Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello all, i am new tothis room. i have been breeding and raising beardies for a couple years now and just recently got into snakes. andyways i recently aquired a female ball python from a petstore after the original owner left her on the sidewalk in front of the store, IN A FOOT OF SNOW!! anyways i put her in with my 3 year old male Ernie and they seem to love each other, always curled up together basking together and sleeping together. the only problem is, she hasnt eaten in the 5 weeks that I have had her, live or dead. I have tried seperating them during feeding time, nothing works. My male is doing fine, he'll eat anywhere anytime, but I am getting worried about the girl. My wife is a vet tech at a the local reptile vet and her boss says she is fine, she is still shedding, he says that she might not eat during the winter. I have heard that a female might starve herself in the presence of a male, is this true?? any info would be greatly appreciated!! thank you for reading this!!

number one ball pythons are solitary animals so you need to get her her own cage. She may be so stressed out from sharing her cage that it is causing her to not eat. Do you have enough hides on the hot and cold sides? What are the temps on both sides.
You can make a nice temp cage using a larger rubbermaid container if you do not have another cage available.

Next did you take the snake to the vet after it was in the snow? The snake may have a RI(cold), which makes them not eat either. See any drool, hear any weezing, see the snake blowing bubbles?

I hope you kept her sep from your other snake till you made sure she was healthy.

yes some snakes go for winter fasts, one of my girls was off food this year from oct-mid march. You don't have to worry too much if the snake isn't loosing weight. So it could be that to but I would work on checking other things out too.

Maybe others have some other suggestions to help out.
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Misty Sprouse Ball Pythons

yes she is healthy, my wife is a vet tech at the local reptile vet and she recieved a clean bill o' health...and i did think that maybe she needed her own cage, but my wife's boss said it was ok....i will get her out of there now though....thank you for the help!!!

I am sure that Mitsy knows more about ball pythons than I do. But I have both my male and female together and don't have a problem at all. Prior to getting my female, my male went off feed from December to March. Not that uncommon. She went through a lot. If the vet says not to worry , then don't. I am sure he knows what he is talking about.

Anyone who says it's ok to throw a snake with an unknown history in with another snake without a quaratine period obviously isn't very competant. Yes snakes can be kept together, I keep a pair together, but they have grown up together. Just throwing two snakes together like that is dangerous for both the snakes. Aside from the stress that will be inflicted on both snakes, you never know what the "new" snake is carrying, throwing them together like that could end up making them both sick or possibly killing both. Also you didn't mention how big this new female is, is she of breeding size? If so then there are also issues involving breeding that you have to consider, if not then there is the possiblity of the male forcing himself on her and that can cause issues too. After the new snake is through quarantine and when she is feeding and if these issues regarding breeding are addressed, they by all means put them together. But I know my herp vet would never say it's ok to put those snakes together. I know you want to do whats best for both snakes, separate them for now and then go from there.
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Tosha

8.13.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and currently un-named)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
7.9.5 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer

You may have to face the fact that she was dropped on the doorstep because she was not eating. She may be a WC which will make things more difficult. After you separate the snakes, give her a week or two to settle into her new place then try feeding her something dark colored and small like a mouse. If she doesn't start feeding in the next couple of weeks, try hapmsters or gerbils. Keep an eye on her make sure shes not sick and does not loose too much weight, make sure she stays hydrated, too. Hope all of this helps. Chances are she's just fasting and you'll get her to eat soon.
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Tosha

8.13.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and currently un-named)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
7.9.5 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer