Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone. I know I am in the wrong forum but the ball forums best advice to me was "wait it out" My question is.... I have a ball that simply won't eat. Temps are good, humidity should be fine. I have tried leaving him in the feeding tub with it overnight, I have even tried feeding him in his tank. What else can I do?
-----
0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

How long has it been since the ball ate for you? A few times? Never?
Is it a wild caught/hatched, or is it a Captive bred & born? Having a CBB Ball python goes along way with having an excellent feeder. And even CBB go off feed sometimes. No big deal if your talking weeks, or even over a month. Wild caught/hatched are the ones that have a bad rap for going for long periods of not eating. I don't think it's a problem unless your talking months & months. I used to own a CBB male that I purchased from John Cherry at Cherryville Farms and that python never missed a meal. Would take Frozen/Thawed every week without missing a beat. Also, I'm sure you know, but balls don't need any higher humidity requirements. I kept mind just like my Rats and Kings, with the exception of when it was close to shed time, then I made sure I raised the humidity level up a few notches. Good luck.

Steve

"Hello everyone. I know I am in the wrong forum but the ball forums best advice to me was "wait it out" My question is.... I have a ball that simply won't eat. Temps are good, humidity should be fine. I have tried leaving him in the feeding tub with it overnight, I have even tried feeding him in his tank. What else can I do"?

He is cb. I picked him up at the Tulsa show on may 21.... figured since he was only $15 I would give balls a try. the guy said he "didn't remember when he last ate" which could have been his way of NOT saying he doesn't eat.... still has an ambilical scar... has been cruising his tank at night and sometimes in the day, so I don't think he is stressed out much. whenever I try to feed him he shows absolutely NO interest in eating. Don't know what to do. I don't wanna force feed him but don't know what else to do.
-----
0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

if you remember when i first got naaza in march he did that. on march 29 he ate(i think)i can look that up) then he didnt eat again til may 2 or 3rd, but he shed on on april 28...........that was his first shed with me, after that in may, he shed again on may 27, he refuse to eat for a week and the shed went faster...........

For $15 I'm going to take a guess that your guy is captive hatched. Captive hatched are listed many times as CB Ball pythons, where as a true captive born is listed as a CBB and runs a higher price then $15. Anyway, keep an eye on his weight, and if he continues to not eat, maybe a trip to the vet would be in order, to purge any potential parasites he may have. Good luck. Also try a correct sized gerbil, or different type of mouse other then white lab mice if you can get a hold of one, to see if that will jump start his feeding. Good luck

Steve

I had the same thought - CH instead of CB. $15 is really cheap even for a normal BP. A vets visit and a fecal is probably a good idea.
-----
-----
Amber

1.0.0 Ball Python - Tucker
1.0.0 Snow Corn - Aiden
0.1.0 Pueblan Milk Snake - Marishka

2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
5.0.0 Ferrets - Tigger, Bailey, Cody, Keyta, & Bandit

Sounds a little fishy to me that the person who sold him to you couldn't "remember" the last time he ate. Most responsible breeders/dealers keep detailed records of the first shed, first meal etc... I am brand new to BP's too (bought mine same time you did) so cannot give too much advice. I can tell you what I do with mine though. When I feed Tucker, he does not show interest in the food at first, in fact if he sees me, he will spend more time trying to get to me than the mouse. I found that unlike my corn and milk, he seems to prefer "privacy" when he eats. He will not touch the food as long as I'm keeping an eye on him. To get him to eat, I have to turn off all lights in the room and leave. I just fed him for the second time Tuesday and it took him almost 3 hours, but he finally polished off two fuzzies. My milk & corn are done in about 5 minutes. Tucker eats on his own time table. Just other misc. details - I feed him in a separate sterilite container with a heating pad under one side. I use frozen thawed mouse fuzzies (thawed in ziplock baggy in a cup of hot water for about an hour) and put them on the warm side with the heating pad. I have also fed him directly in his tank, but wanted to get him used to eating outside of his tank, so I could clean his tank when he was feeding. Good luck and let us know how he is doing!

-----
-----
Amber

1.0.0 Ball Python - Tucker
1.0.0 Snow Corn - Aiden
0.1.0 Pueblan Milk Snake - Marishka

2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
5.0.0 Ferrets - Tigger, Bailey, Cody, Keyta, & Bandit

Whether CB or CBB, the hatcher (as i think the title of breeder isn't deserved by this guy) is definately sus. But at the end of the day, no matter where the snake came from, as long as you can get it healthy and feeding, and with good handling, for $15 it's a steal.

