One of my boys went off feeding for over 7 months. Based on what was said in the video, pretty sure it started as seasonal and became habit. He seemed perfectly healthy the entire time, active, drinking water, just wouldn't eat. Towards the end of that period he finally started showing signs of losing weight so I started to worry a little at that point. Just out of curiosity, I tried giving him rat pups and he hit those right away. I gave him those for a few weeks then moved to weans and he hit those right away as well. After a few weeks of those, I tried the adult smalls he was eating before the hunger strike and he took it. That was almost 2 years ago and he's been good ever since.
My snake hasn't ate for 7 months I've tried every week for the last 7 mo ths I've noticed her losing weight but have no one to ask for advice with snakes. I'm going to buy her some rat pups and see if she takes to them. Hopefully she does. I have a feeling she is on her way out but I hope and prey she is fine after if she eats
@@StretchGamesHD I can't say for sure, I'm not an expert by any means, but switching to a smaller rat has worked for me twice now. My other boy just came off a 3 month hunger strike. I still have some weans in the freezer so the last time he ignored the adult rat, I offered him a wean the next day and he ate it and a second one. The way he was behaving, he probably would have taken more if I'd given them to him. I waited a few days and gave him two more weans which he snapped up immediately. I'm gonna try giving him an adult again the next time I feed the other guy. If he turns his snoot up at it, I'll just continue giving him a couple weans more frequently until he (hopefully) decides he's willing to eat the bigger ones again. It almost seems like it could be smell related. He would perk up when I held the adult rat in his cage with tongs and come over and check it out but then just cruise away. He hit the weans like they were trash-talking his mom.
Had a ball python rescue once, he was totally messed up, burned all over his body, he was kept in a plastic fish tank with an exposed light bulb which he wrapped around because the enclosure was too cold. He got handled by the human a lot before the accident happened and was totally stressed out. When he was brought to me, I put him in a nice warm moist enclosure on top of my clothing closet in a very quiet spot. Every day I treated him with udder ointment to treat his skin for the extreme burn marks, but eating was still an issue, after a couple sheds and no food, his skin health seemed to be under control, I even got my hopes up he would totally recover and become a beautiful snake again, like 3-4 months in, I left a death mice in his enclosure like I tried many times before, thinking he wouldn't eat it, but finally found an enclosure without a mice inside. Some sheds later his skin totally recovered, and he didn't skip a meal after the first mice I left for him. On a snake forum where I had the post of his recovering process I spoke with somebody who did not have the money to get a snake, so I gave him the ball python and the enclosure for free, as my passion was with Boa Constrictors.
Far too many people in the snake groups say assist/force feed. It's such common advice. Common but wrong advice. Thank you for addressing this misconception.
That's interesting, I thaw mine out and present them pretty warm. She tends to constrict them more in the summer, but can faff about for nearly an hour before swallowing them outside of summer.
I have my first ever ball python and he was super good at eating until about 5 months ago where he first went on strike, he hasn’t lost a ton of weight thankfully but it gets me super scared as a first time snake owner, thanks for the info! Finna put all of it into work!
I can not tell you how happy I am I came across this video. My BP is a 1.5 year old male. Was well established on frozen thawed rats, never refused. He stopped eating for 4 months starting in January. We are in Canada so I assumed it was seasonal, but as another commentor stated I think a habit was developed. He would still come out and drink but totally uninterested in his rats. He would come out looking like he was but would never strike.My husbandry was on point, nothing changed. I really didn't know what to do. So we moved him from a high self to a lower one on the other side of the room. Left him for a week. His behavior changed I could tell he was more active at night again. I got some frozen rat pups just to change it up from the adult rats he was being offered. I read another commentor did this. Sure enough he struck and coiled instantly. Thank you so much!! Such an easy fix!!
www.google.com/amp/s/jkrballstreetjournal.com/2014/02/12/the-psychology-of-problem-feeders-get-your-ball-python-eating-again/amp/ This is where I direct most of my customers when they have issues with their snakes feeding. 😉
Hi what happens when a ball python goes off feeding for a while ,mine went off feeding for 2 months and I just ate again today ,so I am not sure if I should feed it again tomorrow and give it a break or I should go as normal with the weekly cycle?
