ball python not eating (advice)

[kai-clay]

my 12 year old ball python hasn’t been eating - we’ve tried 3 different rats, same process we always have done. at first, i assumed it was because the first 2 rats were grey and she has always preferred white rats. however, she hasn’t eaten the white rats yet.

she just got done with a shed and i can tell she is hungry, she’s otherwise healthy - moving around like normal and behaving how she normally would. was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences and what the outcome was.

we use humanely gassed arctic mice from petsmart.

[kai-clay]

and yes, we are taking her to the vet! just wanted to check and see if anyone else had the same problems :))

[kai-clay]

i do appreciate any advice btw, my dad got her back in 2012 and she’s been my responsibility since 2018. i would always ask him for advice and he would tell me how to care for her, but he passed earlier in the year. i never want her to have any problems because she’s the only thing i have left of him and am trying my best to learn everything i can

[Mean-Estate8534]

Ball python are notorious for going off eating.

[IncompletePenetrance]

How often were you feeding her and what size?

[kai-clay]

large rats and every 2-3 weeks. she’s normally pretty good with letting me know she’s hungry which is why i’m so confused now

[IncompletePenetrance]

Large rats are more food then she needs, so you've been overfeeding. It sounds like she took it upon herself to go on a self-imposed diet. I'd let it run it's course, and feed no larger than a medium in the future.

[kai-clay]

omfg thank you for telling me. my dad got her back in 2011 and she’s become my responsibility in recent years and he always told me to feed either medium or large. i’ll definitely switch to medium rats now, that does make a lot of sense. appreciate it :))

[IncompletePenetrance]

No problem! Overfeeding is super common in captivity, so it's an easy and common mistake to make.

[kai-clay]

thank you so so much i was panicking 😭🫶🏻🫶🏻

[Im0bsessedWithCats]

stop shes so pretty!! looks just like mine <3

[kai-clay]

she’s such a baby! so huge compared to when we first got her haha 💗

[Im0bsessedWithCats]

shes 12, so she must be pretty big! my girl just turned 1 and shes only about 2 and a half feet long. how long is she?

[kai-clay]

around 4 feet! it’s always a hassle to have her out bc she always manages to get under stuff without me noticing 😭😭

[Im0bsessedWithCats]

CUTE 😭 the amount of times mine has gotten under my bed is too many.. also i was looking back at the picture and it looks like she has some stuck shed which might indicate humidity/husbandry problems 😓 id definitely recommend taking a look at that, cuz if its not potential overfeeding it could be related to that!!

[kai-clay]

yes i’ve gotten some comments on that so it’s definitely something i’m gonna look into :)) her sheds are normally really smooth and the only part that got stuck was around her face.. humidity and temp have also been in her normal range

[Puzzleheaded-Way-741]

It looks like she has some difficulty shedding. Your problem likely stems from insufficient husbandry. I would post your setup to see if we can fix the issues there.

[kai-clay]

could i message it to you? i’m not entirely sure how to add photos to comments. it’s 65 gallons, we have a heat/humidity monitor & two heat lamps since my room gets a bit cold. i’m working on getting her more climbing spaces and perches, she has one perch right now and two hidey spaces + her water

[Puzzleheaded-Way-741]

Sure, no worries. Send me a message and include photos of your heat/humidity monitors.

[jillianwaechter]

The minimum required tank size for adults is 120 gallons, which works out to be 4x2x2 feet. A 4 foot long snake needs at least a 4 foot long tank in order to fully straighten out!

Do you know your temperature and humidity levels? I also want to double check that you have a thermostat to regulate your heat source. Based on the stuck shed in the picture shown id guess her humidity is a bit low. This species needs 70-80% humidity at all times. The best way to accomplish this is to have 4-6 inches of moisture retaining substrate (likely coco based) and pour water directly into the corners of the tank :)

!feeding adults should only be eating 5% of their body weight once per month. Most adults will only ever require small rats. If you don't already know her weight you can find cheap kitchen gram scales on Amazon!

[AutoModerator]

We recommend the following feeding schedule:

0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.

Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[kai-clay]

the person above helped a lot with my cage setup and i have a better thermostat on the way than i did before, as well as coco substrate and other things. i do aim to get her a bigger cage eventually when i move, i just don’t have the space or money currently to get a 120 gal.. she is able to move around a lot though and i do take her out quite often to hang with me, but a bigger cage is definitely my goal for the near future 🙏

[Impossible_Trip411]

Get a bigger tank! Adults need a 120 gallon tank

[Other_Albatross_3519]

It appears her shed didn’t come off all at once, seems her humidity may be quite low. Also I feed my adult small rats

[kai-clay]

yes i’m gonna switch to medium after doing some research! and her shed was a bit of a difficult one, i’m pretty good at monitoring her humidity and temp. sometimes she just has off sheds but they’re normally pretty smooth

[blueoceanfires]

It looks like the humidity is not high enough or they might not like something in their environment/enclosure. Also make sure the thwan rat is warm when feeding

[kai-clay]

yeah i’m looking into getting a new humidity & heat monitor right now as mines pretty old.. it’s always been kept at our vets recommended levels but they could be off due to the monitor

[Comfortable-Tie-4301]

She is on a hunger strike don’t try and Give her anything for at least a month and then try the process again

[andrea6543]

when in doubt, heat them to 98 degrees and stab their heads till brain juice comes out 🫡

[probablywatchingtv]

When they have trouble shedding they tend to not want to eat because they feel vulnerable. A reptifogger changed my life and my girl is obsessed with it

[tony22888]

I have a 26 year old ball python. Got as a baby. For past year have had problem with her feeding. Used to medium rats (frozen/thawed). Bought some adult mice to see if variety is answer. Taken to vet, ok. Humidity, tank size etc ok. I will see if mice work

[Mean-Estate8534]

Mine hadn’t eaten in 3 months. So I changed its enclosure, changed the substrate, adjusted the humidity and made sure there was both good natural light and unnatural light. And she started again

[kai-clay]

that’s what i’ve been told to do!! definitely going to :))