Lacie won't eat

[LacunaCobra]

hello all! I have a royal python that's about 15 months old. I've had a lot of trouble in the past getting her to eat. Live anything is never an issue, but I don't want to go that route with her again... I had an awful time getting her switched over, but she just doesn't seem the least bit interested in frozen. We've gone thru 4 already, and I've tried different techniques -- turning off the lights, putting her in a smaller critter keeper, various times of the day... you name it! She just turns her nose up! She struck at one, but ended up gutting it and didn't want anything to do with it after that. And at this point she's starting to go into another shed so I'm gonna hafta wait even longer. I don't know what to do with her! She's really being a brat, but I still love her! Is there anything else I can try? Is there a general length of time that you should keep the mice for so they're fresher? What's a good amount to get at one time? I know they can go quite a while w/o eating, but I'm still worried about her. Any advice would be great!

[nita]

Try going with a stunned rather than straight to ft. Once you get her switched to fresh killed then go to the frozen thawed. Little easier switch.

[joey]

I'm in the same boat. My bp has eaten two f/t mousies so far but that was like 4 months ago! She won't eat ANYthing. Is this normal? She went through a perfect shed about a month ago and still wasn't hungry afterwards!

[mykee]

What is your husbandry like? Your ball not eating could be as simple as tweaking your husbandry.

[joey]

My girl lives in a rubbermaid with heat/humidity just right. She's got an ample amount of water and a couple of hides. Everytime I try to feed her it's at night.

[mykee]

What is "just right"?

[Manitoban Herps]

Try to warm the meal in warm water or under a heatlamp, make the mouse hot but not so hot it burns itself.

[LacunaCobra]

Well, I broke down and went to get her a lm. She scarfed it right down... it figures!
I have her in a 20L with the temp around 80. She has hiding spots on both the cool and warm side and I soak her about every 3 days. She's pretty shy so I don't handle her too too often. She was eating f/t for a good 6 months but it was tough getting her off of live.

[joey]

what's a 'lm'? i'm guessing it's a live mouse?

[Bartman]

First off if 80 is your "warm" end it is way to cold. It should be 89-92 F.

Second, you dont really need to soak her and if shes shy like you said this is only stressing her out. You can spray the tank when shes in shed but theres no real need to soak every 3 days.

[mykee]

Why do you soak your ball every three days? Also, "temp around 80" hardly sounds "just right".

[malaysianbloods]

I totally agree with Bartman, I think that the only time that a snake should be soaked is if she/he has a bad shed or has mites.

[LacunaCobra]

She did have a bad shed... that's why I was soaking her so often. She retained a few belly scales and actually loves the water. 80 degrees is the cooler side, I should've specified that...

And not to be overly sensitive, but you guys could be a little more "gentle" when offering constructive criticism. We're all snake lovers here so nice friendly advice in my opinion is a much better way to reach others.

[Slannesh]

I'm normally the first person to jump on the crew for being so rough with new people :)

But you also have to realize that the 'basic husbandry' question comes up with pretty much every new person that starts posting... on occasion several times in the same day.

There is a very good FAQ at the top of the Python Regius section for basic Ball Python husbandry, i'd suggest reading it over several times as it will eliminate many questions you might have. Doing a search as well will bring up many of the answers you're looking for as well.

And guys... Gentle :) We were all new once remember?

[LacunaCobra]

Thanks for being sweet to me Slannesh! My man is a gamer so I actually know what "slannesh" is! LOL! I'm a girlie...can't help but be sensitive! o>

[Slannesh]

Heh, don't let first impressions fool you :) I can be one of the meaner dogs in this bunch. But so long as people are looking for help and actually absorbing the info they get it's all good. I do however have pretty much zero tolerance for ignorant, hipocritical or just plain dense people ;)

But try not to stress too much about the not eating f/t a lot of people have to go through the same thing. Stunned or Fresh Killed is a good transition for her to go from live to f/t as well. Keep trying and if you can weigh her occasionaly and monitor her weight. So long as she's not losing much she's ok. Some balls just refuse to eat F/T at all, it happens but not often.

Check the husbandry stuff, make sure temps and humidity are good and she has a good snug hide on both ends of her enclosure and she'll be fine i'm sure. I'd also suggest picking up the Ball python manual from AVS. (Advanced Vivarium Systems) It's a good book to start with for the basics. But sticking around here does a good job too.

[LacunaCobra]

Awesome! Thank you! I will go over my books again to refresh my knowledge and stuff. It's a ball python manual too. She just shed last night too, after she ate a lm. I just don't understand why all of a sudden she didn't want f/t after 6 months! It was tough getting her to take them in the first few months I had her. So I just gave her lm's and then gradually tried to switch her over by pre-killed and finally f/t. But she's a sweetheart and if she only wants to eat lm's for a while I'm probably gonna cater to her just so she's happy!

[ATBlover]

you fed her a night before she ate?....:S hmm....you should wait until she finishes shedding because it stresses them out..Good luck..Connor

[LacunaCobra]

I know... you're totally right, but I didn't think she was near ready to shed completely, so it was a surprise. She just started going blue last week and it takes her about 7-10 days to go thru it. Plus, I was worried she hadn't eaten in 8 wks so I felt bad :(

[Slannesh]

It's quite possibly just the time of year... My guy hasn't eaten since November and he's usually the type to eat anything I dangle in front of him.