Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey everybody, i am a newbie on this forum. i have an adult female ball python. she is in great health. my question is about her eating schedule. she eats about ever3 or 4 weeks in the summer. i know that her diet will slow in the winter, but she has not eaten for 2 months now and continues to refuse rats that i give her. she is doing great otherwise and shows no sign of sickness. i have heated her cage up so it is just as warm as it was in the suumer months, but she still burrows under her bedding to get closer to the heating pad, something she never did before in summer, either. the last couple of winters she has gone a long time between feedings, but 2 months is approaching the longest streak she has ever gone without food. if this is normal python behavior i will not be worried, but if i should be doing more for her i better get to it.
thanks for any help,
mike

Snakes are smarter than we give them credit for. Regardless whether or not you keep the temp hot, she knows it's winter and will act accordingly. There is only so much we can do to stimulate eating, breeding etc. In the end they make the ultimate decision. They know what is best for them.

Be patient and let her do her thing. As long as she is healthy you have nothing to worry about. I've had females go 8 months without feeding with no bad effects.

Good luck!

MJ

I wholeheartedly agree with Markus.
"Be patient and let her do her thing. As long as she is healthy you have nothing to worry about."
My ball python is beginning to refuse food also. This is my first winter. My python usually eats without difficulty but now its starting to refuse. If this is nature why fight it.

Hi Mike –

Like everybody says, the lack of feeding sounds like normal adult ball python behavior for this time of year and nothing to be worried about.. Your statement that “she still burrows under her bedding to get closer to the heating pad, something she never did before in summer,” makes me wonder if you have checked your actual cage temperatures with an accurate thermometer to make sure that the air isn’t too cool or the heating pad too hot. Some snakes can suffer serious burns without us realizing until too late what’s going on. Just a thought.

Most of my adult females have started to hug the colder sides of their cages, so I’ve reduced their heater temperatures to enable them to more easily cycle the way their bodies seem to be telling them to do.

-Joan