Help with bad feeder!

[PlatinumRosePythons]

I've had this female since November 4th of this year and she refuses to eat anything. No interest at all in mice or rats! She actually seems to be afraid of the rodents When I offer her one she flees in the other direction. I only feed frozen/thawed and was told she eats that fine. I have no way to get live around here and would really rather not feed live. Her cage temps are 88/89 on hot spot, around 83 on cold spot. Humidity is around 50 unless shedding. She shedded almost a week ago, too. She's 3yrs old, around 1,000 grams. I'm not new to ball pythons, but am new to picky feeders. I have a couple 2012 babies that are easier to feed than she is What really gets me is that she seems to seriously be scared of the food! I dont think i've seen a snake move that fast AWAY from food before! She seems to be adjusting well otherwise and is in a low activity area. Please help! This girl is driving me nuts

 

[Ballfiend]

Did she have a hide in her cage with her last owner?

 

[snakesRkewl]

She's 3yrs old, around 1,000 grams. I'm not new to ball pythons, but am new to picky feeders.

You expected her to be a good feeder at 3 years old and 1000 grams?

I would give her a hide, jack up the hot spot to 92ish, and let her sit for a week again before offering.

 

[rcpreis3]

You expected her to be a good feeder at 3 years old and 1000 grams?

I would give her a hide, jack up the hot spot to 92ish, and let her sit for a week again before offering.

Some people dont like feeding their snakes until they explode, 1000gs in 3 yrs is not bad at all and no reason to insinuate her as a poor feeder, the previous owner may have had a difference in opinion when it comes to feeding or what a healthy ball is.

Its the start of breeding season, and I notice alot of balls go off feed this time of year whether or not they are up to breeding weight.

 

[snowgyre]

I agree with Robert. Many of my perfectly good feeders are off their feed at this time of year. I've had healthy ball pythons go off feed for a full six months and only lose about 1-5% of their body weight. I wouldn't worry about it. If it's one thing I've learned about ball pythons, you have to go at their pace. Patience will pay off, I promise. ;-)

 

[Amelanistic Orca]

You're gonna need some live offerings... Sorry to burst bubbles. You may even need a $15-$20 Gerbil. No matter how long somebody's been playing with Bp's, there's always one out there that wants to make you 'work for it.'

Google is your best friend at this point, a cup of your favorite drink and some time to read. You just asked a bunch of people on their opinions... and you will get 100 different answers.

And... 1000 grams at 3 yrs is not real great work on the keepers part. Juss sayin... Happy days ahead! But, it'll all be worth when you find out what kinda 'meat' she requires... Lolz

 

[PlatinumRosePythons]

Thanks for all your replies!

She does have a hide, however I am not sure if her old owner gave her one. I will try raising her temps. If she still refuses to eat in a couple weeks i'm going to look into getting some frozen gerbils or something. I literally have no access to live around here. The closest rodent breeder is 4 hours away and my little sister barely tolerates 30 minutes in the car.

Does anyone know where to get frozen gerbils?

 

[snakesRkewl]

Some people dont like feeding their snakes until they explode, 1000gs in 3 yrs is not bad at all and no reason to insinuate her as a poor feeder

seriously? explode?
333 grams a year is a good feeder?
I'm not insinuating anything, I'm calling it what it is

Good luck OP, sometimes just a change of scenery changes their feeding habits. I hope she starts to eat more consistently for you than she did for the previous owner.

 

[PlatinumRosePythons]

And... 1000 grams at 3 yrs is not real great work on the keepers part. Juss sayin...

I know the person that had her before me fed her small rats. Now, i'm no experianced keeper by any means, obviously, but that seems a bit to small for a snake her size. IMO, she could easily eat a medium/large rat IF she would eat! At this point i'd be happy with her eating a mouse pink

 

[PlatinumRosePythons]

I wasnt able to find anyone willing to ship frozen gerbils, but I did find a company that sells African Soft Furred Rats. Would those be a good substitute for gerbils?

 

[Jonas@Balls2TheWall]

African soft furs work, If you must, give it a shot but I would wait a while for her to settle in. Some snakes get hooked on the ASF's and its hard to get them eating anything else after.

I agree with Jerry on this one, 1000 grams in 3 years sounds like either a poor eater or a poor feeder.

