I just need reassurance

[jncoclub]

I know I know, ball pythons are notorious for not eating for several months, especially the winter months. We moved from Florida to Connecticut in January. Every weekend my BP would eat. Although she ate several meals in CT in the dead of winter, she stopped and her last meal was Feb. 8. She is drinking, she FINALLY had a great shed where her retained eye caps came off (those babies had been stuck on there for almost 6 months! Mineral oil really does the trick!) and she is either still growing and therefore looks thinner because there is no food lump in her belly, or she is losing just a tad bit of weight (shedding those winter pounds for swimsuit season I guess). Either way, we thought she would eat after the shed being that she should see again, but no go. I’m just looking for reassurance that all is well. If anything, it’s frustrating spending money on rats that we end up tossing out the back door. At what point am I allowed to get worried. This is the first time she’s done it. Ooo- and once you thaw a rat and she doesn’t eat it, you really shouldn’t refreeze it, huh. I believe I already know that answer.

Ok- this is where you tell me it’ll be alright (and mean it).
:atom:

[Niki]

My ball has just took her first mouse since february, when she is feeling picky I only offer mice, then when it is refused it dosnt work out so expensive. I know some people do re-freeze but I am not keen on the idea so I dont do it. Try not to worry, if she looks healthy then she is just doing what ball pythons do, drive you crazy..........dont you just love em!!!

[tHeGiNo]

What age is he/she? I do not know if it would be fasting or not, as it is far past season now. Maybe the move stressed her out? Try leaving her be for a week or two then try the numerous methods there are for getting them to eat:

1. Dip nose of feeder in chicken broth
2. Try fresh killed
3. Try f/t
4. Try with a cut in the feeder so that blood is exposed
5. Try killing the feeder and placing it with the snake in a bag overnight
6. Dry different feeders and of different colors: black mouse, grey mouse, brown mouse, white mouse and the same for rats.
7. Too big / too small of a feed item

There are just so many things you could do, I would try the bag thing first. There is no really particular order you should try from the list I mentioned.

[jncoclub]

She's probably coming up on 2 years. She is healthy and active. When food is in front of her (rat) she looks interested, but when she tries to crawl out of the large cardboard box we feed her in, then we know that she lost interest and will not be eating. We offered f/t, stunned live, and a feeder mouse, but she hasn't eatten. Will give her another week or so and try drawing blood. The trip up here may have stressed her. It was about a 16 hour road trip in a critter carrier with heat packets wrapped in socks, in the dead of winter. (Again, she's never been in a state that got colder than 65 degrees!)

[tHeGiNo]

Ok what your going to have to do is throw the snake in a bag, leave them alone over night and it should be gone.

[jncoclub]

Should I leave her in her tank over the heating pad, or udner a red heat lamp? Does it make a difference how much space is in the bag with her? (or snake bag is pretty small, I'm thinking of making something out of a sheet for her)
I will try this tomorrow- Saturday is Feeding Day in our house, unless we're too hung over from Friday Drinking Night, then Feeding Day gets pushed to Sunday.

Has the temperature in her enclosure changed because of the new home?
Maybe the new room her enclosure is in has a different tempreature what of course effects the temperature in her enclosure. That could also be a reason to stop eating.
Putting the temperature a little up can encourage the snake to start feeding again.

Good luck!

[tHeGiNo]

The size doesnt really matter, so long as there is enough room for her and the mouse and enough room to eat the thing. In the enclosure on a heat pad (through the glass of course not directly on the heat pad) should be fine.

[jncoclub]

When we moved to CT she also moved into a much larger tank. Along with the larger tank we got her a larger heating pad (that is under the glass), because we moved in the dead of winter we put a red heat bulb on her 24/7, and a white heat bulb over her water bowl 12 hours a day. I’d say she is warm enough, and her humidity is fine. I didn’t get a chance to get food for the snakes this weekend because the shops were out of the sizes we wanted. I’m going to see if they got more in today, then I’ll put her in a bag over night and let you know the outcome.

[jncoclub]

Woo Wee! The lady ate!!
:mednormal

The shop was still out of frozen and so I got a live rat. We stunned it hoping that she may eat it twitching, and if not, we were going to kill it to put it in a snake bag over night. Well darn it, if she didn't just go for the glory once we dropped it in the box!

Thanks for the reassurance everyone! Man, I sure hope we don't go through this next year.
:medbugged

THANKS ALL!
:medcomcic :medbigsmi

Jennifer and her lady Pliskin

That's great!!! Congrats to the little girl! Hope she never stops eating again

[tHeGiNo]

I hope for the snakes sake you did not stun and just throw it in the cage! LOL although it got your snake to eat, it could easily regain conciousness and take out its anger on your snake! BAD IDEA! Also, the idea of stunning should have been your last decision, the dead in the cage the first. I would try that next.

[jncoclub]

We have a huge cardboard box lined with fresh newspaper that we feed the BP in. It was stunned well, and if it ever 'woke up' we take it right back out with tongs and thunk it again. We never leave non-dead food unattended. But I guess fresh dead for her won't be that big of a compromise.

My burm is finicky with f/t food. So the next night we put her in the snake bag with 2 f/t and by morning they were gone! Great tips everyone- thanks! :atom: