feeding problem

[reptiledude85]

Hey new to this site...looks pretty cool
i have a little problem...my ball is about 4 months old and hasnt eaten in about 2months....but he has never eaten for me...when i picked him up the breeder said he ate the week before....now i have him right beside another snake....do you think this may be stressing him out and stoped eating?...the temps are 90 on hot end and 80 on cool...humidity is about 55-60%...he is on paper towel...i tried defrosting a rat into mouse poop...still didnt work.... what else is there to do the reptile store said a baby ball shouldnt be off feed that long....i try to feed him every week....nothing happens he will just look at it, smell it, and slither right over it like its not there....any help would be awsome

[Asian Jon]

You should definitely seperate your ball from the other snake for sure.

[Tim_Cranwill]

By "beside", do you mean same enclosure or just beside another one? If it's just beside another one, I have 80+ snakes within 15' of each other, so that shouldn't make a difference. The little guy might hold out until spring and that's not a huge issue. They do that. They're made to do that. Your cage conditions sound pretty good. Is he in a tank?

I would just keep offering food every 2 weeks or so, don't handle him too much and try not to sweat it. I would bet ball pythons <b>not</b> feeding causes a good 80% of all snake related swears! LOL :D

[reptiledude85]

Ya i do mean in a seperate tank....but i am getting worried....he does drink alot and pees alot...well not overly alot but normal...and for some reason he does not like his hides...caz he is never in them...and seems ok....but i duno i never had a ball before...

[BoidKeeper]

What does he weigh?
Are you handling him?
What and when did he eat last exactly?
Where is the cage located in your home?
What are the dimensions of your cage?
How are you heating it?
How many hide boxes are there?
How are you measuring the temps?
I once had people tell me that for some reason their snake would only go to one spot in the whole cage and not bother with the rest of it and they couldn't figure out why. I went over with my reytek and the one spot where the snake stayed all the time was the coolest spot in the cage, 97.
Cheers,
Trevor
PS
welcome to the site! Happy posting.

[CDN-Cresties]

My BP wont eat in front of anyone, if your husbandry is correct, try this. Place the F/K or F/T mouse/rat inside the enclosure and then place a large towel over the enclosure to cover it completely. Leave it over night and check on it in the morning. Good Luck, this worked with me so its worth a shot! :)

[CamHanna]

Was the breeder feeding live? You may need to start it on live and then turn it over to FT. For live feedings need to be very careful to ensure that the snake can handle the prey. Don't leave the snake and rodent unattended as bites can occur and be quite damaging.

Before resorting to live there are a few tricks that can be tried. You can crack the feeders head and smear the goop around his face; gut it and leave it in the enclosure until it's good and raunchy. You can place the ball with the feeder in a small, unfurnished enclosure overnight. Try heating the feeder to 110 or so and dangling it around. I've also heard of smearing the feeder with chicken broth but have never had that work for me.

It's better to feed at night (i.e. in the dark) and let the feeder sit for a couple hours.

Good Luck
Cam

[RepTylE]

My female never used hides but I crumpled up newspaper and put it in there and she started hiding under it when she felt the need and still does. When it gets soiled just replace it easy as can be.

[bryan139]

I've had a couple babies that i had to start on live hoppers. I'm not a big fan of it and be careful if you try but it has worked for me. Also, how big are the hides? The tighter the better. Too big and they don't feel secure. I also use a few cheap aquarium type plastic plants to give them extra places to hide in. Works great, normally they'll eat right in the plant. F/K still twitching is a good bet too.