 

[jtipton]

I agree with Jerry on this one, 1000 grams in 3 years sounds like either a poor eater or a poor feeder.

I have a 2 year old mojave female that is a terrible eater. She goes off feed for every couple of months. Sometimes for months at the time. She has done it every since I got her as a baby and even she weighs more than a 1000 grams.

 

[Amelanistic Orca]

Kelsie, go to the pets section under community in your area on Craigslist. Look for live mice, rats, Gerbs, or hamsters. Let us/me know what you find. You mentioned 20+ days have passed since last feeding... Has she taken a #2 while in your care?

FWIW; none, I mean none of my Bp's take breaks, what I have found is that they are more like humans than we know... Hence my reference to 'meat' choices. They don't do Vegan, so it's a meat choice they want/need. Some like this for a bit, some like that for a minute, some this and that... That is me defending types of rodent options referring to 'this and that.'

None stay "stuck" on something like most believe. If something needs to be converted to something for simplicities sake, I got a remedy for that. Let me know what is on Clist in your area. I guarantee she will mash the 'right' item/meat when it's presented to her.

 

[Amelanistic Orca]

Wow, somebody must alter my posts, and misspell stuff for me after I hit send...
That last sentence in paragraph 2 got bombed somehow, after a thorough proofread. I have noticed that on this site... Quite interesting... It should read this: that is me referring to different rodent types when I say 'this and that.'

Now it's all bombed. Reach out if you would like further help... I gotta step away from the iPhone. Lolz

 

[PlatinumRosePythons]

Kelsie, go to the pets section under community in your area on Craigslist. Look for live mice, rats, Gerbs, or hamsters. Let us/me know what you find. You mentioned 20+ days have passed since last feeding... Has she taken a #2 while in your care?

FWIW; none, I mean none of my Bp's take breaks, what I have found is that they are more like humans than we know... Hence my reference to 'meat' choices. They don't do Vegan, so it's a meat choice they want/need. Some like this for a bit, some like that for a minute, some this and that... That is me defending types of rodent options referring to 'this and that.'

None stay "stuck" on something like most believe. If something needs to be converted to something for simplicities sake, I got a remedy for that. Let me know what is on Clist in your area. I guarantee she will mash the 'right' item/meat when it's presented to her.

She hasnt gone to the bathroom at all as of yet. Its been 5 days since she shed too. I thought that was a bit odd, since all of my other snakes go to the bathroom a couple hours after shedding, nevermind days! I also havent seen her drink at all. Going to check out Clist now...

Thanks for all the help guys! Much appreciated!

 

[PlatinumRosePythons]

Just checked out CL, there are a couple but the ad says for sale to pet homes only.
I'm also a bit worried about how my mother will react to hearing that this snake will need live. Most of the reason why I got this girl is because I was told she would eat frozen. I'm seriously considering e-mailing the old owner and asking if I can ship her back for a refund and use the refunded money to buy another breeder. I was planning on breeding this girl next year but if she wont eat I fear she wont gain enough weight.

 

[Amelanistic Orca]

I can't step away... I'm compelled to help her out now! Lol. I checked in Maine for everything, they're out there, I just don't know how far away they are from you? I saw one, or more, of everything ready right now.

Do the wrong thing and don't mention it's for a snake... Lol, I know, I'm a jerk, but I'll tell you what, I use rats and rodents for big catfish... It's kinda sad, but not when you hit a 50 off of one. Sssshhhh, it's a secret, lol, and one probably frowned upon heavily... But, everybody's gotta eat, if somebody wants to petition, petition for Turkeys on Thanksgiving if ya wanna change the Wirld... Lol. I misspelt that one on purpose, see if they fix it for me.

Here's my take on things, she has issues... How big, we don't know yet, but I would do what it takes to run some live meat options past her late night, and ever so quiet and gently. And, I do mean barely bump or move her tub when you introduce said meat option... This is critical, don't pull the waterdish, don't pull the hide, in fact, crumple up ten pieces of newspaper and spread it everywhere to get her ground cover... The more, the merrier. This convo could go on for six pages. If you really want help, real help, reach out in a PM, I'll hop on the phone and have you, and her, ironed out in a 15 minute convo...

