Ball Python Won't Eat

[kiarak01]

Good morning all,

My fiancé's ball python has been refusing to eat the past few weeks. She was originally live fed many years ago, but she was transitioned to frozen and she's done well with that up until now. I'm personally against live feeding so we are trying to avoid that as much as possible, so if anyone has suggestions on what to do, please let me know. We are also avoiding a vet as most reptile vets around here don't know anything about reptiles in the first place.

She looks great, she just shed and she did wonderfully. She's been more active too, however we cleaned out her vivarium recently, so it could be that? Or she's looking for food?

 

[Tom]

Good morning all,

My fiancé's ball python has been refusing to eat the past few weeks. She was originally live fed many years ago, but she was transitioned to frozen and she's done well with that up until now. I'm personally against live feeding so we are trying to avoid that as much as possible, so if anyone has suggestions on what to do, please let me know. We are also avoiding a vet as most reptile vets around here don't know anything about reptiles in the first place.

She looks great, she just shed and she did wonderfully. She's been more active too, however we cleaned out her vivarium recently, so it could be that? Or she's looking for food?

Hello and welcome. We need more info.

What size and type enclosure? Pictures would help.
What are the temperatures, and what equipment are you using to maintain the temperatures?
What is the humidity in the enclosure?
Is there a humid hide box?
What substrate are you using?

It is common for BPs to not eat or go off food. How old is this snake?

 

[kiarak01]

Thank you for your quick response, and for the welcome.

She stopped eating while in her original enclosure. I will provide the description for both but I can only provide pictures of her current one.

-She was originally in a 20-gallon completely enclosed box, similar to this one. The biggest difference is ours didn't have a mesh top, only small slits in the back. Now she's in a 40-gallon breeder, glass (picture attached, if I need a better one let me know). I've been thinking about getting an even bigger enclosure in the relatively near future.

-She only had a heat mat that was only set to about 75. Now she has an over-head heat lamp. The warm side never goes over low 90s and the cooler side low 80s. She's pretty much always on the warmer side.

-We use a digital thermometer to check, however we just bought an automatic thermostat so we don't have to check and adjust it ourselves as often as we do.
>He only had a thermometer gun to start with. It's a cheap one and I'm not sure how reliable it is.

-Humidity stays around 40-50% now. When my fiancé brought her to my house, the humidity was around 20%.

-There is a hide, however there's nothing added there to increase humidity in that one spot. Should I mix sphagnum moss under the substrate where the hide is?

-She was using a very thin layer of reptibark only. We switched to a few inches of pre-moistened cypress mulch.

-She's about 4 years old. In my opinion, she looked a bit overweight too.

I've already fussed at him for getting an animal without researching it first. I've tried doing a vast amount of research in a short amount of time, so I hope how we currently have it is OK. He's had her for a few years and she's been doing just fine (from what he/we could tell) with how her enclosure used to be, but I'm a huge advocate for animal welfare so I made it a priority to redo where, and how, she was living.
I don't have any experience in snakes, and I do have some questions of my own, some of which I'm sure will be answered based on the above answers I've given.

-What does the proper temp and humidity need to be?
-UVB; yay or nay? There isn't one currently.
-How often does she need to eat? I've seen people say once a week, I've seen every 15-20 days...
-How long can a snake/BP go without eating? I heard 6 months without issue. Is this true? Is it common?
-I just saw an article say some snakes prefer chicks over mice.... are feeder chicks a thing? (frozen ones...?)
-What are signs of illness? Or that something is wrong?

Feel free to link any equipment you feel is valuable to own. I don't care for price, it's only money and a life is more important than that 😊

 

[Tom]

Thank you for your quick response, and for the welcome.

She stopped eating while in her original enclosure. I will provide the description for both but I can only provide pictures of her current one.

-She was originally in a 20-gallon completely enclosed box, similar to this one. The biggest difference is ours didn't have a mesh top, only small slits in the back. Now she's in a 40-gallon breeder, glass (picture attached, if I need a better one let me know). I've been thinking about getting an even bigger enclosure in the relatively near future.

-She only had a heat mat that was only set to about 75. Now she has an over-head heat lamp. The warm side never goes over low 90s and the cooler side low 80s. She's pretty much always on the warmer side.

-We use a digital thermometer to check, however we just bought an automatic thermostat so we don't have to check and adjust it ourselves as often as we do.
>He only had a thermometer gun to start with. It's a cheap one and I'm not sure how reliable it is.

-Humidity stays around 40-50% now. When my fiancé brought her to my house, the humidity was around 20%.

-There is a hide, however there's nothing added there to increase humidity in that one spot. Should I mix sphagnum moss under the substrate where the hide is?

-She was using a very thin layer of reptibark only. We switched to a few inches of pre-moistened cypress mulch.

-She's about 4 years old. In my opinion, she looked a bit overweight too.

