I have a bp I got about a month ago and he hasn’t taken a meal from me Im NOT worried to much about it since he isn’t loosing weight but he seems interested in food he just seems to be scared of it like he goes and gets ready to strike but then the ray will move a bit(live not one but interested in eating a frozen thawed) and he gets scared any advise is welcome
Start with husbandry… temps, humidity, type of enclosure, what’s in it and even if it’s in a high traffic or low traffic place.
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I second steelserpents - 9 times out of 10, a ball python not eating has to do with husbandry being off. Tell us what your temperatures are on the hot and cool side, how you’re measuring, what heat method you’re using, substrate, decor, etc.? How big is he? Where did you get him from? The more we know, the easier we can help you troubleshoot.
Let’s see a picture of the snake and the set up to confirm your setup works and body condition is ok. Let us know how old it is too. If it isn’t ill, an established ball python not eating is not something that concerns me at all. In the life and time of a ball python a month is like us skipping lunch two days in a row. I say this all the time, but no ball python that’s ever eaten on it’s own will ever starve itself to death.
I’ve had a few new acquisitions over the years refuse food for 8-12 months. One of them ate less than a handful of time over a 3 year period. Their metabolism and our patience level have nothing in common.
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I don’t have any pics of the current set up but I will post when I get home he has a hotspot of 89ish and 80 on the cool side humidity is around 70 if I had to guess he is about 610gs at 10mo was eating for the breeder and pooped a day after I bought him
Here’s some pics I had a family member take I will take pictures with temp guns and stuff later the enclosure is a bit small for him and he was in a bigger one but that’s a long story
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Offer food once every 14 days. If it isn’t interested, ignore it for a couple more weeks. Don’t try more than once every two weeks. It’s probably just stressed from the move still.
I had a 950g snake refuse food for a year after I brought it home. Lost about 8% of it’s body weight. Went on to be a completely normal animal once it started eating for me.
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Looks pretty healthy and healthy enough to tolerate a long time without eating. I would leave it entirely alone for a few weeks so it can feel secure, give it plenty of hiding space, watch to see if it roams around the tank to explore when it’s dark, then offer as suggested above every couple weeks at most for now. Exploring their enclosure at night could be a sign of nocturnal hunting behavior. I also always feed at night to simulate python’s normal feeding behaviors. They are nocturnal animals and hunt at night.
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It looks in good condition. Trt to mimic the previous environment and substrate.
In addition to the above members advice, if all else fails maybe Try a chick. worked for one of mine that didn’t eat for nearly a year from getting her, tried everything but eventually a chick got her instincts going.
Then I trick fed her onto rats. (swooped it before strike) She eats like a monster now.
Edit; only problem is chicks come in 25s where I am and I only needed one to start and one to trick.
the rest are burred in my garden, still they are cheaper than any other food source, even at 25s
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