Spider Morph Ball Python eating trouble

[bigswede773]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the forum and new to this type of snake. I have a 1472g male spider morph ball python. He is 119 cm long and we acquired him on November 5th. The last time he has eaten was October 7th. The person we got him from said he eats regularly every 2 weeks. I know they can go long periods without eating, when should I get concerned? We will weigh him every week now that we have a scale capable of doing so. He typically eats live according to the previous owner and we have tried that to no avail as the rat has bitten the snake multiple times. We have tried feeding dead also but with no success. Any info would be helpful. I have a reptostat control with the temp at 84 at night and 92.5 during the day. Our python Monty has multiple hides and we keep the humidity between 40-55%.

Cheers and thanks for the info

[DJC Reptiles]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the forum and new to this type of snake. I have a 1472g male spider morph ball python. He is 119 cm long and we acquired him on November 5th. The last time he has eaten was October 7th. The person we got him from said he eats regularly every 2 weeks. I know they can go long periods without eating, when should I get concerned? We will weigh him every week now that we have a scale capable of doing so. He typically eats live according to the previous owner and we have tried that to no avail as the rat has bitten the snake multiple times. We have tried feeding dead also but with no success. Any info would be helpful. I have a reptostat control with the temp at 84 at night and 92.5 during the day. Our python Monty has multiple hides and we keep the humidity between 40-55%.

Cheers and thanks for the info

Never feed live rats, they are much more dangerous then mice and could easily kill your snake. A ball python of his weight could go up to 6+ months of not eating. You should only be considered when you notice a significant drop in weight.

[Albert Clark]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the forum and new to this type of snake. I have a 1472g male spider morph ball python. He is 119 cm long and we acquired him on November 5th. The last time he has eaten was October 7th. The person we got him from said he eats regularly every 2 weeks. I know they can go long periods without eating, when should I get concerned? We will weigh him every week now that we have a scale capable of doing so. He typically eats live according to the previous owner and we have tried that to no avail as the rat has bitten the snake multiple times. We have tried feeding dead also but with no success. Any info would be helpful. I have a reptostat control with the temp at 84 at night and 92.5 during the day. Our python Monty has multiple hides and we keep the humidity between 40-55%.

Cheers and thanks for the info
Congrats on the new acquisition! When receiving a new animal it's always good to refer back to the original owner and find out how the animal was housed, fed and the husbandry numbers that were there. Especially when you run into obstacles with that animal. It's certainly ok to feed live and if this is what the previous owner was doing. You need to be aware that those temperature swings from day to night are really unnecessary unless you are conditioning the animal for breeding. And it's controversial at best. The animal needs time to acclimate to new surroundings, smells and sights. There is no time frame really for when a animal becomes established and begins accepting food. However, these guys are built to live on fat stores and infrequent feedings. So I wouldn't worry. Don't continue to offer food if the animal is refusing bc that will only reinforce refusals. I would give him 10 to 14 day intervals of offering meals. Go with something smaller is usually best. Making sure the animal isn't ill or injured or possibly in a shed cycle. A 1500gm python can go without food for a good stretch as long as they have fresh water and a clean enviornment. So, for now focus on stabilizing your temps at 92f without the nightime drop. And raise the humidity to 60%. Once that is accomplished give him the 10 to 14 day interval for offering food.

[Aaron_S]

Pro tips:

1. Could be off food due to breeding season

2. Since the rat has bitten the snake he could be shy of future prey items. Offer up small live rats like weanlings without their eyes open. Leave in over night.

3. Offer every two weeks and don't handle the snake until it begins eating.

4. Increase humidity just a tad to around 60%.

5. Keep the temps at 92 all day/night. At night a natural temp drop will occur and since you aren't breeding, it isn't needed.

[bigswede773]

Thanks for the info, we truly appreciate it. I did refer to the owner and he was feeding live rats every 3 weeks. They were pretty substantial rats and ours was only 39 grams. We currently have 2 small mice weighing 21 and 23 grams each. And have offered on Monday and Friday. We will now wait until the 12th of February before feeding again. We weighed him again today and he weighs 1345 grams. He has 2 water bowls and 2 hides, one on either end of his enclosure. At what weight should we be concerned? Please advise. He had his last BM on December 30th.
Cheers and thanks

[DJC Reptiles]

I would be concerned once he looses about 15-20% of his body weight. At that point he should be taken to a vet. Ball pythons tend to go off feed during the cooler months, and perhaps some of the breeding season. He should go back on food by early spring through late spring. He may also go back on food before that, (and may go past that). I recommend you attempt feeding every 3-4 weeks to be sure.

[Aaron_S]

Thanks for the info, we truly appreciate it. I did refer to the owner and he was feeding live rats every 3 weeks. They were pretty substantial rats and ours was only 39 grams. We currently have 2 small mice weighing 21 and 23 grams each. And have offered on Monday and Friday. We will now wait until the 12th of February before feeding again. We weighed him again today and he weighs 1345 grams. He has 2 water bowls and 2 hides, one on either end of his enclosure. At what weight should we be concerned? Please advise. He had his last BM on December 30th.
Cheers and thanks

If the snake is 1345 grams then you should offer a small rat in the 100 gram range. It could simply not view your prey offerings as prey being they are so small. My adult females in the same weight range get a rat about 150 grams in size.

I wouldn't worry about the weight of the snake until at least 25 - 30% is lost in a relatively short period of time.

10% on a snake that size is barely 130 grams, you won't even notice it.

[kazz]

why don't anyone suggests change food type ? o_O
no need feed snakes alive creatures, all pythons eat frozen/thawed food.
and try feed him at full dark.
try mice or/and quails

is it possible the python miss previous keeper ?

[Andy_G]

why don't anyone suggests change food type ? o_O
no need feed snakes alive creatures, all pythons eat frozen/thawed food.
and try feed him at full dark.
try mice or/and quails

is it possible the python miss previous keeper ?

Not all snakes will take frozen/thawed and it is important to get a new addition established before trying to switch it over, so it makes sense to continue offering it what it had eaten before. That's why nobody has suggested changing food type just yet.

[kazz]

Not all snakes will take frozen/thawed and it is important to get a new addition established before trying to switch it over

I switched my python. She was eating live mice. I have no mice so I tried thawed rats and she didn't take. After that I gave her thawed quail and she started it them.
At least they can try thawed quail and mice simultaneously with full dark . They loose nothing and it's better try than give alive rats again and again.

[Andy_G]

I switched my python. She was eating live mice. I have no mice so I tried thawed rats and she didn't take. After that I gave her thawed quail and she started it them.
At least they can try thawed quail and mice simultaneously with full dark . They loose nothing and it's better try than give alive rats again and again.

I'll respectfully disagree as trying different types of prey with an unestablished captive can sometimes cause more of an issue, but I am glad it worked for your snake. :)

[kazz]

so does the python start eat ?