BP feeding Behavior

[daver676]

Hello All,

Do BPs exibit any type of behavior when they are hungry? I only ask because my new ball (had him about 6 days) as been very active the last couple of days. But when I tried to feed him a dead pinkie he refused it. He flicked at it alot, and followed it for a while (while I held it with the tongs) but didn't take it. Any thoughts?

Dave

[killaclown]

yea they get very active lke rubbing around in the cage i dunno if hes hungry but hes shore looking for something. But you know balls are the most anery eaters right?

[Sparda]

BP's are very picky eaters. My first one didn't eat for 4 weeks. I tried everything. Eventually I had to stun a live mouse for him, and he took it within seconds. Now he eats a stunned mouse every week with no problem. Also what kind of pinkie are you trying? From what I have read pinkie mice are too small even for a hatchling BP.

[daver676]

I'm using thawed pinkie mice. The girth of the pinkie matches the girth of the snake. This is always how I've been told to measure prey.

[tHeGiNo]

Hey! A good sign might be searching the cage for foreign smells (tounge flicking) and heading to the cool end (possibility, not always). Normally what you will want to do is have a set feeding plan. For example, every 5 days while really young, once a while when older, etc. etc.

From what I have read pinkie mice are too small even for a hatchling BP.

Right. Some will even take adult mice from hatching :D Of course there is the exact oposite: I had a 3 month old who wouldn't take anything but fuzzies. What you will want to do is leave him alone FOR A WHOLE TWO WEEKS. I know how hard that could be with a new herp, but it is for the best, trust me. Then, try feeding once more. A pinkie might also be too small, how old is your snake? If he doesn't accept then, feel free to post again for some other ways to encourage feeding.

P.S: sorry about the below post, my error and it will not let me delete.

[tHeGiNo]

Originally posted by tHeGiNo
Hey! A good sign might be searching the cage for foreign smells (tounge flicking) and heading to the cool end (possibility, not always). Normally what you will want to do is have a set feeding plan. For example, every 5 days while really young, once a while when older, etc. etc.



Right. Some will even take adult mice from hatching :D Of course there is the exact oposite: I had a 3 month old who wouldn't take anything but fuzzies. What you will want to do is leave him alone FOR A WHOLE TWO WEEKS. I know how hard that could be with a new herp, but it is for the best, trust me. Then, try feeding once more. A pinkie might also be too small, how old is your snake? If he doesn't accept then, feel free to post again for some other ways to encourage feeding.

[daver676]

Well, I went out last night and picked up some frozen rat pups. I hear they are more nutritious. The guy at the reptile store said thats what he had been feeding the baby balls. I've only had him for a week and a half, so I'll probably wait to try another feed this weekend. The first feeding attempt was a week after I got him, and he seemed interested in the mouse, but didn't take it. Hopefully this weekend will be the weekend! :flick:

Dave

[tHeGiNo]

Perfect! Yes that is true, rat pups tend to have more meat on them. What you should try is killing the rat, then placing it in a bag with your ball for the night. This should do the trick.

[daver676]

Thanks for the help. I think i'll see if I can get him eating f/t before I start whacking rats around.

[BallPython13]

update on your progress

[Andy_G]

My ball rests his head on his cork bark log when he is hungry and is not a picky eater at all. I introduce a mouse with tongs into there and once it gets close to him he nails it. I gave him his first pup last night because he was hungry, and he's even in shed.

At first he would follow it around for a long time and do nothing, but I was feeding him in the day, and a few times he wouldnt even eat. If you are not feeding him at night, do it and you will get better results!

[daver676]

Will try feeding a f/t rat pup tomorrow morning (June 6). I'll let you know how it goes. My fingers are crossed.

[daver676]

Hello all, Dave's girlfriend here.

Well here it is, the evening after the morning that we tried feeding him the f/t rat pup....nothing...or rather, same behaviour as with the f/t fuzzy mouse. Seemed interested as I was wiggling it with the tongs, and flicked a lot, but then lost interest. (or rather gained more interest in trying to escape than in the pup) :) . We grabbed our cat and rubbed the pup on him (for that good ole 'live animal' smell, he became interested and 'flicky' again, but then nothing. We left it on the cage and went away for the day, arrived home and the rat is still whole but looking deader...if possible :). At what point should Dave and I start to worry?

PS He's pretty active in the morning, so we tried that this time; haven't been handling him at all...

Thanks,

Barb

[Solid Snake]

My BP only eats if the prey is right by its favourite hiding spot, any where else he wont take it. Its quite fusterating but, as long as they eat, its all good.