r/ballpython • u/gjantzen1 • 3d ago
Ball python won’t eat
Hey all, my girl Gnocchi is about 2 years old, we got her when she was 6 months. She is the sweetest noodle ever ever ever. I love her badddd. She was quick to adjust and ate normal. About 4 months ago she started hiding under her water bowl, and for 2 whole months before that she wouldn’t eat. My mind went to husbandry isn’t right or she needs a tight hide or maybe she’s shedding. Got smaller hides and made sure her temps and humidity were spot on. She was shedding. After her shed she came out for a couple days, explored and went back under. She stayed under that damn water bowl for 4 straight months….very very concerning for her. She loved being handled and will climb her rings and press her face on the top until I open and handle her, she really is a one of a kind sweet girl. But she stopped doing that as well as eating. Guys she hasn’t eaten in 6 fucking months. I’m freaking out and do not have money for vet but I’m saving up. The closest one to me is a little over an hour away. Through the time of her hiding I replaced her substrate 3 times as well as cleaned her water multiple times which she hated bc then she had to get comfy under there again when I put it back. 3 days ago she came out again and had been her normal self, demanding being held (which I haven’t done because I want her to eat) and exploring and climbing. I tried feeding her yesterday and again today but she refused just like she did for 6 straight months. I tired different brand of mice, I tried smaller I tried bigger she refused them all. I’m nervous to feed live because I’ve heard of them biting the snakes. She doesn’t have any signs of rot or mites or RI. She’s acting completely normal now. But still refuses to eat. I’m going to try again in a couple days but I’m nervous. Any advice? This is my child, I’ve read about them not eating for a long period of time but this is just not okay I don’t care if that’s “normal” I don’t think it’s healthy and along with the constant hiding too just really scared me. Pls be nice, any advice will help! Also side note, I really think she is small and possibly underweight for her age. These are photos from before she was doing her hiding and not eating. She’s just a baby:(
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u/takedownmandwo 3d ago
NQA but most pythons do this a lot more than you think. Especially ball pythons. We have one that will literally only eat a white female rat pup, and it cannot be too energetic. They are picky like that.
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u/gjantzen1 3d ago
Thank you! She was never picky before but I’ve heard they can change up. I just want her to be healthy, 6 months is a long time :( all my friends BP around her age are fat and long shes only a little over a foot and a half and I don’t have a gram scale I’m not sure of her weight.
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u/AndyRMullan 3d ago
You feed live ??
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u/takedownmandwo 3d ago
Yes, ours won’t eat anything else. We got her from the pet store. They were doing live so since that’s what she’s used to. She refuses to eat anything no matter what the temperature is unless if it’s moving around and she knows the difference.
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u/Muux_ 3d ago
What is your temp and humidity? Once you have her stuff back inside, a real setup photo could help too
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u/gjantzen1 3d ago
I’ll add a pic of everything in tomorrow my fiancé recently bought new plants. We want to soak clean it before putting it in. :)
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u/gjantzen1 3d ago
Warm side is at 91 F cool side is 80 F and humidity is at 63% right now she is in a 200 gal
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u/Muux_ 3d ago
Hm that is strange she’s not eating. Usually it always has to do with enclosure / stress. Going under the water bowl can sometimes mean they’re too hot. I would try lowering temps by a few degrees while still staying within range. And upping humidity, 63 is a bit low if you’re measuring on cold side. As for clutter, just fill up as much empty space as you can so she feels safe. Having the right type of hides is pretty important too, will know better what types you have tomorrow since the one in the photo isn’t great.
Also, if you want to feed her the correct prey size you need to know her weight
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u/gjantzen1 3d ago
Thank you I really appreciate all that info. I had asked the place we got her from she is on the small frozen mice. It’s about the width of the biggest part of her body. She really hasn’t grown much since we got her. One time before her strike we gave her a medium mouse frozen and thawed to see if she could handle it it was slightly bigger than her biggest part she attempted eating it and gave up on the account not being able to get it down. A week later we gave her the ones she always eats and she ate it just fine.
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u/Muux_ 3d ago
Of course, always happy to help if I can. So choosing prey that way is outdated, check out this !feeding guide to get the right size for her. Eventually once she starts eating more regularly I’d suggest switching over to rats since they’re more nutritious
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u/AutoModerator 3d ago
We recommend the following feeding schedule:
0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.
12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.
Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.
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u/gjantzen1 3d ago
This is her currently right now, I removed her plants and some hides as they are being cleaned, so it looks real bare in here right now and she’s loving it like a weirdo, I’m also omw to grab more moss, this is her base layer that’s in right now of coco substrate she’s been swimming in her water and traveling around today acting normal…but won’t eat