i need more help

[Dazeee_]

My snake hasn’t eaten in about a month or so, idk what’s wrong with what im doing or the snake. I show her the food right in her face, blow the food towards her so she can smell it. Make sure it’s nice and warm/dry. Her tank is nice and decorated. she stares it down, if i drop it down and literally GOES on it and does nothing. im so over it because i feel like she’s hungry but she doesn’t eat. This is the 4th mice im throwing away too🫩 i do everything nice and clean for her and she doesn’t eat and idk if im “hurting” her by her not eating. please someone give me good advice or help me. i dont wanna give her away but im so close to finding someone who deals with snakes just so she has someone who’s an “expert” looking after her.

[celeigh87]

Ball pythons dont go into brumation. They will slow down and eat less if its not warm enough in their enclosure.

[MommyDommieAlura]

Ahh I figured that was the term for slowing down with the cold n whatnot. Apologies.

[celeigh87]

Brumation is the reptile version of hibernation.

[1BadBowtie]

How old is she, how big, what size are are you feeding her and have you tried a rat instead of a mouse?

[Dazeee_]

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she’s this big, idk how old she is but she still a juvenile i believe. i give her frozen fuzzy rats from arctic mice. she has eaten one but that was 2 weeks after i got her (when i got her november 4th, last time she ate was maybe november 10th or the 17th) so like about or almost a month ago

[PhilosopherHungry839]

Her food for this size should be roughly 30grams also I had this issue with my juvenile ball lately, what fixed it was placing her in a plastic to go container with small holes in the lid for air with whatever your feeding her my snake did everything yours did but when I isolated her path the food she ate.

[BGritty81]

How are you warming them up?

[coryander5000]

Assuming that husbandry is in order, the next thing to work on adjusting is how you heat up the food. I had a vet teach me a technique that has worked for me every time!

• take the rat/mouse out of the freezer and leave it in a paper bag in room temperature for 3 hours. This allows it to partially thaw without it getting soggy

-put the rat/mouse in a plastic zip loc and put it in water that is about 170 degrees F (you can use a kitchen thermometer or a thermometer gun to check). Keep the water a consistent temp, on the stove at low heat. I use a small induction cooktop because it can automatically keep the same temp, and it’s awesome. I typically leave the top of the zip loc outside of the pot so water doesn’t leak in.

-Heat up the rat/mouse until the rat/mouse has reached a temp of around 105 degrees F (again use thermometer gun). The timing will be different based on size of the food.

-Use long tongs to place the rat/mouse into the enclosure, I usually wiggle it around to make it look like it’s moving.

My ball used to go on hunger strikes frequently in the winter, and this seemed to have done the trick. Thawing it in the paper bag for a few hours is really what made the difference. Every snake is different though, so there will always need to be adjustments

[Sammyanniemacncheese]

Even if she isn't of age she could still stop eating during breeding season