I feel like they eat more with live rodents than frozen i don't know why i mean it's not a problem for me be people keep telling me its wrong to feed them live rodents but im not going to waste money just to please other people
Thank you SO MUCH for making this video!!! I help troubleshoot feeding issues constantly and although many people want to argue about this, there is ALWAYS a reason they stop eating. This myth of hunger strikes and ball pythons being generally problematic eaters needs to be busted for good.
Having the problem at the moment 3 months no feeding , think its stress as I moved house and they escaped a few times going into hibernation mode will try these methods and see if I can get it eating again
My female is roughly 4ft, she eats every 6 days like clockwork and it's ferocious. The second I slide the cover she comes popping out of her hide, but from Oct to Feb she won't eat anything at all. I don't even see her come out what so ever, not even at night. Usually if she's hungry she climbs up on her branch and goes towards the top of the tank.
My 26 year old bp would always do the same, then after laying parthenogenesis eggs for 2 years she now eats over winter. Has had 27 rats (100-150g) in a row now, but may go off over winter again. The thing is though, they barely lose any weight (unless laying eggs), so if they are healthy then a 6 month period without food shouldn't be too bad.
If you own a Retic or Boa, life is generally easy for you and they eat without issues, spare a thought for us Ball Python owners who really struggle at times to get our snakes to eat.
Thank you for the video. I have six Ball Pythons, one male out of my six is off feed. I'm very frustrated about it been trying everything. Hopefully changing up his environment will help.
Thank you so much! Just going through this problem with my new 1 year old girl Lilith. She isn't my 1st ball python but she is definitely my 1st problematic eater as my boa c ,corn snakes and 2 other ball pythons are eating great. Will try all the methods you described. Hopefully something will help .
I haven’t had this issue with my ball pythons not eating. They always destroy there food. But I’m definitely gonna keep these tips in mind. So if it happens then I have ideas on what to do.
My BP hasn't eaten since September. She's been to the vets and has been given a clean bill of health. Habitat has been checked and everything seems to be fine. Tried feeding her every 2 weeks and she keeps refusing. Tried rodents and chicks and she wants neither.
I always find it's seasonal and prey size. This past holiday season 3 went on a fast, they lost ZERO weight, in fact I weighed them on Dec 18, they fed on Dec 26th, they finally took food again on April 21st. I weighed them May 11th, they still weigh 30 or more grams than they did December 18th. ***For new keepers*** pay attention to your snakes, you'll learn their body language and behaviors when they are hungry. If your husbandry is good and all other requirements are met, your snake will tell you when its hungry. I got SOOOO annoyed with my snakes when they would fast, I would have to dispose of uneaten rats, that $$$ starts to add up. LOL I started breeding rats so I always had fresh rats to feed off, plus rats make good pets anyways. My Mocha/Spider is at 2032 grams, Butter/Fire is at 1676, Toffino 777, and Cinnamon / Mojave is at 286, about $15 a week for rats.
I just got a 5 year old BP, that came from a Rub rack, and now i have him in a 4ft viv. He has a hide each end, and hot end temp set to 31-32c, He just came out of shedding for previous owner... I asked the owner when his last feed was, He said about 8 days ago... So should i be worried that my python wont take a meal? Im aware thats its a new enclosure, New setup, He has just come out of shedding etc, So im guessing im just over-reacting? Right? Also, I heard that handling BP's can cause them to not feed... Is this true? I wanted the snake as a friendly family reptile, that my children can hold etc... But if handling puts them off feeding, Then perhaps its not the best breed of snake to have? -- Sorry for the noob questions.. Im just new to owning a Ball Python...