I've already fussed at him for getting an animal without researching it first. I've tried doing a vast amount of research in a short amount of time, so I hope how we currently have it is OK. He's had her for a few years and she's been doing just fine (from what he/we could tell) with how her enclosure used to be, but I'm a huge advocate for animal welfare so I made it a priority to redo where, and how, she was living.
I don't have any experience in snakes, and I do have some questions of my own, some of which I'm sure will be answered based on the above answers I've given.

-What does the proper temp and humidity need to be?
-UVB; yay or nay? There isn't one currently.
-How often does she need to eat? I've seen people say once a week, I've seen every 15-20 days...
-How long can a snake/BP go without eating? I heard 6 months without issue. Is this true? Is it common?
-I just saw an article say some snakes prefer chicks over mice.... are feeder chicks a thing? (frozen ones...?)
-What are signs of illness? Or that something is wrong?

Feel free to link any equipment you feel is valuable to own. I don't care for price, it's only money and a life is more important than that 😊

So much to cover... I'll share my thoughts.
-Moving is stressful and there will likely be an adjustment period.
-40 is adequate, but a 60 would be better. Some people house them in tiny enclosures. I prefer to give them more space.
- I don't like under tank heat mats, They are dangerous and I've seen too many problems from using those.
-No red bulbs. Use a white basking lamp during the day for some basking, and use a CHE set on the thermostat to maintain ambient. I like ambient of no lower than 80 at night for this species, and up to around 90 during the day.
-The UV debate will never end. They can 100% survive, thrive, and breed without it. Is UVB "good" for them? I don't know. Some people claim to see a benefit, but I have not. Does it do any harm? No, not if used correctly. I don't use UV over reptiles that don't need it. Some people do, and I'm okay with that.
-Humidity for this species should be around 80%, and there needs to be a humid hide. I use dark colored opaque plastic tubs cut out a door hole, and fill them with damp coco coir and sphagnum moss. Works like a charm. Keep the dry hide too.


-I prefer to use coco coir for this species. Or coco chips. Orchid bark would be next. I don't like cypress mulch for snakes because it smells swampy and because it often has sharp edges and points.
-When is the last time the snake molted? Are the eyes opaque and the color dull?
-The feeding debate is as bad as the UV debate. Smaller meals more often, or larger meals less often? Either can work. I prefer smaller meals more often. For a full grown adult. One feeding every two weeks or so should be good. I'd feed a baby or egg laying female more. I'd feed a full grown adult male less. This is a snake species with some bulk, but use your judgement. If the snake is obese, cut back. If the snake is getting too thin, bulk it up a bit.
-Feeder chicks are definitely a thing. Quail too. In the wild all snake species eat a variety of prey items. I keep Drymarchon and they will catch kill and swallow just about anything that moves. Variety is very important in the diet of some species, but less so for most python species. There are people who just feed thawed mice and nothing else, and their snakes are alive and well. I prefer to offer some variety in my snake's diet. You could always try and see if the snake goes for a chick. Chicks alone are not a good staple food. An occasional chick along with other good food items is a good way to go.

 

[kiarak01]

Thank you so much for the information. This helps a lot.

I agree with the UV. The way I see it is, there's a sun outside and these animals naturally live outside, so I like to use it.

We will make changes on everything else accordingly. Is it ok for those bright white bulbs to be on 24/7?

I've attached a picture of her. Does she look like a good weight? When he first brought her here, she was a tiny bit thicker.

Another question: how exactly do you keep a snake hydrated? I've personally never seen her drink. (I have the same question for geckos, if you'd happen to know. But I also don't want to go off topic here either).

She last shed a week or two ago. Her eyes look pretty glossy, a little opaque at the top but not the entire eye. Before she sheds, her underside turns a very slight pink too, but I don't think it's turning yet. I'm only going off of what I can see right now, I haven't taken her out yet to check thoroughly.

 

[Tom]

I agree with the UV. The way I see it is, there's a sun outside and these animals naturally live outside, so I like to use it.

There is sun outside, but this species comes from dense jungle and they hide from that tropical sun most of the time. They are under a thick tree canopy.

Is it ok for those bright white bulbs to be on 24/7?

No. It should be on a timer for about 12 hours and this is to provide a warmer than ambient area for the snake to warm up. The ambient temperature should be maintained by a CHE or RHP set on a thermostat. Basking bulbs are not "necessary" for this species, but they will occasionally use them, and it is a good way to warm up the enclosure during the day and make it look like day time.

I've attached a picture of her. Does she look like a good weight? When he first brought her here, she was a tiny bit thicker.

Weight, appearance and color all look great.

Another question: how exactly do you keep a snake hydrated? I've personally never seen her drink. (I have the same question for geckos, if you'd happen to know. But I also don't want to go off topic here either).

If the snake were to drink from a bowl, there would be no evidence of it. Just provide a water dish, a humid hide, and damp substrate and things should be fine. You can soak the snake periodically, but this is probably unnecessary. I sometimes inject water into thawed prey items to get more water into a snake. Again, this is not "necessary" in most cases, but it can be beneficial in some cases, and does no harm in any case.