Either way, I wish the best, it feels good to turn a "pawned off basket case" around, it does, it just sucks when you paid for the basket case, I know, I've been there a dozen times squared to fifth power, I think? Lolz. And the worst news is, people only wanna help out so much these days. Waiting for her to deteriorate worse is not a smart option... Juss sayin'!

 

[PlatinumRosePythons]

I can't step away... I'm compelled to help her out now! Lol. I checked in Maine for everything, they're out there, I just don't know how far away they are from you? I saw one, or more, of everything ready right now.

Do the wrong thing and don't mention it's for a snake... Lol, I know, I'm a jerk, but I'll tell you what, I use rats and rodents for big catfish... It's kinda sad, but not when you hit a 50 off of one. Sssshhhh, it's a secret, lol, and one probably frowned upon heavily... But, everybody's gotta eat, if somebody wants to petition, petition for Turkeys on Thanksgiving if ya wanna change the Wirld... Lol. I misspelt that one on purpose, see if they fix it for me.

Here's my take on things, she has issues... How big, we don't know yet, but I would do what it takes to run some live meat options past her late night, and ever so quiet and gently. And, I do mean barely bump or move her tub when you introduce said meat option... This is critical, don't pull the waterdish, don't pull the hide, in fact, crumple up ten pieces of newspaper and spread it everywhere to get her ground cover... The more, the merrier. This convo could go on for six pages. If you really want help, real help, reach out in a PM, I'll hop on the phone and have you, and her, ironed out in a 15 minute convo...

Either way, I wish the best, it feels good to turn a "pawned off basket case" around, it does, it just sucks when you paid for the basket case, I know, I've been there a dozen times squared to fifth power, I think? Lolz. And the worst news is, people only wanna help out so much these days. Waiting for her to deteriorate worse is not a smart option... Juss sayin'!

There is a problem with the whole live thing though, my mom is not onboard. She doesnt want live rodents in the house because they stink. I promised her when I got into balls that I could feed frozen thawed. She also doesnt wanna run all over the USA to get live rodents (her words, not mine). I think i'm just gonna contact the breeder and see if he'll take her back for a refund. Hopefully he will.

 

[Shadera]

Did she happen to just lay some eggs not long ago? If she was on the small side beforehand, that could account for the low weight. Otherwise, I agree with what Jerry said.

I'd only offer food once a week, and leave her completely alone otherwise. No peeking. No handling. She doesn't eat? Another week with no pestering. It usually doesn't take more than a few weeks for them to decide to eat.

Soft furs aren't a sure bet, so I'd save your cash unless you can find one locally to try out. I had a big name breeder pawn off a mouser on me recently without telling me up front, and she refuses anything but live small mice. Won't even *look* at a soft fur.

And speaking of, I wish folks would quit spewing that BS about snakes getting hooked on asf. If that's all you feed the darn thing, then sure it'll probably prefer those. But I've fed hundreds of snakes soft furs and regular rats, whatever I happen to have the most of at that time, and none has ever shown a preference. They eat anything and everything I offer.

Well, except this mouser.

Good luck!

 

[Amelanistic Orca]

Shadera, take that mouser... And try this, do you have a tub that contains mice. If you do, let it get ripe, I have tubs with 20-30 mice, they get ripe in 24hrs... I let it get ripe, then, when its time for a bedding swapout, boom, mice out, into a new bedded tub... Next step below.

Now, that old stinky mouse bedding; slap a nice sized Norway in there. Let it 'hang out' for a bit in there, take the portion where the mice pack up fecal and urates, usually in one specific corner, and wipe it all over that Norway, now offer late night. I promise you will convert the finickiest right away, first shot.

If, by chance it doesn't work, try again with worse used mice bedding... Let me know if that doesn't make since. I just converted an '04 mouser with this method. She was a 10 egg'r off micing, lol, new word, now, on Norways, omg, she's gonna do 15 in 2013. We are excited about this! Lemme know how it works, or not... Lol.

Kelsie, if that's where you're at, you are in deep 'stuff.' You might wanna consider Kingsnakes or Colubrids at this point. Balls can be ruff to manage. Juss sayin'. Can anybody attest to that?

Good luck to all. Looks like I may have wasted a couple hours belting out books, for free... Please learn from my dumbness, only extend your neck so far... You can lead a Horse to water, ahhh, forget it... Cya.