@@KINOVAReptiles fantastic.. Thankyou for your reply.. Being a new Ball Python owner, i was getting concerned about him going 8 days without food... But thankyou very much.... Great help
My ball python stopped eating two weeks ago and today it only took one hopper mouse and then struck the other one and spit it out. The only thing I can see there is wrong is that the weather is changing cooler where I’m at will that stop him from eating
My larger ball pythons (Male Fire Enchi ((5yrs old)) and Female Normal ((4 years old)) ) have been off food for a month and a half. My supposed 3yr old Bumble Bee is eating weekly on small f/t rats. I bought him without knowing his condition. Malnourished, severely underweight and very hungry. He eats weekly. He has been doing fantastic. I got him on Feb 15th of this year. But my other two just went off food. My fire enchi was a breeder but my bf bought him off the breeder. Any help would be great.
One of my bps literally refused for almost 4 months but barely lost any weight. We still every week supplied food but he wasn’t having it. Husbandry was spot on no sickness or illness. We just couldn’t figure out what the deal was. Two weeks ago he started eating again. Fingers crossed that he keeps eating. 😀 he was the only one out of our entire collection who was refusing.
@@KINOVAReptiles I do believe it was seasonal. He slammed both rats these past two weeks. I was clapping for him 🤣 genuinely excited to see him get back into eating. We kept such a close eye on him and weighed him frequently to monitor him. I wasn’t going to assist feed or force feed him. I believe that would’ve made the situation worse for him.
Mine isn't eating and it's none of these reasons. Everything with his habitat has been the same, nothing has changed. Still offering the same type of food. We have no clue what's going on with it. We've literally tried everything and he's still avoiding it.
Now its the winter season and one of my normals hasn't ate for a couple weeks but he looks healthy so I'm a leave him alone and keep offering food once in a while,must be seasonal, cuz the rest don't play😂
Help! My 7 1/2 month old ball python is starting to have eating problems. She was fine with me the first 5 feedings since I got her but now she's going on 3 weeks no feed. I can usually get her to strike once, but she will miss and give up after that. It all started when she tried to eat a rodent 3 weeks ago, but she tried taking it down butt first, failed, and gave up. She hasn't ate since. Tonight I got her to strike it but she didn't wrap it, and again tried eating it butt first, failed, and gave up. What do I do? I am feeding frozen thawed. She was raised on live rats and I've been feeding her frozen thawed large mice since rat pups aren't available near me. Could it be she doesn't like the mice? But if that's the case, why would she eat them the first 5 feedings but stop now?
So my ball python been healthy he ate every week since I got em been about a year and a half since I’ve had em and Ngl I kinda did neglect getting him a bigger tank and like 3 months ago I got him a bigger tank (i also moved houses)he ate for about 2 weeks then out of no where he stopped eating like he never had skipped a meal before he hadn’t ate for about 2 months and last week he strike at it but he missed idk what’s wrong I done changed his straight twice and he still won’t eat any tips. He is a Super Spider python I didn’t know about their problems when I got em he has that wobble and he goes upside down a lot idk if it’s cuz of genetics or cuz of his age and season he’s also been trying to escape his cage it might be because it’s in a clear tank no background but I’ve always had em like that
IDK, Danny was eating good. I am not a 100% sure if he just like male or female rats, but I think he likes black males or black and white males. It is hard to find just frozen black male rates at Petsmart. The rats there are mostly white. Not sure why this is the case though? We always document when we try to feed him, when he eats, poops and does a nittrate, shed extra. He has a Zen tank , which is about 87% on the hot side and 75% on the cold side. He has hides on both sides, but he loves the hide on the hot side. The last couple of times, I tried putting him in a smaller feeding cage about an hour or so before I try and feed him, but they are very hard to regulate the temp and humidity. Not sure why he isn't eating in the winter. He usually eats pretty good this time of year. IDK? Is there something I am doing wrong? He is about 4 years old. I am getting worried.
Thank you, Justin! Perfect timing on this video. I sold someone a 2 year old male and we have been discussing his not wanting to eat for her. I sent her the link, it should be very helpful!
