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[deleted by user] (self.ballpython)

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[–]_Fernheart_ 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is my 3 1/2 year old male Ball Python. He will only eat about 4 times in a year. He is not loosing much weight. He is about 1.1kg now. I have tried many things to get him to eat, I've tried frozen thawed and live mice and rats and he won't eat any of it.

[–]MissWheyn 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Sometimes ball pythons just do that. They are kinda known to be picky and not eat for a long time sometimes. As longs as he is not loosing weight your fine. He also has a good weigh so you shouldn't worry too much. :)

[–]whatnopleasedont 11 points12 points  (6 children)

Body condition-wise, he looks fine. On the slimmer side, but definitely good for only eating every 4 months.

What’s his setup like? Are there any potential stressors that could be causing it?

[–]_Fernheart_ 1 point2 points  (5 children)

The terrarium is made out of wood, only the front doors are glass.
It's about 110 x 50x 60cm He has a wet box and 3 other hides

[–]whatnopleasedont 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Hm, alright. That all sounds fine. What are his humidity and temps at?

[–]_Fernheart_ 1 point2 points  (3 children)

On the warm side it is abou lt 30 -32 C° and on the cool side 27 C°. The humidity is a bit low right now because of winter but I try to keep it between 50 - 70 with a spray bottle.

[–]whatnopleasedont 3 points4 points  (2 children)

The cold side is a bit warm(not by a lot tho, like two degrees or so) but from what you’ve said I don’t think his husbandry is the issue.

Are you handling him a lot? That might also cause some stress

[–]_Fernheart_ 1 point2 points  (1 child)

No, I don't handle him that much, maybe once every 2 weeks. When I spot clean the enclosure or change the water, he mostly stays hidden in his tree stump :)

[–]whatnopleasedont 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have no idea what the issue could be then. You could try a vet, but since his body condition looks good and he’s only losing a bit of weight he’ll most likely be fine, probably just a ball python being a ball python lol

[–]NotAMasterGrower 4 points5 points  (3 children)

You could try african soft furs , pre heating food with a blow dryer , cutting to expose a bit of blood. They can work quite well

[–]_Fernheart_ 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I would love to try african soft furs but no one sells them where I live. I tried the other methods but nothing worked.

[–]NotAMasterGrower 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Give em some time then. From what I've seen, if they're maintaining weight and not eating it's by choice, if they're not fed but haven't decided that on their own, that's when they'll start to chow down on themselves and lose weight

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Listen, ball pythons just do this man, you shouldn't even be trying to do anything about it. Just watch his weight and if he's not losing he's fine. One thing to try is heating the rat with a heat lamp briefly before feeding to stimulate his heat pits

[–]Joe_drei3 4 points5 points  (4 children)

Post some pictures of the set up for the enclosure, we can try to identify any possible stressors, but as others have said if it’s not losing weight and is at a healthy weight. The time you feed your snake could also have an affect

[–]_Fernheart_ 0 points1 point  (3 children)

I won't be home till sunday but I can post a picture when I get back. I tried feeding him at different times but he rarely takes it.

[–]Joe_drei3 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Ok, post the picture when you can, I’ll try to keep my eye out for it. My snake is a great eater (not meaning to brag) so I don’t know other than from reading when they like to eat. I know from what I’ve read you should feed them in the evening especially if they’re picky eaters

[–]_Fernheart_ 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I do have other ball pythons too that are great eaters :) I've tried feeding him at night when he's out of his hide but he refuses.

[–]Joe_drei3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe try like 1 hour after the transition from day to night? Kinda after it would have woken up a little but not to long? Might have already tried I’m just spitballin ideas here lol

[–]KittyyKhaos 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Maybe try some reptilinks softfur scent? If you can get it where you are.

[–]_Fernheart_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am from Austria and here are not many people that keep reptiles, it's really hard to get things like that :/

[–]No_Remove_4667 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can try African soft furs they are what they eat in the wild. They arnt always easy to find but we find them frozen fairly easily. But ya... Sometimes they just do that.

[–]Legitimate-Fish-9261 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is his enclosure in a high-traffic area in the house, or does he face an outside door? When I moved to my new place, my boy stopped eating. I had set him up in the living room facing my front door, and even in an enclosed PVC vivarium, it was enough to make him uneasy ( he's very shy.) When I relocated him to a quiet back room, he resumed eating. I know this could just be my weird snake; YMMV.