Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A friend of mine was at a pet store that has some baby ball pythons. They are very small right now, not sure how old though. The guy at the store said that he is "force-feeding" them still, except one has started to feed on its own. That sounds a little fishy to me... is it normal to force feed baby snakes? I thought that it wa never a good idea to force them to eat & that they would start eating on their own. It should be instinct right? Just curious if anyone has any thoughts on that. Am I out to lunch? Is this normal to do? Or is this guy not taking good care of his snakes?

First of all...Any time you willingly buy a snake that is being "force fed" you are signing up for problems. That said:

Ball pythons CAN be problem eaters. Especially wild-caught ones. Despite the vast number of people who are breeding them in captivity these days, LOTS of them are being imported dirt-cheap and full of their own trouble. Not eating & parasites are the biggies.

It is VERY easy these days to purchase a good quality captive bred snake that is feeding well on its own. To do otherwise unless you have graduated to some serious "specialty snakes" is downright foolish.

Find a reputable breeder. Go to a reptile show. Pet stores are usually where you will pay more and get less. Duffy

Force feeding should always be the LAST option

It is only necessary when the snake goes a couple of weeks past it's first shed.

However, sometimes, snakes will need to have their appetite 'kick-started'... if a baby is force fed, it will usually then proceed to eat on its own for future feedings.

So, if this guy told you he force fed them once, and now they are eating, that wouldn't be that bad... but needing to force feed several times is pretty ridiculous... he is probably just too lazy to try the numerous ways to get a snake to feed.

Like already said: there really isn't any reason to buy a snake that isn't eating, when there are just so many to choose from nowadays. Good luck.

W/c Ball pythons do not usually recognise mice as food. Very often adults will starve before eating anything voluntarily. In this case force feeding is necessary tilll the snake gets the point. A c/b baby that is not feeding is a bad risk.

When buying a Ball it is allways the best option to see it feed in person before purchasing.

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