The only time my girl went off food was when I had a health issue that made me stink. I guess she didn't know it was me and not the rat. PSA don't stink when you feed your animals.
Hey Justin here is one for you. I have a male that was breeding. He went off food in the middle of the season but maintained weight so he finished the season. All my girls went except one who is due to lay in 21 days. He has been done breeding since January. Still won’t eat and is starting to lose weight. Any suggestions to get a breeding male back on food? My other males have been back on food for a while now it’s only him not eating. I have cleaned his tub, moved his place in the rack, husbandry is on point (checked daily) and I even gave him a bath to get Female scent off him. I have offered smaller then his normal rats all the way down to pups, mice, and ASF.
Any idea why one would consistently strike and kill the rat, but not actually eat it? Happens over half the time she eats! I try to get it later and re-offer, but she won't take it. Same thing if I offer another live rat...
The size of the rat could be an issue. I don't know how big your snake is or how big the rats are you're feeding it so it's hard to say. Try giving it a couple nice instead of 1 large rat and see if that works.
What is your thoughts on African Soft Fur rats❓❓I have tried to find some live ones in several states. I’d love to know if they would work. Also what about chicken chicks ?
Asf's are good apparently, very nutritional. I wouldn't feed chicks, they are not very nutritional (the beak and claws worry me a little when it comes to swallowing), and I've heard they can struggle to go back to rats if you feed them chicks, so I personally would not bother with them.
I’m new at breeding In the first year . My male just killed his rat but didn’t eat it I found out this morning? But iv fed him once a week he’s 1000 grams now n has him got maybe 2 months but just started pairing to with to females but only a few days a week per female only two females? Prolly messing it all up ll
My 4ft 6 year old male ball Python is refusing to eat, its scaring me because its been about three months. He usually goes through phases of either very quickly taking prey or taking it a bit slower. Recently he hasnt been eating at all, he acts slightly interested in it but wont eat, i recently got a baby redtail and their cages are next to eachother, could that be a reason he is refusing to eat? He stopped eating around the time i got my redtail so im guessing their cages being next to eachother might have something to do with it? I really need some help, ive had him for over a year now and he’s only ever refused one other time. He eats a large rat every three weeks, he hasnt had any trouble with them before now
Awesome video JKR. We have a Pastel Lesser Yellow belly Het Pied that was off for a while right after the 1000 gram wall. She hit 1120 went off and it was frustrating. We dropped off small rats to XL Mice. She exploded to 1400, now eats everything lol. Thanks for the knowledge Justin.
My ball Python is a little over 6 weeks and he is refusing to eat for over a month and I am getting really scared for him and I don’t know what to do… his tank is 87 degrees, he has a hideout, a branch to climb on and of course his water bowl. I feed him frozen thaw like what his breeder told me and still nothing…
This helped!! Thank you! My 7 mo ball python usually eats every week but lately he was refusing the rat pups and I had to throw at least 3 away even after refreezing them. He would act interested, but wouldn't strike them. It was 2 weeks since he last ate. I figured maybe he wants a bigger rat so went to the pet store last night and bought 2 small rats. After thawing the rat out, offered it to him and he sized it up and looked pretty excited....boom! He took it! That was a big meal, his biggest yet! I'm relieved haha
Really useful video thank you. My son started with a pet snake last year which I soon fell in love with and so have recently set up a small business having bought 22 snakes to breed. They are all in good condition but I haven’t been able to get 2 of them to feed, I think the stress of them moving put them off food. This has given me some great ideas of how to make some changes and try and get them back on food. 😊
@@KINOVAReptiles one of them ate tonight, I’m so happy. She was 1229 grams when I bought her 2 months ago and had dropped down to 1101 as she hasn’t once fed so I was wondering if moving her had triggered her hitting the wall. Anyway I put her in a smaller RUB, gave her extra lots of extra hiding places and she definitely seemed more interested when I tried to feed her at the weekend but she still wouldn’t take the rat. I’m in the UK so can only use frozen/thawed and have tried her with rats and Multis but decided to change up as much as possible on your advice and I consequently purchased some XL mice and tried her with that tonight and she took it. Not the biggest of meals for her but it’s a start and that’s amazing. Thanks so much for the advice. 😊
My bp started not eating, shes eating only rats then i tried to feed her another type of feeder a hamster then she ate it, at the nxt feeding week i let her tried to offer rats then she refused it again and now i will feed her a hamster cuz it has a high in fat.. what should i do to let her eat rats again?
