Ball not eating

Ok here is situation. Purchased fem het pied at show in Jan. She weighed 232 grams and breeder said she was feeding on live rats but would probably eat anything because she was a great feeder. So have her in Rubbermaid tub with heat pad on thermostat. Cool end is always between 77-79 and hot side 86-88. Both measured with heat gun. Humidity is good because snakes always shed in perfect sheds. So figured I would try her on frozen thawed from the start and she accepted no problem. She had 8 meals feedinging every 6 to 7 days. She was up to 295 grams and then just stopped cold turkey. Feeder rats are from same supplier that I was using. She seems interested af first then seems afraid of it. So has not had meal in over 30 days and is down to 275 grams. Any help would be appreciated.

As long as the feeding experience for the animal wasn’t intimidating(Rodent being to big or being fed in an isolated location from its habitat). Nothing seems to be wrong here. Actually quite normal. Some ball pythons will eat every week and then decide to do a fast towards its later sub-adult stages. Don’t be concerned about a 20g or so weight fluctuation. its all good. Body weight fluctuates here and there with these animals. By reinforcing the constant want for a full stomach on your ball python will actually discourage the animal from eating in some cases just because it’s content. I would wait 2-3 weeks or so and let that het pied get hungry! :smiley: Obviously feeding is more important then starving… if you don’t see a reaction in a similar time frame then maybe switch it up and try a live rodent or a mouse. The technique of “Switching it up” really works for these snakes because they seem to adapt to habit quickly. For example i’ll switch the placement of the snakes tub in my rack and it can stimulate a feeding response again. Hope that helps! My instagram is @YSLAB_ if you have any other questions feel free to reach out.

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Thanks for the reply. I was thinking about trying live.

My ball python male has been off food since December. I had tried, small rats, mice, med rats, fresh kill etc. Turned his nose up at all.
Well today while I was in my local co-op feed store I heard some beeping noises. I ask what it was, he said chick’s, turkey and guineas. Idea went off in my head. I looked at both and got a guinea. Came home put it in his tank, within 5 minutes he had got her. I just hope Tiberius actually will eat it. I will be so overjoyed that He has eaten.
:pray:

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Woo-hoo! He ate the guinea chick. I am so glad He ate something. Hopeful He will eat a rat next time. If not back to CO-OP.

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Well I tried a rat this week.
The rats that I have been getting lately sure are crazy. They twirl around and round and try to bite me when I try to feed them to Tiberius. I wouldn’t eat them either if I were him.
The others I use to get didn’t do that.
So I had to go get a chick again. He ate it. No hesitation at all.
I got my new Spider girl, T-Pol, to eat last week.
It took her a few tries to hone in on it but She finally got the mouse. It’s time for her to eat again. Hopefully she will eat again.

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