what to do...what to do.

[codykrr]

ok so i know this has been beaten with a stick. and trust me, ive sent PM's, countless hours of research and tried many methods and all have ended in failure.

ok so last year i picked up a hatchling regular ball python female.i got it from a LPS.(yeah i know now i shouldnt have....) well i brought her home and quarantined her for a little over 120 days. all seems well.

she has always been a very picky eater. at first she wouldnt eat in the daytime(or with any lights at all) and she has NEVER taken F/T! EVER! well she started eating during the day. barely but getting better.

she wont eat a mouse if its too big either. or too small...

i have tried getting her to take F/T by wiggling, scenting(with gerbils, hamsters, rats...ect..ect.) and would never eat them. so i basically figured well. live it is(as much as i hate doing that...(yes i know the dangers!)

well about 5 months ago she just stopped eating. she stays well hydrated....and she has shed twice..she didnt start loosing weight untill just recently and now i am getting worried.

she has basically stopped paying attention to her prey. i put a mouse in there(i always supervise since its a live mouse) and she will act like she will strike it, then get scared acting and nothing.

so i sent PBL a Pm a week ago or so. she suggested getting a baby rat pup. so i did....and well....nothing.

i am in fear she is going to loose too much weight and die, or ill never get her to eat and have to force feed(which im not sure how to do honestly)

so my question to you all. What should i do now.

currently i have her in her feeding tub, covered with a towel and a F/t rat pup.(the one she didnt eat so i froze it)

she isnt too bad right now, and seems as if she just started loosing weight this month. I am just at loss.

 

[DeathsPyro12]

Tried leaving a f/t mouse or rat pup in with her for a while in a dark quiet place? Its been a while since I have kept ball pythons, forgot they tend to be so picky.

 

[codykrr]

yup, i left a F/T rat pup in with her all night, in our water heater closet(dark and warm) and got up to a stiff rat sitting there.

pretty sad when i have better luck keep a W/c red milk snake from missouri. heck that little dude eats like a pro compared to her.

 

[codykrr]

yeah, and my buddy also got a male the same day from the same place as i got my girl, and his eats like a champ. not a problem. also about twice my girls size now...

 

[Lucas339]

i had a hatchling do this to me last year. it was the first animal i ever hatched out so it was even more worry some to me. i just kept trying and trying.

i would hold off on the force feed. have you tried ASF rats yet? this worked with mine but be sure to supervise on this one. try to be as sneaky as you can. stop moving her from tub to tub. this only stresses out shy hatchlings. i hate the entire feed in a seperate container. i never have and i only have one animal with cage aggression and that is an adult carpet that i bought as an adult. try dimming the lights as low as you can (at night) as put the feeder in. don't move. don't make eye contact. don't pass go. i would really try ASF as they are the natural prey for ball pythons.

 

[codykrr]

and where can i obtain african soft furred rats? i have never seen them around here.

if you have maybe i could buy a pair?

 

[codykrr]

oh, and i only put her into a feeding tub to minimize the chance of her just hiding in her hide.

also i have to feed my red milk in a tub, or it will not eat either, so i figure i would try what was working with another picky eater, with her.

 

[Shell]

When we were switching our female to f/t, she was horribly fussy. She still can be a little funny, but one trick that works with her is to not only thaw the rat but to warm it even more with a hair dryer, not to the point of being hot of course but warmer then room temp.

 

[codykrr]

the meathod i use for thawing(which has always worked for other snakes, is to soak them in warm water for about 30min. then at the last i put them in REALLY warm water. id say average temp of them mice i have fed is somewhere in the 90 to 95 deg F range. also i dry them off with a paper towel before feeding.

his method has worked with dozens of snakes i have owned in my life.

 

[Shell]

Yeah we always use quite warm water as well and dry them first but she was still a bit fussy. It was just a suggestion, since I know it helped immensely in getting my girl to take f/t.

 

[codykrr]

hmm.. well then, i dont have a hair dryer(nor does my wife) so wonder if a heat lamp would suffice? maybe thaw it out with water and let it get good and warm under the light while it dries...im going to try it.

 

[Toirtis]

ASFs and gerbils will usually entice the most picky BPs to eat, especially if left in overnight...unfortunately, there are some BPs that just will never eat pre-killed.

 

[Crysta]

hm what are the tempuratures? maybe if you dont have a thermonitor in the cage it could have changed without you knowing?

Also I would reccomend feeding the bp in the cage, some snakes just don't like being taken out of where they feel safe and might not end up eating. Take out her hide insted of her.

 

[codykrr]

ok, so she just ate!!!

i went to my LPS and bought 2 pretty small hopper mice. i had the lady put in some wood chips from the rat enclosure into the box with the mice.

came home, and dropped it in there live(yes i know blah blah) and bam, she nailed it!

BTW her temps ok her warm side are 85F and on her cool side about 75F humidity is good, so i dont know whats up. either way, she is eating and im happy. when she is done with this hopper im going to put the other in to see how she does.

 

[codykrr]

Ok so it was a No go on the second mouse. but at least she ate right?

 

[Crysta]

that's great she ate! There should be a hotspot of 90F though!

 

[codykrr]

well from all my readings, it said 85 was fine. is it not?

 

[Crysta]

85 on the warm side yes, but there needs to be a basking spot of 90f for the wellness of digestion. Don't go over 92~

 

[Shell]

85 on the warm side yes, but there needs to be a basking spot of 90f for the wellness of digestion. Don't go over 92~

+1 to all of this.

 

[missscarlett]

What to do...

What does the vet say? Even though she was quarantined, she could still have bacteria/parasite load? Many do. A vet check might clear up these questions before she starts to go downhill?