My BP (over 12 year old Male) was on 5 month hunger strike. He finally ended the hunger strike tonight. Tried a significantly smaller prey item and it worked. Hope this helps for others.
During feeding I dropped the lid to his humid hide hitting him on the head stress! He didn't eat for months I reduced size of food and served frozen thawed he hasn't refused since
My friend snake hasn’t eaten in two years and he had him for 2 and he’s from trying live in frozen though I told him to try chicks and he’s working on it now
Great video i keep frozen rats mice and asf in different sizes and change the food type every couple of weeks and size up and down not to keep them in the same pattern and that works well and that was something i got from gavin at balls2u great advice but great video from you on the subject
I got my ball python a few months ago. She ate f/t 3 times before she went on a 5 week hunger strike. She ate once then went on another 5 week hunger strike. She is still young and small so I was getting worried and I eventually got her a live mouse. She took it right away and so far hasn't refused any meals. Even the few times she did take f/t it would take a long time before she ate it. Lots of dancing the mouse around, reheating it to keep the body temperature up, and just hoping my picky missy would eat. Her strikes and coils were lazy like she was just going through the motions. Her demeanor changes completely once she sees a live mouse in the enclosure. She quickly closes in on the mouse and strikes hard and fast. I wish she would eat f/t but she does what she wants and she's doing well now. I'm not going to try to get her to go back to f/t. She feeds eagerly now and I doubt she would ever accept a f/t mouse ever again.
If you put them in hot water first, not too hot though it will trick them into thinking it's live. Works with mine, but mine will either constrict or spend 10 mins or more sniffing it before swallowing.
My bold python was born Sept 9 2019 he hasn't ate in about month and a half maybe 2 months he is about 4 ft long and he has been eating frozen but I thaw them out he normal takes it but I don't know why he just stopped I need help please
Dude my snake is going like 10-11 months and I can’t get her to eat. I’m so nervous something is seriously wrong with her. I changed her cage a while back and figured that’s what causes the strike. So I went back and put her back into her cage when she was eating regularly. But still nothing. Any advice from anyone??
This is such a GREAT video! I got an adult 1.0 Banana Pinstripe for my breeding project. Awesome snake, healthy as an ox. He was a little flighty and seemingly afraid at first. I chocked it up to him living his entire life in a tub rack system, whereas he was now in an aquarium style enclosure-lots more space, new environment, etc. I offered him a frozen/thawed rat his first week-nothing. Second week-nothing. This continued for 2.5 months. I was at whits end. He hadn’t lost significant weight at all and he was exhibiting signs of comfort in the enclosure. I eventually decided that I would try removing him from the enclosure on feeding days and I decided to offer him a live mouse. What do you know? He snatched that bad boy up like it was nobody’s business. I did the same last week with a small rat and BOOM! I’m going to do this for a couple more weeks to solidify his eating. Hopefully I can figure out the way to transition this to him eating in the enclosure and eventually, going back to frozen/thawed-which is what the shop told me he was eating. At either rate, this was a phenomenal and much needed video. Thank you for that!
One of my boys went off feeding for over 7 months. Based on what was said in the video, pretty sure it started as seasonal and became habit. He seemed perfectly healthy the entire time, active, drinking water, just wouldn't eat. Towards the end of that period he finally started showing signs of losing weight so I started to worry a little at that point. Just out of curiosity, I tried giving him rat pups and he hit those right away. I gave him those for a few weeks then moved to weans and he hit those right away as well. After a few weeks of those, I tried the adult smalls he was eating before the hunger strike and he took it. That was almost 2 years ago and he's been good ever since.
