some sort of disease so perhaps best to consult a vet on the remaining animals (the boa too). Have you seen any mites? Apparently some boas can have Inclusion Body Disease for a long time without much for symptoms (even doing well enough to breed) but all the while could spread it to a python that will die of it very quickly. I'm no expert on the symptoms or anything but it sounds like they are thinking it takes some sort of fluid exchange such as breeding, birth, or mites to spread IBD. I'm sure there are other possible diseases that could spread easier through cleaning equipment/water bowls etc.

Sorry for your loss and best of luck figuring this out to save the last one.

At five months old, they should be feeding on their own.
Usually, it only takes 2-3 force feedings before a healthy snake will voluntarily feed.
Start them on fuzzies or pinky rats instead of pink mice (although, if you're forcing them, pink mice would be less stressful).
Good luck.
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Just how close do you want it to be, to be a locale breeding?
Careful now - We wouldn't want to breed related animals.

When balls are born they can easily take large hopper mice to small adult mice. After a couple months they can take a retired breeder mouse no problems! If you are feeding them pinky mice every 5 days you are starving them to death. Start feeding them remaining ball small hopper mice at first to get him back upto weight. If you feed him too big a meal after he's been starving you can overload his system and kill him. It seems that smaller animals that are thin can't handle large meals and if you get them one it seems to rot in their system and it kills them after a couple days.

Good luck.
Corey

I suggest bringing in the most recently dead snake to a vet for a necropsy. They can then determine if the death was due to malnutrician, disease, poison etc.

...the cause of death without expensive testing (esp. poisonings), and others we never determine. Altho in this case underfeeding certianly is plausable. Scott J. Michaels DVM