Lethargic Ball

[daver676]

I fed my ball python a large hopper mouse last Tuesday (sept 9), a she has seemed really lazy all week. This was her biggest meal to date, and she ate it backwards. She doesn't come out to explore as much, and pretty much always stays in one spot, and when I handle her, she doesn't seem as curious. I picked up some frozen adult mice in hopes of feeding her one tonight, but I'm a little worried because she has been so "lazy" since her last feeding. Should I attempt to feed her tonight, or maybe give her a few days to liven up a bit?

Thanks,

Dave

[HetForHuman]

I would try to feed her tonight, Why not???

if she doesnt take it wait a day or 2 and try again.

how old is she???

you prob could have been feeding her adult mice since you got her.

[Kappa]

Are the temps in your tank a little lower by any chance? Its getting colder outside and if ur tank isnt getting any extra heat that may be y she is slowing down.

[sapphire_moon]

You should have been feeding her adult mice/rat pups since you got her. I would wait atleast 1 week before feeding her again, and then offer her the adult mouse/ rat pup (of same size or slightly bigger)........And check your temps to make sure she has a basking spot of atleast 90-92 degree's (32 Celsius- 33 Celsius) and a cool temp of 75 degrees-80 degrees (24 Celsius-27 Celsius)....

[daver676]

Well I tried to feed her an adult mouse last night, and she didn't take it, so I stuck it in the fridge and will try again on Thursday. Yeah, now that I think about, the temps have been a little low, so I turned the heat lamp up to 100% (from about 75%). As far as some people saying I should have been feeding her adults from the start, well, she was really small to start with, and didn't eat for the first 2 months I had her, so I've been working her up to adult mice, and even now these adults seem large for her, but I'm sure she can handle them now. She is about 5 months old, but doesn't seem as thick in the body as she should be, but she IS growing longer. She also doesn't poop very often...averaging only about once a month. I have heard that these snakes, as babies, will usually poop once every week or two. Usually after 2 meals. Is this true for baby bps? Thanks for your replies.

Dave

[Jo060]

The same thing happend with my BP (Hugh) Its do to the size change I do believe. There getting used to it. I read a post in here about under feeding and the size the prey should be so I changed it which went from Pinky rat to rat pup, which is a pretty great change. So, for about 4 days he was pretty slow after that. But, then by the 2nd feeding he seemed to be used to it and ate it with much more ease.

[Big Mike]

What are the temp in the enclosure...right on the floor where the snake is? Are you heating with more than just a heat lamp?

I'm sure your snake could handle an adult so stick to feeding those. Every 5-7 days to get him up to a healthier size.

[daver676]

I currently heat only with an infrared (red) heat lamp. (100W). This is sufficient most of the time. I also have a heat pad underneath the tank for especially cold night, when the lamp by itself won't do the trick. The temps the last few night were dropping to around 75. During the day that would usually go up to about 85. The basking spot under the light never usually goes below 88 or so.

Dave

[RepTylE]

I was wondering if she might be a little dry. I regularly give my BP a little soak on wet paper towels and he almost always has a tremendous poop.
Just a thought but maybe that method might work for you Daver. Then she might be as ravenous as mine is afterward.

[Big Mike]

I would suggest that you use the UTH as the primary heat source and use the lamp as a supplemental heat source. The lamp will really dry out the enclosure.

For my enclosures, I set the UTH to about 80-85 and then have a lamp on a timer. During the day the lamp will heat up the enclosure a few degrees. Lamp & heater are both on one side of the enclosure so that there is always a cool place for the snake to hide.

[sapphire_moon]

LOL once a week! I see my 5 month old poop about once a month, if that! They go whenever they go......As long as your sure they aren't impacted and there is nothing wrong, then your baby bp should be fine to eat an adult mouse, when I got my baby female bp adult mice seemed absolutely HUGE for her, but she got them down no problem, and is now on small rats.....Hope your baby gets to doin better, keep us updated!

[mykee]

I agree with Big Mike, use a UTH or heat tape as the primary source for your heat. BP's need belly heat to properly digest a meal, which is why your bp is lethargic, she's still digesting. I have my BP's in a rack, with the hot spot, under their hide, at 94 for 15 hours, and then drop it to 84 for 9 night hours. While heat lamps are good to increase the ambient air temperature, belly heat is still of numero uno importance. I also noticed that the ambient air temperature from the residual het from the heat tape leaves my rubbermaids at about 83 daytime. and 75-ish nighttime. The hotter the belly heat= the faster the ball can digest= the more the ball can eat= the bigger your ball will be.

[Kappa]

Im with mykee i keep my guys in a rack at about 92 and the bumps in them disappear like nothing after a meal, alos if he isnt pooping and your worried a nice warm bath and he'll be going.

[daver676]

mykee,

Thanks for the advice. I will do some experiments with the UTH. It's just a heat pad I picked up from the drug store, but it has low-med-high settings. Now do you provide 2 hides for your bp? One cool and one warm? Or just a warm hide? What do you think the best arrangment for this UTH would be? Inside or outside the tank etc?

sapphire_moon,

How can I tell if my bp is impacted?

Thanks

Dave

[Big Mike]

If you have room for two hides, put them in. One on warm side, one cool.

Put the heat pat under the tank rather than in the tank. Test it out to see what setting works best.

Once you get the belly heat going your snake should be able to speed things up. An occasional warm bath might help but I wouldn't worry until it has been 6-8 weeks without going.

[daver676]

Well I got home from work today, checked on my bp, and noticed her eyes were opaque! Perhaps the unwillingness to feed, and her lazy attitude is a precursor to sheding. I increased her humidity accordingly. Mykee, I would still like to here your answers to my above post. Thanks

Dave

[HetForHuman]

I myself use the heat pads with the low, med, high settings as well, and i have my heat pad on med uder the tank and i am getting a hot spot of about 92-93 degrees. and the tank is also made out of 5/8 inch melamine.

I provide 2 hides especially for my ball and i notice he uses them both all the time. if i were you i would use 2 hides but it depends like BigMike said, if you have the room.

[daver676]

Well I currently house my ball in a 15 gallon glass aquarium, with the heat pad stuck to the bottom (outside). Since it's glass, will it not conduct more heat? Is it safe to still use newspaper?

Dave

[mykee]

Again, I'll have to agree with Big Mike. I keep all of my balls in a rack, in rubbermaids. My rubbermaids measure 26x16x9 so I personally, do not have the room for two hides. I don't feel it's necessary, since I've noticed my balls are either in their hide on the hot side of their enclosures, or they are out, on the cool side, on the hide, behind the hide. If you do have room for a second hide, I would use it, but I feel, with my setup, that it's not necessary. If you're using a heat pad, I would not put it in the enclosure, could be bad if it got wet, the snake peed on it, etc. Definitely outside. Also, with regards to belly heat, it can NEVER be underestimated. I used to have my heat tape at 92 until I did a little more research and toyed around a bit. Since increasing the temp on the tape by a mere 2 degrees, I notice my balls digest their meals, on average, two days sooner, and are ready to eat two days sooner also. Needless to say, they grow much more quickly now. Hope this helps.