Ball won't eat anything

[lakeridgekennel]

I bought a adult ball python last june and since i had him he doesn't want to eat f/t. I have tryed everything f/k f/t half dead real blood over his meal. Only thing that he has eaten was live mice but he only eats 3 a meal and he is really big and the mice don't really do anything because i herd for a meal of mice you need to feed him 30 i think. I am thinking about force feeding him because he has lost some weight but is still ok.

Any thoughts on how to get him eating properly would be a great deal of help.

Thanks for your time
Sean

[mykee]

You can try to feed him a rat as he finishes up with a mouse. His feeding response may be strong enough that he'll take it without even knowing.

[lakeridgekennel]

I have tryed that and he just turns his nose and goes away.

[mykee]

Well, if he only eats 3 mice per meal, and you've tried everything else, looks like you have a 3-mouse eating ball. No two are alike. As long as he eats and is offered food often, I would stay away from force-feeding, as this could turn your ball off food completely.

[sapphire_moon]

Ya, what mykee said. lol...have you tried a live rat pup? (something the size of an adult mouse) It may be the same size but they are more nutritious for the bp than mice. And that might cause your bp to pack on a little weight.

Do not force feed unless it is an ABSOLUTE last resort.
Have you tried dipping the head of the mouse in chicken broth, scenting, (rolling a f/t in soiled bedding of a live mouse)

[Jayson]

If you go back on one of the other many threads in here about how to get a ball on rats you will find many many!! ways to trick him into eating.

I have personally used chicken broth and had great success.

Also force feeding is a method that should only be use to stop a snake from starvation. And a healthy BP can last a very loooong time without food. Some times to switch a bp over to rats, its just a matter of who has more patiance (you or the snake)

If the snake is losing weight you might want to get a fecal check done. My BP's went off feed for over two months this year and weight loss was very minimal.

[Tim_Cranwill]

I've had a few non-feeders change their minds when offered a Dwarf Siberian Hamster. I get them for half the price of an adult mouse and they are about 20% bigger. Since then, I have been able to get one of them on to rats and the other is back and forth.

Just an idea...

[lakeridgekennel]

Are 3 mice even worth feeding a adult ball or is that enough for now. He won't even eat f/k mice. i feed once a week because that's all he takes any more and he will not eat for a month. He's nuts. He has lost a 1/4 of his weight but is still in ok shape. I will try the chicken broth trick.
thanks for all the help
Sean

[sapphire_moon]

As long as he is eating. Have you tried 4 or 5 adult mice, maybe retired breeder mice?