Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi--I rescued a ball python over a year ago. She's been fine with frozen rats all this time. Now she has not eaten in more than two months, and I'm getting worried. I warm it up as always, and offer one every couple of weeks--she has left them untouched.I've tried all usual-- What do I do??? What am I missing? How long can she go before she's in trouble?
(Never had a snake-companion before....)

You say you "warm her up". What is her constant temp? Balls need a consistent day time temp in the low 90's. If it is too cool they will go off feed. A healthy mature Ball can go over a year without feeding.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Thanks Frank--No, I don't warm HER up--I warm up the defrosted frozen rat! I got the temperature and humidity thing working well. Though the year or so before I had her, she lived in in the rafters of an unheated loft in LA for about 6 months, then went into a tiny tank with no soak-bowl--just a tiny bowl for drinking water--at someone else's house. So she's more used to roughing it than having the present "ideal" environment.
Hey--if they can go that long without eating, how do you really know when to feed 'em?

That's the hitch. if the body weight is still good there is no way to tell except to offer food. If your animal is of good weight it could easily spend the next few months just resting.

One trick that I found helps is to put a hide box in the cage (opening on top) Place a fuzzy mouse inside and leave it so the snake can enter the box and find it there. often this works.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."