Question about our ball python

[jimnamy]

Our ball python hasn't eatin in about a year is there any tricks we could use to get him to eat?

[mykee]

What have you tried, what have you done.
What's he living in...full details.
99.9999% of the time, it's an environmental issue.
Help us help you.

[jimnamy]

Well we are doing the same thing we always do....he lives in an aquarium thats maybe 3 ft long and he is longer than that by less than a foot. We put the rat in and see if he eats it and in the last year he hasn't ate any. He is VERY picky and will usually only eat white rats so that all we get for him. He moves around and doesn't act sick at all. And is still very gentle. Should we move him into something else to feed him maybe? I have heard of doing that.

[infernalis]

Could you please post a picture of your snake and it's cage. Thanks.

Have you tried a small mouse?

[mykee]

When I mentioned full details, I meant this type of stuff:
Without it, we're guessing at best.
snakes age
enclosure size
ambient air temp
hot side temp
cool side temp
substrate
humidity
type of supplemental heat
how often do you feed
how do you feed
when do you feed
water dishes.. where?
location of tank
cage furnishings
how often do you handle

[jimnamy]

ok this is a side view of the tank and not too good of a pic of the snake but its the best i got on my comp and i can't find my camera so this is what i got. i should tell u that this was my bf's (the jim in jimnamy) snake before i got with him and he isnt even sure on an age.... im not the snake enthusiast but he works all the time so im trying to figure out whats wrong with the sname for him. That is why i can't answer all ur questions. Thank you all for ur interest and for at least trying to help us out. oh and i think the last time he actually ate something it was a hamster, the guy at the pet store said if that didn't work nothing would....maybe i will try that again. He has a small rat in his cage right now. its been there for a couple of hours

[Nafun]

First off: Those look like pine shavings. Pine shavings give off toxic chemicals, if you want to keep him on wood chips you should switch to aspen.


Second, here are some things to try to get him to eat.

1. If you're feeding live, try feeding dead.
2. If you're feeding dead, try feeding live.
3. Expose the brain of the rat (pre killed only!). This can be easily done by covering the rat in a towel, hitting it lightly with a meat tenderizer on the head to crush the skull, then puncturing the head with a knife or ice pick. This sounds disgusting (and it is), but it is a very very effective way to encourage feeding.
4. Feed him in a dark, quiet room. If you can't move him to a room that will be dark and quiet, cover his aquarium with a dark colored blanket (or several), and do your best to limit vibration.

5. Get a rat pup (eyes still shut) and a paper grocery sack. Take a hole punch and punch a bunch of air holes in the paper sack. Put the snake, and the rat pup in the sack, put the sack in his enclosure, and leave him over night. (turn off lights, and keep the room quiet for best results)

6. If feeding frozen/thawed, warm the rat up above room temperature by sealing it in a sandwich bag and floating the bag on warm (90-110 degree) water until the rat has warmed up to that temperature.

7. If using pre-killed or frozen/thawed, try gripping the rat at the nape of the neck with a pair of feeding tongs, and wiggling it around.

8. Try hamsters or gerbils. They smell closer to their natural prey than rats do. (But hamsters and gerbils should not be fed live, they're vicious little buggers who can kill your snake)


Also, it could be environmental, but that's been said already. We can't really do anything on that front without knowing... well... all those things mykee said.

[mykee]

First and foremost (and only because no one has answered my questions) the thickness fo the substrate IS a HUGE issue. There is no way in hell that that snake is getting any heat at all through six inches of shavings. If you have an overhead heating element, it's useless, and he's most likely always in his hide.
Can't tell you what else is wrong until we get some more info.