baby not eating.

I have 2 baby ball pythons. They are about the same age and both are normals. I also think both are females, but dont quote me right now lol. One hasnt eaten in 2 weeks. Is this normal or could something be going on? I keep the temp around 80 during the day and around 75 during the night. They both shed last month. Ala (the one that didnt eat last week) shed on Oct 16, and Ajali (the one that did eat) on Oct 12. Could she be getting ready to shed maybe? TY in advance for advise

Is 80F your hotspot temp or the ambient temp? If that's the hotspot, that's low, which may be the problem. Also, dropping temps at night could be causing the baby to go off feed. What type of enclosure are you keeping them in?

You should be able to tell if they're getting ready to shed...they usually get a pink belly and then they go opaque (they'll look really dull and their eyes will get cloudy).

I keep my babies at hotspot 84-85 and I do not turn the heat down at night. I'd keep the heat up and watch for signs of shed cycle.

what is the current weight of the female that is not eating?

I havent gotten weights on them. I also found mites on Ajali. I have Ala in with her hopper mouse right now to see if she'll eat it. Maybe she doesnt like this mouse or somethin. They should be coming up on a shed soon from everything that I have read but they dont appear to be ready yet. The bellies havent turned pink yet. I have their furnishings in bleach water and have cleaned out their habitat and put in newspapers. I also have Ajali soaking in warm water. Am I still doing right? I am going to leave their temp alone at what I have it set for day time just turn it up a little. I have a rheostat on a heat lamp and uth. I think I may be freaking for something of little consequence. I am really worried about mites though. I am going to order some mite off or something to get rid of them but I gotta do something now cause its causing me to itch and their habitat is in my bedroom.

You're right to treat the mites... I've heard Prevent A Mite (PAM) recommended before, but I've never treated mites myself so I'm sure someone else can be more help on that subject.

Are they housed together or separately? What are they housed in? How are you measuring temps? You need to bump the hotspot up to 88F to 90F.

Also, how are you offering food? If you're moving them to a different enclosure to feed, that may be an issue...BPs can be shy when it comes to eating.

Since I got them I have been putting them in seperate containers to feed. I have them in a 29g high tank right now cause they are small and yes they are together. I usually put the mouse in the container then put them in. I use the same container each time. I think it might be the mites that is causing her not to eat. I am loath to use anything costic or toxic cause I also have cats, dogs, mice (in a totally seperate room) and 2 green eyed geckos (in a seperate room). The cats dont bother the snakes cause they know they will get hurt (usually popped on the rump) and they dont really like it lol. The dogs have never seen them. Even my cats that kill snakes wont mess with these cause they have learned that if it has my scent you dont mess with it. I have bumped up the temp and left it alone except when CLEANING. and when I say cleaning I mean I took it apart and scoured the dang thing big time. I have their furnishings drying after soaking in bleach water over night their rocks in the oven at 250 degrees. I soaked them in a mix of soap and salt for 30 min then dried them well. They werent happy. I am letting them relax for a few days before I do anything else to them. They are probably stressed hard right now. I looked at the water I soaked them in and it was full of dead mites. I used seven dust in their tank and "fumigated" for 30 min also. Then I scoured with bleach. Gotta love the bleach. I hope I am doing everything right. I also have their "curtain" in the washer right now. I have vacuumed and washed and scrubbed as best I could. I am thinking of getting some PAM but havent decided. I have newspaper in the bottom right now and a bowl of water for them but their not happy with me. Any more advise would be awesome and appreciated.

Originally Posted by Allanira

Since I got them I have been putting them in seperate containers to feed. I have them in a 29g high tank right now cause they are small and yes they are together. I usually put the mouse in the container then put them in. I use the same container each time. I think it might be the mites that is causing her not to eat. I am loath to use anything costic or toxic cause I also have cats, dogs, mice (in a totally seperate room) and 2 green eyed geckos (in a seperate room). The cats dont bother the snakes cause they know they will get hurt (usually popped on the rump) and they dont really like it lol. The dogs have never seen them. Even my cats that kill snakes wont mess with these cause they have learned that if it has my scent you dont mess with it. I have bumped up the temp and left it alone except when CLEANING. and when I say cleaning I mean I took it apart and scoured the dang thing big time. I have their furnishings drying after soaking in bleach water over night their rocks in the oven at 250 degrees. I soaked them in a mix of soap and salt for 30 min then dried them well. They werent happy. I am letting them relax for a few days before I do anything else to them. They are probably stressed hard right now. I looked at the water I soaked them in and it was full of dead mites. I used seven dust in their tank and "fumigated" for 30 min also. Then I scoured with bleach. Gotta love the bleach. I hope I am doing everything right. I also have their "curtain" in the washer right now. I have vacuumed and washed and scrubbed as best I could. I am thinking of getting some PAM but havent decided. I have newspaper in the bottom right now and a bowl of water for them but their not happy with me. Any more advise would be awesome and appreciated.

I can see a few issues with your setup that may be causing the baby to not eat, and mites is just one. First of all, BPs are not social so it's really stressful for them to be housed together. Second, a 29g tank is way too big for hatchlings. They'd probably do much better if you got them each their own 6qt tub with a hide and water bowl. That would probably make it easier to control temps as well (tanks have so much ventilation that it can be difficult). Then, feed them in their tubs instead of moving them so they will feel secure enough to eat. Some babies are really shy...I've had hatchlings that wouldn't eat when I was in the room, or if it wasn't dark, so I can see how if they are picked up and moved to a strange container they might not eat.

Hope this helps,
Shelly

I usually feed them at night with the lights out and a blanket over them. I have a friend that had one die recently that was from the same clutch as 1 of mine and it got impacted cause it got substrat in its food. I dont wanna kill the babies. The temps stay around the same. The only time they dont is if I turn off their light. Which I dont do very often just when I go to clean and then the light goes back on as soon as Im done. They move around a lot and they have 2 hides to go into. One on the cooler side and one on the warmer side. They span the whole back or front of the tank when they lay out straight. I also leave them alone with their food for about an hour with the door shut so the cats cant see them either.

Most breeders feed in tubs (I do, and I use cypress) without any problems, but if you're worried about impaction, keep them on newspaper and feed them in their tubs, at least until they get established. They each need their own tub, smaller than what they're in now. You have a stressed baby that's not eating, and you need to resolve the issues that are stressing it or it's not going to do well. By keeping them together, you're also risking other problems like cannibalism, spread of diseases, and making it difficult to notice problems (if one regurges for example, you won't know which it was).