Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a cb ball that is ALWAYS afraid of food, I mean she is a little smaller than her sister which has a bigger head and width compared to her and is a dead fast killer. This ball however is so shy and timid and didnt eat 2 months after she hatched (thats what her card said) so i had to assist feed her. Her chomped down on the mouse and swallowed it by herself. Well I tried to feed her again and her sister stole her food so I put her in a box by herself and she was so shy and afraid of the mouse. I then had to serve the mouse pre-killed and she just kept on rolling over it. then tried to assist feed her again and she wouldn't take it. Is she sick? Whats wrong with her.

Try putting her and a fresh killed mouse in a small box or paper bag. If you use the bag, staple it shut so she can't get out. Put the whole thing inside her enclosure and leave her in there overnight and see what happens. With any luck the mouse should be gone in the morning

Quig

I suggest separating the two balls completely. Take out the more aggressive eater and put her into her own cage. Then this may encourage the other one to eat normally. Snakes are not social animals and really should only be housed together just long enough to breed them.

If she doesn't eat after a week being on her own, then try other methods to entice feeding, such as already suggested. You can also try live rat pinks or fuzzies instead of mice, or gerbil pinkies. Once she is eating these fine, go for fresh killed or frozen thawed. Other options are to 'brain' the prey item first. This involved cutting into the head of the rat/mouse to expose the brain. You can also try offering adult rat tails, or half a mouse/small rat.
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PHLdyPayne

Yeah but If i put the mouse alone with her all she does is roll over it and pays no attention. Im going to feed her every 3-4 weeks to get her hungry or something. It gets me mad when this snake doesnt eat, my other 2 eat religously. Im thinking about giving it up.

I think you should sent the snake to me... lol

Harassing the poor scared baby with food every 3 days is NOT going to make it hungry. Its only going to make the problem worse.

Put the snake in a small, dark cage with lots of stuff to hide in, and leave her alone for a week. She'll start eating when she's comfortable, not when you stuff a big scary mouse in her face.

Thansk misskiwi, I'll leave her alone in a cage by herself. She always cruises around in her cage and she looks so little compared to her sister, I think her sister could easily eat her if she wanted but she never bothers her sister so they do well. I'm going to offer food this weekend and do what you say, thanks!

any plans to separate them?

No cant yet. I have them both in a ten gallon and with me and school i have no time to get money for a new tank so quick. They move around and dont seem to even care about each other. I thought since they were sisters they would be better with each other. If this snake doesnt eat im giving it to my friend next door. How can an animal NOT eat? It just doesn't make sense.

Snakes can go months without eating. I believe the record for a ball python is 22 months with no ill effects. Just be patient. it'll eat when it goiod and ready.

Quig

Your giving up on a animal that is perfectly fine? Remember, just because you don't understand the way the animal is programed doesn't mean the animal is defective. That Ball Python is trying to tell you something, you just refuse/don't want to hear it. You are stressing the poor thing out, plain and simple; Thats why its not feeding. Stress usually = non-feeders in the reptile world. It is up to you, as the animals caretaker to correct the problems ( seperate and leave alone ). If you don't, you'll be one of the many who come here saying their Ball Python starved to death, and you don't understand why. Take it for what its worth, but it's coming from expierience

You don't need another aquarium to house the little female in. I have enough snakes that quite a few of mine call Rubbermaids home. Walmart, The Dallar Store... both have great prices and tubs that would work as a new home with some air holes and substrate and heat. Also there have been cases of cannibalism in ball pythons so while the larger girl might not look at her sister like a TV dinner it could happen. I admit that I've housed balls together for short amounts of time occasionally but there wasn't much of a size difference if any.

You've gotten some great advice on here, if you're not really into taking the extra time this girl is going to take I suggest selling her or trading her.

Good luck

you need to learn about your animals before you kill them. get yourself the inexpensive Ball Python manual AT LEAST, or NERD's new Ball python book (even better). you are doing so many things wrong it is hard to pic one point to start. but yes, you are stressing the animal to death, and so casually at that (don't bother giving it away, with your logic, might as well just throw it away)
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Well i would say youve learned something here and now its time to test it out.
I also have had my bps go off feed and im convenced its the season but one thing concerns me, weight loss.
Everything is right on husbandry and i leave them alone only to give water and mist the cage's cypress bedding. But their cages are right up next to eachother in a closet (so it would be dark and peaceful for them) but is their location too close to eachother in separate cages? I did put a piece of cardboard between the plastic so they couldnt see eachother but what about smell? I realize many people have balls in racks so i didnt think it would be an issue but what do you think? Any ideas?

for older balls, healthy animals that are cycling for breeding, or even seasonal cycling, anorexia can be common, and not unheard of. you have to evaluate your animal according to your particular situation.

an otherwise healthy adult that goes off feed during the winter may not bring a lot of concern. as long as there is no significant weight loss or negative health impact, the animal should be fine.

might as well consider the possiblities though...

recent cage change? recent diet change? addition of new animals? change in your source of feeders? any number of things can add stress to the situation, and one of the first indicators of stress is loss of appetite.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Im thinking of getting a new snake from the petstore and posted a topic on the kingsnake board. I have no use for an animal that DOESNT want to eat. I dont mean to be rude or mean but if an animal doesnt eat then it will die the hard way and no one wants that. I think my neighbor can take care of her to so its not really a problem. Ill look for some rubbermaids or something at wal mart after school on friday. Thanks for the help though.

