Ball Phython wont eat because!!!!!

Firstly Ball Pythons can be notoriously diffult feeders and personally I wouldnt have bought one as a first snake.

Now theres a few things you can do.But I doubt its heat related.Ball pythons can go off their food for no reason and honestly theyll go back on it when they feel like lit.

With regards to temperature what are you using--heatmat,bulbs??

If its a heat mat make sure its inside the cage and not underneath the outside of it.Ive noticed that my snakes feed better when they can lie directly on the heat mat and most of them will go under it to digest after a meal.

If youre using a heat bulb--try a larger wattage one.Ive had more success with bulbs in some species than others--ball pythons in particular.For some reason mine prefer heat from above instead of "belly heat"


Now if this doenst work you can try the "trick" to get them to eat.

1.Try different coloured food.Buy black mice,gerbils etc.

2.Scent the food from a lizard--rub the food item on any species of lizard.Ask the shop where youre buying the food to do this for you.It sometimes stimulates the snake into eating.

3.Split the head of the food item with a knife.The brains often make a snake want to eat.Messy job but these are the joys of snake owning.

4.If that doesnt work,you may have to force feed the snake.I wont go into that here but if youre in Dublin,Ben in Reptile Haven will do it for you.

Hope this helps,

Richie.

Lauragoesmad wrote: »

Would a snake actually starve itself?:eek:

Ive never actually heard of it happening,Id imagine the feeding response would eventually kick in.

Captive Pythons have been know to go for 9-12 months without eating a thing and the general thoughts on it are that in the wild they may only see 2-4 meals a year and thats why they respond this way in captivity.