Force fed after 9 months!!!!!

[knads06]

Well ive had my BP for a little of two years now and he was always a steady eater. This past year he's been a pain in my ***. The last time he ate was August of 05. Ive patientely been waiting for him to start eating again as i usually offer him a rat every three weeks or so since i was offereing them every two weeks prior with no luck. SO tonite i tried again and he seemed interested this time but no luck once again. So i said screw it and took him out of his cage and just gentley put the tip of the rat up to his mouth and he slowly begain to open. From there he did his thing and is now ingesting it. I know im probably gonna catch some slack from some of u for doing this but i can finally sleep a little easier knowing he has something in his stomach. I didnt consider it a "force" feed because i didnt force it in him, i simply offered it to him in different way. The conditions in his tank have always been the same so i dont understand why he was so picky for such a long time. I tried showing him that it wasnt winter anymore outside in hopes that it would get him to eat!!

[Reticsrule]

i wouldnt consider what you did force feeding, but im glad to hear he finally ate for you. i can definetely understand your stress, but balls can be very picky eaters. this usually isnt a problem but it can stress some new snake owners out, which is why people occasionally recommend against getting them as first snakes. by the way, please do not think im calling you inexperienced or anything, im just stating a fact. but anyway glad to hear he ate for you and hopefully hell keep it up:)

[rrrrr]

Just a thought. If he's a "he", and he's 2 years old or so, it could be because of breeding season. I'm no BP expert, but it's pretty normal for males of many species to go off feed during breeding season. Some boids only eat during about half the year once they hit maturity.

[Chalkie]

Hi I'm new to ball pythons but after having my ball for about 5 weeks she still hadn't fed, I wasn't overly worried as i had read they can be fussy but asked for some new techniques at my local pet shop( i had tried braining, warming, in and out of the tank etc,) he suggested trying quail and it worked, they are a bit small as she is a fat 3 footer but at least she is eating and i will go on to try and stuff a rat with quail to try and transfer her.

[knads06]

Dont really know if he's a he or she actually but i just call Slim a he. Never needed to bring SLim to the vet and never had a urge to really check what sex he was. Since sunday when he ate he's been lounging on his warm side. Ill prob wait another week or two before i offer him another meal. He ate a pretty big rat so we'll just have to wait and see what happens next time. At this rate ill have to get him a bigger tank. Looking into building my own for him next time!!!

[gonesnakee]

Wasn't a FF anyhow it was an assist feed & it worked just by popping the head in so it was a very easy one & the snake coooperated. All good then, Mark

[Edmond Y]

I think you did the right thing. Although they will go off at the breeding season but I don't think will last that long. for a peace of mind, you can carry on offer him a small meal until he grab the rat on his own.
Hope he will start eating soon.

Edmond

[Kurisu_tori]

Hey all,

I also have a royal python, she is about 2 years old, I have owned her since christmas of last year and has not eaten for about 2/3 months now :( She is still healthy and the vivarium conditions are perfect.

Before she stopped eating she only refused a few feeds however she has always been a slow eater... it usually took along time for her to actually begin eating.
I have tried mice and rats as before christmas I managed to get her onto rats however she did go off of them aswell and would only eat mice. I have also tried many different techniques in/out of the tank, bleeding/braining/warming the mice/rats, I have even tried different colours and sizes.

I am out of ideas and would be very greatful for more ideas to get her eating again.

Thanks in advance

Chris