7 months...

[riddick07]

So I doubt anyone remembers but I picked up two ball pythons about 7 months ago. The female eats anything and everything has only refused when she is in shed. She has just about hit the 600 gram mark. The male on the other hand reminded me why I no longer had ball pythons except for one. He refused from the minute he arrived to eat anything.

Welllll today I decided to pick him up an adult mouse after not even bothering to try for a few months and tada he eats! Only took 7 months...

[dave himself]

Congratulations on your little guy eating :)

[SWDK]

Well that's great news. Glad he finally broke the fast. Hopefully he continues to eat for you and can switch to rats without too much fuss.

[SerpentineDream]

Thank goodness! Hopefully the trend will continue. Maybe next time he'll even accept a rat?

One of mine is a garbage disposal, though he certainly didn't start out that way. One is finally turning into a solid eater. The other two are making me cry and pull my hair out.

http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r669/Serpentine_Dream/Mobile%20Uploads/7476_zpsy4xtu8hl.jpeg (http://s1361.photobucket.com/user/Serpentine_Dream/media/Mobile%20Uploads/7476_zpsy4xtu8hl.jpeg.html)

[savvylr]

Glad he's eating now! I would be a nervous wreck having a snake fast for 7 months... My little hoggie girl has been with me for less than a week and hasn't eaten yet and it's freaking me out lol. Love that meme though haha.

[Albert Clark]

rid, hey that's a long time for a ball python to refuse meals and that is really not the norm. Sometimes a breeder or previous owner may have a animal on a certain prey item and the animal becomes fixed on that and won't accept anything else. It's always easier to switch hatchlings and younger snakes over. Was that a live adult mouse that you offered to yours? Sometimes what's done is the bait and switch method. Use a smaller live prey item and offer that and right after that follow with a f/t item. I know you are aware of the husbandry aspect of getting them to eat also. However one thing you may not be aware of is the benefit of using 100% cypress mulch as your substrate. Colin Weaver has written extensively on the benefits of cypress mulch in poorly feeding and non feeding ball pythons. His case by case histories are well documented in his article titled "The enimagtic ball python appetite". A must read for all ball python keepers. Hope this helped.

[riddick07]

Thanks guys! I'm not worrying about switching yet but I might try a rat next time just to see if he will take it without an argument. And see if maybe it was just that he needed to sit in a rack for awhile that isn't in view of the flying winged demons that I call my parrots.

I can move him onto cypress now but that might cause him to freak out again. If he doesn't start to consistently eat from now on I can try it. I know shipping freaked him out and I think the birds freaked him out more. I didn't have rack space until the other month and he didn't get offered live while living in the rack until yesterday. I had been messing with his temps incase he was just being picky about that since I have a dwarf boa that won't eat unless the temps are exactly the way he wants them. I'm thinking it was more a safety thing and him being a complete scaredy cat about his own shadow.

I had also read awhile ago that someone thought smell had an affect on if they would eat or not. Something along the lines of if the enclosures smelled too much like a snake the ball wouldn't eat and when it went into a fresh enclosure that smelled of just rat it would eat. I thought that was strange but interesting.

I found the article from the guy you mentioned and incase serpentinedream wanted to give it a try for their hair pulling difficult pains:D
The Enigmatic Ball Python Appetite - East Coast Reptile Breeders (http://ballpythonbreeder.com/2014/08/the-enigmatic-ball-python-appetite/)

[Albert Clark]

Cool! Good luck with that. I was hoping others would peruse the article. Thanks.

[macandchz]

being an owner of a Mr. Picky", i will definitely check out that article . mac's been eating really well lately which is making me suspicious that he's planning a big winter fast. last year, he didn't eat in dec. and jan. i don't trust him....

[Albert Clark]

being an owner of a Mr. Picky", i will definitely check out that article . mac's been eating really well lately which is making me suspicious that he's planning a big winter fast. last year, he didn't eat in dec. and jan. i don't trust him....

Yes mac, you will find the article very enlightening and beneficial. It will give you some new insight on the remedies for the picky and non feeding ball pythons. Enjoy!

[macandchz]

Al, that was really a great article. it answered lots of my feeding questions. thanks!

[SerpentineDream]

I am sooooo off to buy a few bags of cypress mulch....

[Albert Clark]

I am sooooo off to buy a few bags of cypress mulch....

Hey guys, when and if you decide to switch substrates just be cognizant of your humidity percentages. Cypress mulch will increase the humidity percentage initially but will gradually decrease as it dries out. You can start with a thin layer to help with that and then add or subtract as you monitor the humidity. Ball pythons can take high humidity for short periods of time or you can add a few more holes in your tub. You can also dry out the cypress mulch a little before inserting it.

[SerpentineDream]

I struggle to keep humidity high enough (arid climate) so hopefully this will help with that. My colubrids and woma python are fine with it but the ball pythons often need extra assistance.