Young Childrens Python Wont Eat
 

Hi everyone. I am new to the forum, and new to having snakes.
I got a 6 month old children's python about a week and a half ago, and I cant get her to eat. Her last meal was a week before I got her.

Her breeder said she was a good eater (frozen/thawed). I reached out to her to get some advice to feed my python. She said to try cutting it open some, or to try a live pinkie to get her back into the swing of eating (I don't want to do that unless I have to).

Some other things I tried; leaving it in her enclosure for a few hours, heating the pinkie, wetting the pinkie, trying to aggravate her with the pinkie to get her to bite at it (hated doing that one).

She is such a sweet girl, and very pretty. I really want her to have a great life. But I don't know what to do right now. I get that she may be stressed still from coming here, but I don't know how long she can go without a meal at 6 months old. I am worried.

Does anyone have advice to get her to eat?
Should I give her more time to settle? If so, how long before I try feeding her again?

Thank you for your help.

Re: Young Childrens Python Wont Eat
 

a week and a half is no time at all,try not to stress about it,leave it in peace,only changing the water,don't go up to the viv,etc

i had a carpet hatchling take over 6 momths before she settled enough to feed

get yourself a good book on childrens pythons

when i got new snakes,if they didn't feed on the first try,i'd leave it 4 weeks before trying again

also try putting the viv in a quiet not busy part of the house,give them plenty fake plants,hides,etc,also don't use to large a viv,as at times it might make them feel insecure,plenty fake plants are a must imo

Re: Young Childrens Python Wont Eat
 

I breed the closely related Stimson's pythons, so I'll try to assist.
Since you are new to snakes, and didn't provide any background as to how you are currently feeding, I'll mention a few things that I think are important. Some of this may seem very basic, or maybe not.
- Do not handle the snake until it is eating regularly. Doing so could cause it to not eat.
- Do not move or disturb the snake at feeding time. They are ambush predators. Dangle the prey in front of the snake's hiding spot, using a pair of tongs. Jiggle it around to induce a strike.
- Make sure the snake has a secure hiding spot.
- Make sure that the snake is being kept warm enough. A "warm end" temp of 90-95f is appropriate for this species. Being kept too cold is one of the main reasons for a snake not to eat.
- Make sure that your rodent is an appropriate size and temperature. Pythons have heat sensing pits. The body temperature of a live mouse is about 98f, so try to get your thawed mouse to that temperature.
- Vary your presentation, and figure out what movement your snake responds to. Some of my Stimmies respond to rubbing the mouse along their neck; slowly moving it back and forth in front of them; gently pressing it to their lips; or, gently assaulting them with the mouse, until they are angry enough to grab it. Experiment. Generally, though, they are savages that eat with little provocation. Be patient with this. It isn't time to give up a feeding attempt until the snake flees.
- Scenting the rodent with a little raw egg yolk sometimes works when everything else fails.
- There are times when they simply aren't in the mood to eat, for no apparent reason. However, a six month old should be hungry pretty much all of the time. Normally, they eat like savages at that age.
- Personally, I don't agree with the whole "time to settle" concept. I've had many snakes that ate the day I got them. A few days, sure, but if it takes weeks for an established, feeding snake to eat for you, then something is wrong with your husbandry. At least when you are dealing with Antaresia.

I'm going to guess that, after reading this, you have some ideas as to what you should do next for your snake.
If you still can't get it to eat in the next couple of weeks or so, post again with a detailed account of how you are keeping it, and attempting to feed it, and I (or someone here) can attempt to trouble shoot.