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 #1729234


KatieBones
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 Appetite

I have a normal run of the mill pet store Ball Python. He normally eats every week (on Tuesday) and if I miss just one day he acts like he’s starving. He never hesitates to kill and eat the mouse. He eats even if he’s shedding (one day he started shedding because of stretching to eat) and wasn’t even phased when a mouse bit him once. All of a sudden he just wouldn’t eat this week. I gave him the same size and color mouse that I always do. I’ve tried feeding him for three days now and he isn’t eating. He acts like he is afraid of the mouse when he’s in the tank with him.

He isn’t shedding, he had a bowel movement two days ago, and he hasn’t been acting any different. I haven’t changed anything inside his tank, including the temperature or placement of things inside the tank.

It’s freaking me out that he started this out of no where with no sign of why.
05/08/08  12:22pm

 #1729239


Frankykeno
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   Message To: KatieBones   In reference to Message Id: 1729234


 Appetite

The first thing is to stop trying to get him to eat day after day. That’s just going to upset him even more. He may well just be taking a week off. Remember in captivity these snakes get way more food than they ever would in the wild. If you get the occasional one or two weeks in a row refusal it’s not a big worry at all in a healthy snake of normal weight to length ratio. Always do a quick double check on your husbandry anytime something changes but that’s just a double check on it to make sure nothing changed to trigger a refusal really.

I’d suggest after you check that everything is as it usually is in his world, that you just wait until his next feeding day and try again. Constantly putting prey in front of a snake that isn’t interested isn’t going to make him want to eat. It’s going to more likely make him feel defensive and make the situation worse so he’s less likely to feed for you.
05/08/08  12:29pm

 #1729240


GA_Ball_Pythons
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   Message To: KatieBones   In reference to Message Id: 1729234


 Appetite

First relax a BP will not starve because he misses a meal, missing a meal every now and than is totally normal and it happen.

Now when this does happen avoid offering 3 days in a row, this serve no purpose, it only contributes to stress your BP more leading to more refusal.

From now on if your BP refuses wait until next feeding day (Again not eating for a week is not gonna hurt him)

Again occasional refusal is no biggy and if it persists the first thing to do will be to look into your husbandry, but you are not there yet.



05/08/08  12:30pm

 #1729270


KatieBones
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   Message To: GA_Ball_Pythons   In reference to Message Id: 1729240


 Appetite

Thanks. I tend to panic over things easily (especially about my pets). I’ll try not to worry and wait until next week.



05/08/08  01:00pm


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