Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone. I have been having a lot of trouble getting my ball pythons to eat. I have 7 ball pythons and keep them in a very clean rack that is temperature controlled that I keep at 92. Majority of my snakes are about a year old and I have not previously had trouble getting them to eat, however recently, less and less of them are taking food. This week only one of them ate. I am growing really concerned and feel like I have tried everything. I bought a new thermostat for the racks to make sure they were warm and it’s consistently reading 92 so I don’t think heat is the issue. All of my snakes eat frozen and transitioned to rats very well. I have been told that wild ball pythons go moths without eating and it’s natural to have slow eating periods,, but the pattern with all of the snakes is making me nervous. I am very concerned as to why they all seem to have stopped eating around the same time and was hoping for some advice. I also was wondering if having hides in the rack interferes with snakes eating. helps, or has no correlation? I really appreciate any thoughts or advice you have. Thank you!

Just a quick follow up: if the best thing to do is to go to the vet, I will absolutely do it, I just want to make sure there isn’t a simple fix before I put them through the stress of going. Thanks!

Forgot to mention, but there has been no significant weight loss or anything like that in any of the snakes

Have the same problem with mine. Everyone quit on me. Eating DF and *fresh killed. You could try a live rat and kill it before offering. This works well with most of them. If they still refuse then just cool them down to high of 82, low of 79-80.
If their weight is good, etc. no vet visit necessary. They're just doing what comes naturally.

* Grasp rat's neck with thumb/forefinger, and base of tail with other hand. Give a quick jerk. You'll feel the neck snap. It sounds bad, but drowning or suffocating is worse. Most zoos put the rodents in a box, wrap in strong plastic, and CO2 them.