At what point do you just go ahead and try live?

I got an 04' male het albino back on 8/15/05. He came with the feeding card, and had last eaten on 8/08/05. It looks like this snake never went more then a week or two with out eating, and it does kinda look like he was shedding then(the way it's spaced out makes me think he was in shed). Anyway I gave him a week to settle in and tried to feed him. Nothen, I was using a F/T sm rat. I waited a few days and tried again, nothen. Then I waited another week, tried a pk, nothen. Then I covered the cage(sterilite), nothen.This happend for a few weeks, then last week I saw he was starting to go into shed, so I was thinking that might be why, well he shed Monday, I tried to feed him yesterday, another P/k and nothen.

I have him in a sterilite(35Qt.), it is 88 deg on one side, and 78-80 on the other side. He is on news paper, and just had a perfect one piece shed. I have a few other balls set up the same why, in the same klozit, and they eat every week. So I really don't think it's the set up.

I know just moving a ball from one side of the room to the other can make them go off feed, and I'm sure he will come around, in time. I just want to know If or when I should try live?

I have heard albinos can be picky eaters. Was your BP fed mice or rats before you got him? I have noticed some snakes are picky about mice or rats. Do you have a hide for the snake when you feed him? Some BPs need a tight hide so they feel secure.

I have two BPs that are trouble when it comes to eating, one is a het caramel and the other is a ghost. The het caramel will not eat rats and the oghost will only eat colored rodents. Both will only take live also, I can understand your frustration. It took me over 4 months to figure these two out, they also only eat once a month, though I offer them food on a regular basis.

With most snakes I get in I always start of with prekilled, this gives me an idea of how well they are eating. If they do not take for a couple weeks I than try live. I will toss in a prey size smaller than they are normally eating. If the snake is on small rats I use live jumbo mice. I toss in a bit of rodent feed also to insure the mouse has food. I feed late at night after 11pm. If the snake does not eat I will take the mouse out in the morning and return it with a little more rodent food late that night. I have noticed most my trouble snakes eat by the second attempt.

As a caution note, I will never feed a rodent larger than a jumbo mouse/small rat live. Being that the rats are a lot better at defending themselves than mice. I also have noticed the rodents that are handled the most do not fight back like the feeder rodents do that are never touched except when they are being moved from one cage to another. My wife will handle all the rats since the day they are born to calm them down, they are less likely to fight back.

My 2 cents, I hope it helps.

Yea I asked what he was eatting, and was told he was on rats, I have no reason not to belive it.I guess it could be the hide. The one I have for him is a little big.

I'll try to get him a smaller one, and if that wont work, I guess I could try live.


Thanks.

Try getting your temps up to the normal ranges of 82-84 cool side and 92-94 warm side. Leave him alone for a week and try again. I keep my girl at these temps in her tub and she has never missed a meal, not even while in shed. She is now slightly over a year and is 41" long and 1160g.

Try not to let those temps drop below 80 at any given time, that just sets balls up(especially males) to go off-feed. Also, even if they are in tubs, I like to give them two hides. Try those plastic pot saucers. You can find them at WalMart for about $0.90 apiece for the 8" wide ones. Either cut a hole in the side or in the top of each saucer. I use the actual clay saucers for smaller snakes, I just can't find them big enough or tall enough for the bigger guys

Try those suggestions and see what happens. Hope this helped a bit.

If you do try live, try a large rat crawler. That is one that is just about to open his eyes. Those are the safest. If you do put a bigger one in there, add some food for the rat and make sure he has some water.

Two months ago I bought a het. albino male yearling from a friend. He was very frustrated because this snake would only eat live mice and then only sporadically. I have no idea what I'm doing different but this snake eats ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! He leaps out of the drawer with his mouth open expecting food when I open it like my Cali. kings do. He will take live, prekilled and F/T mice or rats. The guy I got him from laughed and wouldn't believe me as he tried everything w/this snake. I videotaped a feeding and now he thinks I switched snakes on him.

My only advice is to keep trying and don't give up.

Thanks for the tips.

I did get him a smaller hide, and last night I saw him out and about in the cage. That is only like the 3rd time I've seen him out.

One more thing I thought of, The person I got him from kept him in a rack, now he is in a sterilite. I was thinking if I were to black out three sides of it, it would make it more like what he was in.

Anyway I'm sure he will come around, and in a week or two, if he has not taken a p/k, I'll try live, with some food, overnight.

Thanks

Weird you mention a rack. I keep mine in a rack and the guy I got my het. albino male from didn't. Maybe they feel more secure if they can't see out the sides of their cages. I would go ahead and black out the sides and see what happens.

Snakes (especially Balls) absolutely feel more secure in a rack. Mine have all become better eaters since moving to racks.

Yes,Yes,Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He ate!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just a lg fuzzy, and it was live, but HE ATE, HE ATE!!!!!!!!

I knew he would, but it sure does make me feel good he did!!!!

I think it was the smaller hide, as thats all I did. I was going to black out the sides, but I didn't want to paint, or tape them up, so I hadn't yet. Lets see he last ate on 8/8/05, now its 10/8/05, so it took him two months to adjust.

Thanks for all the help!

I just hope he will keep eating for me now.

next time why don't you trya smaller p/k and follow it up with a body temp f/t, I've noticed that some ball pythons won't eat unless the f/t is almost too hot, and I've seen my share of picky eaters.