She last shed a week or two ago. Her eyes look pretty glossy, a little opaque at the top but not the entire eye. Before she sheds, her underside turns a very slight pink too, but I don't think it's turning yet. I'm only going off of what I can see right now, I haven't taken her out yet to check thoroughly.

The humid hide will help with shedding when the time comes. I asked because it is typical for them to refuse food before a shed. This doesn't appear to be the case since she shed two weeks ago.

 

[zovick]

Good morning all,

My fiancé's ball python has been refusing to eat the past few weeks. She was originally live fed many years ago, but she was transitioned to frozen and she's done well with that up until now. I'm personally against live feeding so we are trying to avoid that as much as possible, so if anyone has suggestions on what to do, please let me know. We are also avoiding a vet as most reptile vets around here don't know anything about reptiles in the first place.

She looks great, she just shed and she did wonderfully. She's been more active too, however we cleaned out her vivarium recently, so it could be that? Or she's looking for food?

I used to keep lots of Ball Pythons. Ones which refused almost every other food item offered would usually devour gerbils and other jirds (gerbil family rodents). Have you tried the snake on those at all?

 

[kiarak01]

I'm aware for pythons living in a dense forest. That's why she doesn't have a UV light 🤭 I just meant for reptiles in general, I've heard that geckos don't need one but I use it anyway.

Gotcha on the bulbs. I figured you would say that but I don't want to assume anything.

I agree she looks good. And that is what's making me less concerned for her not eating... because she seems fine. So I haven't been too terribly worried about it.

She's been refusing food for a while now. That's why I'm asking now... because a good amount of time has passed. It's been about a month and a half, we keep offering her food, and she never seems interested. Is it ok that she hasn't had food for this long? Is it common?

I used to keep lots of Ball Pythons. Ones which refused almost every other food item offered would usually devour gerbils and other jirds (gerbil family rodents). Have you tried the snake on those at all?

We haven't tried any new prey. I don't like feeding live, and the only frozen thing we can find are mice/rats. I can do some digging to see if we can find it anywhere, but we really only want to feed live as a true last resort.

I did see online that dipping thawed prey in chicken broth may help. I also read cutting it open could help, because apparently snakes are zombies and brains smell mighty tasty... but I don't even want to think about that. lol. He would have to do it, assuming we try that.

 

[zovick]

I'm aware for pythons living in a dense forest. That's why she doesn't have a UV light 🤭 I just meant for reptiles in general, I've heard that geckos don't need one but I use it anyway.

Gotcha on the bulbs. I figured you would say that but I don't want to assume anything.

I agree she looks good. And that is what's making me less concerned for her not eating... because she seems fine. So I haven't been too terribly worried about it.

She's been refusing food for a while now. That's why I'm asking now... because a good amount of time has passed. It's been about a month and a half, we keep offering her food, and she never seems interested. Is it ok that she hasn't had food for this long? Is it common?

We haven't tried any new prey. I don't like feeding live, and the only frozen thing we can find are mice/rats. I can do some digging to see if we can find it anywhere, but we really only want to feed live as a true last resort.

I did see online that dipping thawed prey in chicken broth may help. I also read cutting it open could help, because apparently snakes are zombies and brains smell mighty tasty... but I don't even want to think about that. lol. He would have to do it, assuming we try that.

You could get a pet gerbil and rub the thawed mouse or rat's head on the live gerbil prior to trying to get the snake to eat it.

Alternatively, here is a source of frozen gerbils for you:

Large Frozen Feeder Gerbils | Order Frozen Feeder Gerbils For Sale at Rodent Pro

Our selection of large frozen feeder gerbils provide high-quality nutrition for your reptile. RodentPro.com is your dependable source for frozen feeder gerbils and more. Shop today and get free ground shipping on orders totaling $100 or more!

www.rodentpro.com

 

[kiarak01]

You could get a pet gerbil and rub the thawed mouse or rat's head on the live gerbil prior to trying to get the snake to eat it.
Alternatively, here is a source of frozen gerbils for you

Thanks so much for the advice! I will definitely buy some different frozen prey through the link you sent, as long as it's reliable 😊

 

[Tom]

Thanks so much for the advice! I will definitely buy some different frozen prey through the link you sent, as long as it's reliable 😊

Rodent Pro, and anything said by @zovick is reliable info. I get almost all of my frozen snake foods from Rodent Pro.

 

[kiarak01]

Rodent Pro, and anything said by @zovick is reliable info. I get almost all of my frozen snake foods from Rodent Pro.

Okay great! We are placing an order right now. Wish me luck that she enjoys this food!

Additionally, I want to be sure that she's okay, even though she hasn't been eating? It's been so long so we have been a bit worried. Since she looks healthy and she's shedding perfectly on her own, however, it puts me at ease. I'm just a bit conflicted, I suppose?