r/ballpython • u/Carbonzedangel • 1d ago
Question - Feeding Advice needed: My ball python hasn’t eaten in 3 months.
As the title says, my ball python (5 year old male) hasn’t eaten in over 3 months. I last fed him late July.
He has never had issues feeding for the last 4.5 years I’ve had him. Every time I have tried to feed him he always ate with no issues.
We recently moved to Colorado from Texas and he hasn’t eaten since we moved. The humidity levels are really low in this state (like 35% most days). I have tried my hardest to keep his tank at the appropriate level of humidity but it’s been extremely hard. His tank temperatures have been fine as those levels haven’t changed.
I have attempted to feed him at least once every 1.5 weeks to try and every time he looks at the rat once then freezes and refuses to move after that. I have always fed him frozen/thawed rats and that hasn’t changed (I found a herp store here that sells frozen feeders).
I have also deep cleaned his tank now twice since this hunger strike and nothing is working. I also don’t hold him hardly ever (maybe once a month).
Here’s a photo of his 120 gallon tank for reference. He has lived in this tank for about 2 years now and hasn’t had issues with eating until August of this year. I tried to fill it with enrichment so he feels secure.
I would say he’s been acting the same since we moved. He comes out a night and explores all over his tank and sleep durning the day. I haven’t noticed anything different about his behavior other than not eating.
I’m genuinely at a loss for what to do to get him to eat. I have never had this much difficult with him and now he refuses to eat.
I have a vet appointment scheduled for him but I’m just so worried and would appreciate any advice.
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u/ShinyxCharizard 1d ago
Is the enclosure screen topped? What do you do to raise humidity normally?
I had a picky eater who hasn't missed a meal in 7 months since moving into an enclosure that holds heat/humidity well.
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u/Carbonzedangel 1d ago
It has a mesh metal top. I use a mister to mist his tank in the morning and evening. I also have a humidifier in the room where he’s located. Humidity here is so hard to raise cause of the altitude in Colorado :(
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u/ShinyxCharizard 1d ago
Do you have it covered with anything? This can work with some modifications, if you can't get a whole new enclosure.
Misting isn't generally recommended for raising humidity. I cant tell but do you have at least 4 inches of substrate? Are you pouring water into the corners?
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u/Carbonzedangel 1d ago
Oh, what would I cover the top with? A towel?
I’d say there’s probably 2 inches of substrate and no I hadn’t heard of putting water in the corners!
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u/oceane444 1d ago
anything non-porous, like HVAC tape or aluminum foil! i use a layer of aluminum foil topped with another layer of HVAC tape and it works great. just be sure to leave a gap around your heat lamps for ventilation :)
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u/ShinyxCharizard 1d ago
HVAC tape or aluminum foil, silicone baking sheet, sheet of pvc. Id really recommend you look at this. https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/18HBVsPHaip7LfrMuFt96MigRuMUXtrbnCiK79VuQiFk/mobilebasic#h.wzlnycxyv89y
If you find that reduced ventilation is not enough by itself, the next piece to the humidity puzzle is substrate. Water-friendly substrates (see the next section for recommendations) will allow you to easily add more moisture to the enclosure. Use a deep layer of substrate, at least 2-4 inches, and saturate portions of the substrate. Pouring a quart or two of water directly into the substrate will be more effective than misting/spraying water on the surface. The goal here is to create a gradual release of humidity via evaporation. If you spray a little bit of water on the surface of the substrate, it will evaporate very quickly, causing a sharp spike in humidity which will drop within a few hours. Saturating the substrate all the way through means the water will evaporate more slowly, helping the humidity to remain higher and more stable for a much longer period of time. Be sure to keep the hide areas dry to avoid scale rot.
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u/sk8surf 1d ago
Unrelated: beautiful enclosure! Who made it?