Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,
I'll make this short.
-82 degrees-95 degrees temps.
-humidity 50% with one hide misted daily.
-water bowl, climbing tree, 2 hides. (the big one is an inch high on the inside)
-he is about 2 feet long and maybe an inch in diameter.
-At night he has a heatpad
So after a week I tried feeding him but there was no response. I held the mouse in front of him and let it run free but he wasn't interested. Anyone know why he might not want to eat?

Thanks if you could give me a suggestion to get him to eat.

-Owen

P.S. He spends half of the day in cool hide and half in warm hide.

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Hey,

Could be that whole breeding season thing. If you know for sure he's male that could very well be it. I have 2 male snakes and they both go off food right about this time of year for a month or so. One of my males won't eat frozen this time of year, in order to get him to eat I have to feed live. Keep trying about once a week, he'll eat soon.

Sheri

Could be a normal off-fed.

If that's his cage in the pic then I'd say:

Your hides are too high - they need them low and snug.
http://proexotics.com/FAQ_answers_Hide_Spots.html

What size is that cage?

And the dog and cat could very well be stressing him. I'd move the cage up out of their eyesight.

I see the probe that I'm assuming is a thermostat? If so, it's up too high and I'm guessing that means your're measuring your temps at that height. You need to measure surface/belly temps.

What are you heating with? You said at night he has a heat pad - what about the day?

Temps should be: warm side=90-95, cool side=80-85. Night time drop not required, but if it does maintain a difference of 5-10 degrees between each side and don't let the cool side go below 75
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Hahahahahahahahahahahaha, I saw this post and I had to start laughing....

The subject said something along the lines of "can anyone tell me why this snake isn't eating" and then you go into the post and it shows this gigantic dog and cat looming over this little snake's cage watching it like it was the solution to world hunger.

I haven't read the other replies, so this might be redundant, but...

- Your temp probe is in the air. How much time does your snake spend in the air? None, right? Put the probe where your snake's basking spot is.

- Your hides are very tall. Ball pythons like tight hides. They like to feel the hide on all sides of their body including their back.

- You mention that you have the heat pad on at night. Does that mean it's off during the day? If so, keep it on 24/7.

- Male ball pythons might not eat this time of year no matter what you do. Keep offering him food and try to get him eating pre-killed rats asap.
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