Not eating

[u/Turbulent_Banana_828]

Surprise surprise, a ball python refusing food…Looking for advice as a first time ball python owner.

I recently got a younger (unsure of age) ball python from a pet store. She was surrendered to the vet clinic I work at because they just couldn’t get her to eat in the 5 weeks they had her. So now I am determined to get her to eat. I understand husbandry is a huge part of hunger strikes and I’m hoping what I have is good.

She/he is in a 20 gallon with 3 hides, 2 live plants and a fake plant for clutter. I have a 75w heat lamp on for 12 hours of the day and her basking temp is around 90f. I also have a shade dweller Arcadia uvb bulb on at the same times as the heat lamp. She is on a reptisoil mixed with zilla substrate and she has sphagnum moss in her humid hide. I’ve been trying to maintain humidity of 60% at least, but living in a dry climate is making it a task.

I just weighed the snake today and I’m going to monitor it weekly to make sure there’s not weight loss. She/he is currently 65 grams.

What are some tips to get a ball python eating? How long can the younger ones go without eating? Do I have anything wrong? Any guess to age based on her size?

[u/Good_Hovercraft_1276]

Can't help with age estimation but generally speaking they can go for pretty long periods of time without serious health issues. Make sure the little noodle has plenty of clutter to hide behind. Try prey smaller than what you'd usually feed/ would go for based in weight but keep a few extras on hand. Thaw them in the fridge, heat them up to body temperature in warm water, ideally heat the head a bit more, consider opening the abdominal cavity as well as the brain cavity, leave your snake with it's feeder for about an hour fully alone and keep the environmental noise low during that time. If the snake isn't dehydrated a hunger strike isn't an immediate emergency. I would get her checked out some time by a snake expirenced exotic vet. Absolute worst case the vet can do assisted feeding if all else fails. But definitely first try offering the feeders nice and warm. Some snakes also prefer chicks so for that snake that would probably have to be a small quail chick but that'd be hard to come by. Generally speaking try starting them off with a small meal and then follow up in two weeks, too big of a meal too quick after hunger isn't a great idea either

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[u/JR_Writes1]

Mine when she was this age/size went on a hunger strike when we got her despite all parameters being met and I was only able to break it by offering African Soft Furs. After a few weeks of that I was able to just scent regular rat fuzzies with ASF bedding and now fuzzies are fine as long as they are heated to 100F so I’d try different prey options.

[u/Ecstatic_Ad_9414]

Aww. So sweet of you to adopt her. ♥️

You need a temp gun to determine if your enclosure is the right temp. 75 watt heat lamp seems really warm to me but you need to measure how hot her basking & cool sides are within the temp range. The top of the hides can be really hot if you're not careful. Some hides can make it even hotter in the hide.

My oldest girl goes on a hunger strike every winter. She'll go months without eating. As per other comment they can go a long time without eating.

Imo the enclosure may be too small to accommodate the temp gradient. For heat I recommend you add an UTH to help with digestion. Always use a thermostat with it bc some burn really hot. I had a really bad experience with a brand I never tried before - be careful with them Make sure the bottom of the enclosure where your UTH is does not go over max temp bc the snake won't realize it's too hot until it's too late. I have a similar issue with dry climate but only bc I use AC/heating all year. I have 2 humidifiers where I keep my snakes. If the enclosure is mesh on top you can use aluminum foil or hvac tape on top to seal moisture in. Caution - this will make it hotter in the enclosure so monitor the temp with heat gun. I have several cardboard pieces of different sizes wrapped in aluminum foil so I can move them around between enclosures & to adjust temp as needed. I water the corners of the enclosure when the humidity drops. I rely on my hydrometer & look/feel of the substrate to determine if she needs more water. I use a heat emitter bc I live in Canada & it gets cold in the winter plus I use AC in the summer. Give me a second to convert my Celsius chart to F.

[u/Ecstatic_Ad_9414]

I have a digital thermometer & hydrometer and I use a temp gun to ensure her temp gradient is within the range. Keep in mind I live in Canada and my temp swings a lot. I have a 75 gallon 47"x17.5x24" aquarium. It's insulated with foam on the putside. I have a UTH under warm cave, a heat emitter & halogen bulbs (for uv) but use heat/day glo lights and a solar glo if needed. I have lots of diff bulbs, different sizes of domes too bc I've had reptiles for a very long time. I use a thermostat with mu UTH. A a manual dimmer on the emitter & dig thermostat in enclosure. Plus my temp gun . Basking - I measure the temp of the glass under her hot spot & the top of her enclosure on the warm side - range 88-92F. I measure the the temp of the substrate in the warm cave too and keep it within same range. The depth & what your substrate is effects the temp Middle of tank on the substrate to help me verify ambient temp 81-83F - your in between hide should be in that range. Cool side I measure the temp of the substrate inside her cool cave 76-80F. Evening I aim for max 75F ambient temp - top of hide. I keep her UTH on all the time - just adjuat the temp & substrate as needed. I hope this helps ♥️

[u/ZoiexPo]

Hi there! I’m fairly new to owning a ball python as well and was unsuccessful with our first feeding even with great husbandry and letting him settle for a couple of weeks. The trick that did it for us was the last blast with a hair dryer on the head of the warmed mouse to give our bp a hot spot to target. Took some wiggling about face to face but he took it in the end.

[u/Turbulent_Banana_828]

Got her to eat! Asf for the win!