Ball restlessness

[frogmoma]

I have an adult ball python who went off food for about 5 weeks. Day and night she/he roamed the tank. Did not want to be held. When I took her out she just wanted to be let go to roam. Every Wednesday I presented mouse and Hats would look at it and then continue roaming and ignore the mouse completely. Not knowing if I have male or female I thought it mybe was a breeding urge. My male rat snake that I had years ago would do this in the spring. One I breed him he would settle down and start eating again. Hats has eaten finally and seems to be back to her calmer self but I am not sure what happened. She has never been agressive and even though all this she never tried to bite, just get down or away.

[ilovemypets1988]

it does sound like a males breeding thing, a kind of overwhelm of hormones that hes trying to get rid of, that would account for the restlessness, you said that you dont know whether you have a male or female, that behaviour to me would be typical of a male around breeding time from what i have read, but i may very well be wrong.

[frogmoma]

Thanks. That was my thought and has settled down finally and back on food. Maybe I need to look for a mate.

[mykee]

I'm thinking that this adult ball python (either male or femlae) is being starved to death slowly and is constantly ungry. Even the very largest adult mouse (35-40g) once a week is far too small a satisfactory meal. If this animal is over 1000g, it should be eating at the very least a 100g rat once a week. Huge upgrade from what's is barely surviving on now.
I would also imagine you have husbandry issues. How do you keep it?
Good luck.

[frogmoma]

Hats is cleaned regularly(bark changed every week and pickup every day and water every day). The mice are very large, many times pregnant females that I get at the pet store. We have tried more than one mouse at a time and she will never eat the second and will not touch rats, even small ones. The restlessness has subsided now and we are back on food. Believe me this is not a starvation issue. She has very good weight, muscle tone.