I’m about to try this :( my snake won’t eat
Thanks for the info, I'm gonna try this. Mine hasn't eaten for 1 month and he was on big rats, gonna try feed him small ones instead
My snake hasn't ate for 7 months I've tried every week for the last 7 mo ths I've noticed her losing weight but have no one to ask for advice with snakes. I'm going to buy her some rat pups and see if she takes to them. Hopefully she does. I have a feeling she is on her way out but I hope and prey she is fine after if she eats
@@StretchGamesHD I can't say for sure, I'm not an expert by any means, but switching to a smaller rat has worked for me twice now. My other boy just came off a 3 month hunger strike. I still have some weans in the freezer so the last time he ignored the adult rat, I offered him a wean the next day and he ate it and a second one. The way he was behaving, he probably would have taken more if I'd given them to him. I waited a few days and gave him two more weans which he snapped up immediately. I'm gonna try giving him an adult again the next time I feed the other guy. If he turns his snoot up at it, I'll just continue giving him a couple weans more frequently until he (hopefully) decides he's willing to eat the bigger ones again. It almost seems like it could be smell related. He would perk up when I held the adult rat in his cage with tongs and come over and check it out but then just cruise away. He hit the weans like they were trash-talking his mom.
Its been 4 months for my boy :(
Had a ball python rescue once, he was totally messed up, burned all over his body, he was kept in a plastic fish tank with an exposed light bulb which he wrapped around because the enclosure was too cold. He got handled by the human a lot before the accident happened and was totally stressed out. When he was brought to me, I put him in a nice warm moist enclosure on top of my clothing closet in a very quiet spot. Every day I treated him with udder ointment to treat his skin for the extreme burn marks, but eating was still an issue, after a couple sheds and no food, his skin health seemed to be under control, I even got my hopes up he would totally recover and become a beautiful snake again, like 3-4 months in, I left a death mice in his enclosure like I tried many times before, thinking he wouldn't eat it, but finally found an enclosure without a mice inside. Some sheds later his skin totally recovered, and he didn't skip a meal after the first mice I left for him. On a snake forum where I had the post of his recovering process I spoke with somebody who did not have the money to get a snake, so I gave him the ball python and the enclosure for free, as my passion was with Boa Constrictors.
Far too many people in the snake groups say assist/force feed. It's such common advice. Common but wrong advice. Thank you for addressing this misconception.
I sometimes just make the head of the rat warm. So the Rat doesn‘t look so big to the snake. That also sometimes help.
That's interesting, I thaw mine out and present them pretty warm.
She tends to constrict them more in the summer, but can faff about for nearly an hour before swallowing them outside of summer.
I have my first ever ball python and he was super good at eating until about 5 months ago where he first went on strike, he hasn’t lost a ton of weight thankfully but it gets me super scared as a first time snake owner, thanks for the info! Finna put all of it into work!
so did it work? were you able to get him eating again
Same, my snake hasn’t eaten in two weeks, which isn’t too worry some but it’s still concerning as a first time snake owner!
I can not tell you how happy I am I came across this video. My BP is a 1.5 year old male. Was well established on frozen thawed rats, never refused. He stopped eating for 4 months starting in January. We are in Canada so I assumed it was seasonal, but as another commentor stated I think a habit was developed. He would still come out and drink but totally uninterested in his rats. He would come out looking like he was but would never strike.My husbandry was on point, nothing changed. I really didn't know what to do. So we moved him from a high self to a lower one on the other side of the room. Left him for a week. His behavior changed I could tell he was more active at night again. I got some frozen rat pups just to change it up from the adult rats he was being offered. I read another commentor did this. Sure enough he struck and coiled instantly. Thank you so much!! Such an easy fix!!
What span of time (months) would be considered a normal seasonal fast? I know you said middle of winter but when does that typically start/end?
This is what I want to know
Whats Brian Barczyks farts smell?