I wouldn't worry until it gets to about 2 months. Then i would assist feed before trying to force feed. But i would ensure that you weigh your snake now so that you can track weight loss.

Ensure the temps are right - 75-85F ambient, with a 90F basking spot. Ensure that there is a nice tight hide spot for him to seek refuge in. Ensure that it is only in a small kritter-keeper type case (about 1 foot long and 9" wide). Try covering two sides of the case with newspaper to provide more privacy.

Some things you may wanna try -

Feeding at dawn and dusk

Braining (cutting the scalp of a rat and squeezing the head a bit) - the smell would be enough to entice anybody's appetite

Warming the rat to various temps. 89-90F (32C) is about the natural body temp of a rat.

Try placing the rat and the snake together inside a brown paper bag, fold the end over, and leave overnight.

Try touching the rat to the body of the snake - this may be enough to get a strike, but beware, may promote aggression in feeding.

Try feeding only when the snake is cruising around his case

Try just placing a rat inside the enclosure whilst he's in his hide box, and don't disturb him. He may just wander out and eat in privacy.

Ensure that you only offer food every 3 or 4 days... you don't want to desensitize the snake to food, and have it believe it will always be there everyday when he wants it.

What food are you offering? I find that mine have shown no interest in rodents without a full coat of fur. So i offer small weaner rats first time round.

Don't try force feeding unless you know what you're doing. Otherwise get a breeder or qualified vet to show you.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

Cheers.
Aaron.
-----
Happy Herping

I've got a couple of stubborn hatchlings. I finally got 2 of them to eat a live rat pink. They shy'ed away from them at first but after awhile they gobbled them down. Perhaps try a live rat pink, they aren't as intimidating as a fast moving mouse.

is not huge with BPs. But I picked up 7 CH babies that had not yet fed. I tried both live and f/t small adult mice and baby rats. My experience was that most preferred the live mice, but some ate anything. All are feeding pretty well now on at least live rats or mice, and occasionally f/t.

An experienced BP keeper posted once that his best trick for feeding w.c. balls was to put them in complete darkness for a few days in a small cage with slightly damp cypress mulch before offering food (didn't say which food). I guess that simulates a burrow, which is where they spend a good bit of their lives. I have heard BP keepers say that a healthy BP will generally not starve itself to death, although it can be a LONG time before they eat.

Good luck!

try different stuff

need a cage at 80 on one end and 89 at other..if not possible go for 84..........use aspen or paper.........high humidity.......big water bowl.......hide box ...........

try live mice ......rat fuzzy......chinese hamster...gerbils.......russian hamster....Peromyscus leucopus (deer mice)......

IF you try gerbils or hamster and all.it may only eat these animals..it may switch it may not...

I have 8 African balls here that are 700 to 1000 grams....one just started eating mice.one ate gerbils and now switched to mice....2 have eaten gerbil and 4 haven't eaten at all yet.................I got them here on Dec 6 th 2004.........

wild balls suck and if you don't have something right even captive ones can suck too......

NO heat rocks or heat lamps........
-----
................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

why no heat lamps?
-----
0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

heat lamps dry out eberything.and balls actually go undergound all day to get away from the sun.so they really don't like the light on them all day./.........

heat rocks suck too.....dry

balls like it humid.....jungle to forrested areas........not savanahs.......

box with moist moss will help.......

feed live.......

.......keep waiting.....

next time buy a captive born in the USA ball that eats and it will grow alot better........
-----
................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Have you tried starting a rat pink in its mouth?Sometimes just giving them a taste helps.If that doesnt work slit a rat pink head and try again.I had one wild caught ball python go a year without eating...Paul

We have a lot of experience with BPs here. The very first snake we got was a wild caught. He only eats live rats in the summer. He will only eat maybe four or five times a year and is doing just fine. For the young fella, he is definately gonna have to eat more often than that. There have been some excellent suggestions made. All I can say is to keep offering food once a week and hopefully it will eat when it is ready. I would try live prey at night. Mist the tank. Sometimes that seems to enhance the senses. I have only had one bp not make it, and it was from Bob Clark. Even snakes from the best breeders dont make it sometimes. Hang in there.
-----
1,0 snow
1,0 amel
1,0 texas corn
1,0 aney stripe motley
0,1 normal
0,1 charcoal
0,1 motley
1,1 oketee
0,1 tx rat
1,0 diadem
4,5 ball python
1,1 dumerils boa
1,1 columbian red tail boa
1,1 green iguana
1,0 leopard gecko
1,2 dogs
freezer full of mice & rats