my ball wont eat

[hex a holik]

i have a 2-3 yr old ball python that has stopped eating. it has been 4 weeks since he has had his last rat. this is very unlike him. as long as i have had him he has always eaten 1 to 2 sm rat pups a week right on schedule.

he is acting fine. we put him in the tub w/ warm water and massaged his tail to try to make him poop which he hasnt done in a month-month and a half, which is also unlike him. he's the kind of snake that is dedicated to his schedule. lol. we havnt changed any of his enviorment or temperatures. he usually eats live rats , and an occasional frozen, but he is refusing both.

if you have any ideas whats going on w/ him , please help. thanks.

[ffollett]

He sounds like he may be more interested in breeding than in eating right now. He is at that age and it is that time of year.

[Lorelei]

Yep, I second that

[The Snake Guru]

If you aren't planning on breeding him, here's a trick a good friend of mine told me to snap them out of it (thanks Sam!) Works like a charm.

Run the cage down to 80 degrees with no hotspot for about a week.

Then heat things back up to normal operating temperatures.....tell ya what he ate within days of the cage reaching it's normal operating tmeperature, one of the better tricks I've learned to snap stubborn breeders back into feeding mode that's for sure!

~B~

[hex a holik]

thanx guys. anyone have a female ball for sale ( or for free)?

[The Snake Guru]

I don't but you could check out the classifieds section here or on Kingsnake.com

I think Tin8Dina had some ads up for balls....didn't know if they were adult or not.

~B~

[SnakeGirl]

i have a 2-3 yr old ball python that has stopped eating. it has been 4 weeks since he has had his last rat. this is very unlike him. as long as i have had him he has always eaten 1 to 2 sm rat pups a week right on schedule.

he is acting fine. we put him in the tub w/ warm water and massaged his tail to try to make him poop which he hasnt done in a month-month and a half, which is also unlike him. he's the kind of snake that is dedicated to his schedule. lol. we havnt changed any of his enviorment or temperatures. he usually eats live rats , and an occasional frozen, but he is refusing both.

if you have any ideas whats going on w/ him , please help. thanks.

Looks like everyone has you covered on the not-eating thing! ;)

I did notice one thing though: you said he eats 1-2 small rat pups per week. If your snake really is 2-3 years old, he should be up to small rats by now, not rat pups. I have an '06 male who's already on rats. It's hard to say for sure without a picture showing his size (since all ball pythons grow at different rates), but I would guess by this point he's able to take small rats. Just wrap your thumb and first finger around the biggest part of his belly. That size and maybe even a little bigger he should take fine without any problems.

I hope this helps! :)

[Lorelei]

Nice catch Pam - I didn't even see that!!

[danthony428]

he just wants some lovin...lol