Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently bought 2 sub adult/adult ball pythons. At the time I bought them, I was told they were CB and feeding on f/t large mice. Once I get them, it quickly becomes obvious they are WC. The scars and ticks have sort of given it away. The female took a f/t small rat the day I got her, which has been 2 weeks ago. Now she won't eat. The male will not touch a f/t rat. I talked to the guy I got them from, and now he tells me he only feeds live. My question, do I keep offering f/t, or do I get worried and feed live? Will he ever switch to f/t? I haven't tried f/t mice, should I try that? He is 1425 grams, and can easily take med rats. I don't want to feed live if I can help it. Any suggestions?

When you thaw out the rat or mouse, heat it up to 90 degrees before offering. A heat lamp works well for this step. Also, feed in the evening.

And now for the scolding: aren't you aware that mature male ball pythons fast for months? To me, any healthy-looking male BP that isn't eating is par for the course. This usually occurs during the breeding season, but I've seen fasting by males occur anytime. Now, this is compounded by the fact that these snakes were WC. This can mean one or both may not feed for a long time (well, the female did eat, OK, but no gurantees about the male).

Lets face it. The seller lied to you. These snakes have never seen F/T before, and the male may not have eaten since in captivity. Keep trying, but be patient. Better to make sure the housing and environment is correct, and the snake will feed when it is ready. Good luck! Oh, you can add the name of the seller to your black list of liars.

I know about the winter and breeding season fasting and how balls love to go long stretches without feeding. After I asked the guy I got him from about feeding habits after I had already gotten the snakes home, he then let me know he had fed the male live mice a week prior to me picking him up. When I was trying to get a tick of the male a couple days ago, he "slimed" me. It was a white, mucous type stuff. Sperm plugs? The female is around 1000 grams, isn't this too small for her to breed?

I know about the winter and breeding season fasting and how balls love to go long stretches without feeding. After I asked the guy I got him from about feeding habits after I had already gotten the snakes home, he then let me know he had fed the male live mice a week prior to me picking him up. When I was trying to get a tick of the male a couple days ago, he "slimed" me. It was a white, mucous type stuff. Sperm plugs? The female is around 1000 grams, isn't this too small for her to breed?

I also got a central americna boa off the same guy, he is around 3 ft, and I was told he is 2 years old. Does that sound about right? Most yearling boas are ususally bigger than that by a year aren't they? I thought I was getting a yearling from him. He was on live mice as well, and had been fed 7 times in less than a month. I have switched him to f/t rat pups.

I got my ball to switch by offering a small fresh killed mouse (could have eaten rats) and put a warm dry f/t mouse in the cage too. Did this for a few times. After that I gave it only f/t it took a couple of trys but it did work. kept him on mice and moved him up a little at a time to rats. good luck