My ball python has been refusing the pray I have been offering him for about 3 weeks now. He refused some smaller mice a few times and then refused a larger rat. The last prey item he ate was a hopper rat. How long should I wait before attempting to feed him again? Since he hasn’t eaten in a while should I feed him smaller prey?
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Hello, and welcome to the community!
First, to rule out anything husbandry-related that could be contributing to the food strike, have you changed his enclosure in any way, like changing enclosure size or using a different bedding or heat source? If possible, could you share temps and humidity of the enclosure currently (cool side temp + warm side temps)? Is he a juvenile, subadult or adult? How long have you had him? Do you feed live or frozen/thawed, etc? Is he in shed? Has he been exhibiting any signs of illness?
Some (mature) snakes go on hunger strikes that can last months, which is usually fine as long as he’s not young or losing a significant amount of weight or ill. I believe it’s around breeding season so if he’s sexually mature this could be a reason for food refusal.
There are some other things regarding prey size and type that I could go into, but I don’t want to blast you with another 100 questions or overwhelm with more info so I’ll stop here for now. Some of our community ball python breeders and keepers will chime in if I’ve missed any crucial info or if I’ve misspoken. This is a great forum to seek out answers and advice, so you’re definitely in the right place to ask questions!
P.S. WE LOOOVE PHOTOS if you would like to share any of him!
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To reiterate what @gina5678 said we need as much information as possible including history, and pics of snake and enclosure if at all possible. Something that might seem unimportant to you may make all the difference to the animal.
Temps should be 86-88 degrees. Some people say basking at 90 but I don’t. But regardless, nothing past 90 degrees is safe.
Humidity should be between 50 to 60 percent. Some say as low as 40 percent.
That’s a start for you……
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I keep the humidity between 40-60% and my hot side temp is 85 degrees. I have not changed the enclosure within the two months that I have had him. He is a subadult. I feed him thawed pray. His eyes do not show signs of shed at the moment. He isn’t showing signs of illness, but there are some things that are worrying me. Lately hes been consistently probing toward the top of the enclosure as if he is tryings to escape. Also, the fire alarm in my apartment went off which must have stressed him out. I have attached a picture of the snake and terrarium.
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Firstly the heat mat should be under the tank. Since you have already stuck it on the side you will need to purchase another one to attach to to underside of the tank, left or right side. Snakes need belly heat to digest their food. A snake’s belly is not floating in the air. If you still choose a light it needs to be on the same side of the heat. It is important to raise the tank a bit to create air flow.
Your temps and humidity are good imo. When did he eat the hopper rat? Have you seen any fecal matter at all after this meal? What are you offering him? Ft or live? What was is history before you got him? How was he kept? How was he fed?
Before you offer him anything else you need to correct the heating part. After you do that I would not bother him for a couple of weeks at least. The more you try, the more stressful it is for him.
Others will jump in here probably with some of the same questions. You will have more help as well……
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I can’t really reply in too much depth because I’m out of town and busy … But!
There’s two main reasons I think he may be probing the top. First is that snakes are escape artists and he thinks he can find what he needs elsewhere. The second is the heat issue that @caron mentioned with the pad on the wall.
He may not feel ‘safe’ with just the two hides. Clutter it up with some crumple paper or fake plants. Also, that bedding is DRY. Make sure he has some damp but not wet bedding. A snake that doesn’t feel safe might not eat until he’s very hungry. And ball pythons are ambush hunters by nature.
Another thing that strikes me is you say he’s a sub adult? How old is he? Have you weighed him? Males this time of year do sometimes go off feed because of breeding cycles… But if he’s been eating hopper rats, that sounds a bit small without knowing a weight.
Hopefully that helps a bit!
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So I shouldn’t feed him for 3 more weeks after I fix the heating issue? That would mean he goes 6 weeks without eating.
@armiyana Has made some suggestions and raised some other questions for you. I did not say 3 weeks but a couple weeks won’t hurt. His weight looks good. Snakes can go for months without eating. Your main concern right now is getting his environment correct before you introduce more food. He should be fine until then……
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@sorourke4549 Do you happen to live in Florida?
Reading over this topic. Not much to add that others have not already posted. I will say I do not see a thermostat connected to your heat mat. If you add a heat mat to the bottom of your enclosure a thermostat will be a must.
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This time of year feel free to offer only once a month until it starts eating again. A healthy ball python can 12-18 months without food and not be in any distress.
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Theres a lot to unpack here.
1st, as others have already said, you need to get a new heating mat and place it on the underside of the enclosure with some space between the bottom of the enclosure and the stand it is sitting on.
Again as already stated, that enclosure is way too dry looking for a BP. I do not see any Hygrometer/Thermometers inside that enclosure or Thermostats rigged to the heat mat and overhead heating so how are you getting the measurements you provided? I’d add damp sphagnum moss into the hides and substrate and wet the substrate until it is damp, the humidity should be pretty high but no higher than 80%, temps should be no higher than 86°F on the warm end and no lower than 75°F on the cool end.
There needs to be more clutter inside your BP’s enclosure, it is very barren. This could be stressing your BP out and is one of the contributing factors of why he may be trying to escape. They love having dark snug crevices to hide under and they prefer this whenever they are looking for food as they are ambush predators so the grey hide you have may be too spacious, this can be fixed by adding sphagnum moss underneath the hide.
Lastly, it is winter, even if your temps are at “normal” range your BP might still sense the seasonal change and be more reluctant to eat. This does not at all dismiss anything I’ve already stated, its just another possible cause. Offer him meals every 2 weeks even if he does not accept them, he looks to be a decent weight given that he is on a food strike so I wouldn’t worry too much unless he starts dropping a noticeable amount of weight from his body.
(Edit): if you are offering him hopper rats they are too small of a meal for a Sub-Adult BP. He should be able at the most take on a small rat right now based on the photo of him, but theres no way to tell for sure what size meals he should be eating without his weight in grams.
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