Just wondering if this is normal. My ball python is on her second winter with me. Last winter, she went on a 4-5 week food strike, and then finally ate and immediately went into shed. This year, she went on strike going on 5 weeks now, no successful feed, only this time she went into shed even though she hasn’t ate in quite a while. Is this normal? I kinda assumed they just ate so much and then go into shed to grow. Hopefully after she comes out of shed, she will be good and ready to eat!
Just because they stop eating for a short period does not mean they cease to grow, so a shed during a strike is perfectly normal. I noted in another post that I have an animal go on an eighteen-month strike and she shed a few times over that time period
Totally agree with what was said. I’ve also had a couple shed while not eating. As long as there’s no other worrying symptoms going on like severe weight loss, labored breathing, bubbling or skin issues it should be no worries.
Also, out of curiosity, are you sure your bp is a she? Males are more likely to go into seasonal food strikes . I’ve seen more of my females start pounding food around this time because they start building up to breeding.
I’m honestly not 100% sure lol. I got her from Mainstream Morphs in Lexington, KY. Drove down there from Covington/Cincinnati to pick her up and bring her back home. They stated on MorphMarket that it was a female, but I haven’t had her popped or probed to confirm. I have wondered because she’s over a year and a half old now but she isn’t as big as some people say their females are. She’s about 940 grams.
Bit of a more accurate shortcut for confirming female since she’s getting ready to shed would be DNA testing through RGI. MorphMarket offers that here: RGI Genetic Tests for Reptiles - MorphMarket
Hi Tyler! Welcome back! Just wanted to let you know that my male 6 year old CA boa goes on a food strike faithfully in the fall and the strike usually lasts through the winter. However he still sheds a couple of times during that period.
Just a small note that going off of what “other people” claim their animals are at is not a good indicator. I, for example, do not powerfeed my animals and, as such, it is very rare for me to have a female that is even 1000g at two years of age
Neither do I “power feed”. If one is a keeper only, imho, it is just plain not necessary and maybe even a tad bit cruel to the animal. I know how I feel carrying around more than 50 lbs of extra weight. Though I realize this comparison is not realistic.
I don’t know if this makes any difference but all of my bps, males as well as females, are still eating consistently and we are in the month of January already. They all have a good feeding response……
In the last few years I have only had 1 male that refused food for months before he finally accepted food again.
I find keeping males on the leaner side thankfully does seem to cut down on how often they go on food strike.
I’ve also had a few small females that just don’t get much over 1100 grams til 3 or 4 years. Just can depend on the polygenics or how they are fed. As long as it’s healthy and a good body condition that’s what matters to me.
