Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Let me first thank anyone who can help me in advance,I recently got ,I'm pretty sure a female,Ball Python from PETCO.We got her on a Monday and they said they feed on Wednesday Am at the store.I wanted to leave her alone for a week before bothering her but decided to try that Wed. and go figure nothing(pet store recommended frozen "pinkies"so I gave her a week of pretty much being alone and tried again..nothing.A few more tries and I tried frozen "fuzzies",about 3 tries after that I tried a P/K mouse(black),the smallest thing I could get live..nothing.I've done the hide box in the "feed tank" spliting the skull for the brain matter,day,night,etc.
She's pretty active in her normal tank,never "balls up" and rarely tries to hide.In the feed tank she seems more interrested in trying to climb the wall to get out than the prey.
Please any help,I've only had her almost a month and she's already part of the family.

How big is she? If you are feeding pinkies she must be pretty young. They dont eat till after their 1st shed (2 weeks) and then it may be awhile. I had a couple new borns that wouldnt eat and I had to force feed them a few times, due to the fact they were losing so much weight, then they started eating.

Also, I have used very low dose of Methadozidole(spelling?) or Flagyl to stimulate a feeding response. It seemed to work and I have read articles on it being effective to stimulate appetite.

Keep trying and keep us posted!!

Regards,
Alan

Thanks for the fast response,She's though to measure but I'd take a guess at between 18"-24",closer to 24".
You do have me confused a little though..Methadozidole and Flagyl,what's that and what do I do with it?

The snake is not a baby @ 2 feet..you can feed her live mice to get her going, then switch to FT or PK if you'd like. Stick her in a box with a hole in the side for awhile, then daze the mouse and throw it in by the hole. She'll take interest sooner or later. If shes not a baby and her weight is good she can go several MONTHS without food. Provide fresh water and keep trying.

(Methadazidole) a.k.a (Falgyl) is a medicine that is used to kill parasites. It has been shown to also stimulate the appitite in Ball Pythons, maybe other snakes also, when given in low doses (about half the treatment amount for the weight of the snake). It can be bought on the net.

Don't panic.

Regards,
Alan

Do I have to worry about the mouse attacking though? It seemed quite jumpy when I P/K'd it I don't want it to harm my gal,like I said she's part of the family,It would be way more humane for the snake to take the mouse out than for me to do it if it harms my snake.