Well...with that additude and level of ignorance, perhaps reptiles aren't for you.

Dathan

Because she's not eating BECAUSE OF YOU!!

Your poor husbandry skills are the direct cause of your snakes problems. If you aren't willing to correct those problems, your snake will never eat. Its not the snake, its YOU!

If you aren't willing to learn how to properly care for your pets, I would rather you gave up all your animals, not just the difficult ones.

Why even spend the money on a nice snake( any ball python is a nice snake) and then be to cheap to buy them separate cages, then come here and ask for help, explaining the terrible care you have given them and then complain you have no use for an animal that doesnt eat. Reptiles arent for you and if you cant take care of a ball python properly I would like to know what kind of snake you can take care of and you think your going to give up the ball and get a different snake and your going to run into the same problem, in my opinion balls are the easiest snakes to care for and you probably couldnt take care of a dog,
thanks
tony butler

I actually had to give up my pet cocker spanial for not taking care of it and my beagle too so your kind of a mind reader lol. I plan to get a california king at the pet store, i believe its a california king but not sure. I dont want to give her up and dont want to waste to much money. If an animal doesnt eat its not my fault i do the best i can. They are doing fine together, i just saw one incident where the bigger one bit the smaller one but thats because the smaller one wouldnt let her in the hide and kept bugging her. It looks nice and i think they actually prefer to be with each other rather than alone. I didnt come here for care advice though i came here to ask why the little one wasnt eating, i love reptiles and when i get old enough i want to buy a poisonous snake. Im not that cheap its just everything is sucking money out of me right now and im not that old.

.

If an animal doesnt eat its not my fault i do the best i can. They are doing fine together, i just saw one incident where the bigger one bit the smaller one but thats because the smaller one wouldnt let her in the hide and kept bugging her.

Thats called stress.

Give them all away...and never buy another animal...except maybe some fishing worms...actually...you do need a hot.
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Charles Glaspie

Tanstaafl:
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch".
An acronym created by my favorite author Robert A. Heinlein.

I think that you are trolling this forum just to make people angry, and if your not you are a sad individual and I agree you should get a hot, I am thinking you should get a gabby, I hear they love to be held, and like to play with fingers
tony

Crawl back under your bridge!!!
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J.Jex

i agree fully you need to get a hot. anyone know how to set up a coral snake enclosure?

biting each oterh is not a " fine together response" it is a "get away you are in my space response". and indicates a SERIOUS husbandry problem. and if you had to give up other easy pets, why the hell did you get a snake
bps in my experience are the easiest to care for, and if you cant care for a bp dont get another snake.
i keep my 2 yearling bps in a 77 gal aquarium with 5 different hides across their temp spectrum, and they do prefer to be in different hides most of the time.
if i saw biting between any of my geckos or snakes, i would immediatly separate them, and i have extra cages all over my house just in case a situation arrises.
if all you can afford is a 10 gallon aquarium, you cant afford a bp. a 2 yr old bp wont fit in a 10 gal aquarium. let alone 2

you see pet owners like you are why the animal shelters are full of abandonned animals, you get tired of careing for them, and just give up, or give them away.
i own 6 bps, 4 of them are rescues from ppl that got tired of taking care of their pets. without exception, they were underweight and underfed, my most rescent female (4 ft long) got 1 mouse every 2 weeks because her previous owner "didnt like to see the mouse get killed"
when you buy a pet, you take on a responsability for the correct care and housing of that animal.
if you ddont know what you are doing then for fu#$ sake dont get a reptile. stick to a cat or a dog that is easy. stay away from herps all together.
i am part of a herp rescue network in montreal. and i see malnourished animals constantly. and ppl like you are the cause.
my suggestion, sell your snakes to someone who will take propper care of them before you scare them to death with food.
even my 4.5 ft female, will get scared by a fk rat if it is offered in the wrong way. my suggestion if you are serious about keeping bps, get a book, look up a proper care sheet, make her comfortable in her surrounding. dont open her cage for at least a week, then try to give her a dead mouse, dont feed a young snake live food, you will end up with a dead or injured snake.