Picky doesn't make sense to me. In the wild they are not eating just one thing all the time. They are eating birds small mammals and reptiles.
www.google.com/amp/s/jkrballstreetjournal.com/2014/02/12/the-psychology-of-problem-feeders-get-your-ball-python-eating-again/amp/
This is where I direct most of my customers when they have issues with their snakes feeding. 😉
Justin love your explanations you are good at keeping things simple and to the point
I’ve had mine for 2 weeks and he just won’t eat
Get yourself a boa too so you don’t waist as much food
Hi what happens when a ball python goes off feeding for a while ,mine went off feeding for 2 months and I just ate again today ,so I am not sure if I should feed it again tomorrow and give it a break or I should go as normal with the weekly cycle?
Weekly cycle
Continue with the usual weekly cycle.
I feel like they eat more with live rodents than frozen i don't know why i mean it's not a problem for me be people keep telling me its wrong to feed them live rodents but im not going to waste money just to please other people
Great video Bro!
Great video, incredible & sound information! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you SO MUCH for making this video!!! I help troubleshoot feeding issues constantly and although many people want to argue about this, there is ALWAYS a reason they stop eating. This myth of hunger strikes and ball pythons being generally problematic eaters needs to be busted for good.
What to do when your Ball Python wont eat? Get a Cornsnake
Having the problem at the moment 3 months no feeding , think its stress as I moved house and they escaped a few times going into hibernation mode will try these methods and see if I can get it eating again
Is it the same for royal pythons I don't know what to do about her
My female is roughly 4ft, she eats every 6 days like clockwork and it's ferocious. The second I slide the cover she comes popping out of her hide, but from Oct to Feb she won't eat anything at all. I don't even see her come out what so ever, not even at night. Usually if she's hungry she climbs up on her branch and goes towards the top of the tank.
My 26 year old bp would always do the same, then after laying parthenogenesis eggs for 2 years she now eats over winter.
Has had 27 rats (100-150g) in a row now, but may go off over winter again.
The thing is though, they barely lose any weight (unless laying eggs), so if they are healthy then a 6 month period without food shouldn't be too bad.
Really informative!!!! Thanks Justin!
Amazing video thanks again the king of ball pythons
Super pro tip for picky eaters: Feed nocturnal animals at night
Mine will only eat gerbils
Tbh I trust this guy with my life and my future snake's life
If you own a Retic or Boa, life is generally easy for you and they eat without issues, spare a thought for us Ball Python owners who really struggle at times to get our snakes to eat.
Thank you for the video. I have six Ball Pythons, one male out of my six is off feed. I'm very frustrated about it been trying everything. Hopefully changing up his environment will help.
Thank you so much! Just going through this problem with my new 1 year old girl Lilith. She isn't my 1st ball python but she is definitely my 1st problematic eater as my boa c ,corn snakes and 2 other ball pythons are eating great.
Will try all the methods you described. Hopefully something will help .
My ball python has a habit of eating and the next feeding it won’t
Eat and then the week it’ll eat and it repeats itself eats rlly frustrating
I haven’t had this issue with my ball pythons not eating. They always destroy there food. But I’m definitely gonna keep these tips in mind. So if it happens then I have ideas on what to do.
@@KINOVAReptiles that’s exactly why I watched the video. Thanks for the tips keep up the great work.
Hoping you can notice...
and about taming ball python, is it good for them or not? or one of the reasons that can be off feed the ball python?,
My BP went off feed from Dec. 26 to April 15th🙄
My BP hasn't eaten since September. She's been to the vets and has been given a clean bill of health. Habitat has been checked and everything seems to be fine. Tried feeding her every 2 weeks and she keeps refusing. Tried rodents and chicks and she wants neither.
Should I keep handling my snake even if he doesn't eat or should I stop? I don't want him to be stressed but I want to keep him tamed as well
I always find it's seasonal and prey size. This past holiday season 3 went on a fast, they lost ZERO weight, in fact I weighed them on Dec 18, they fed on Dec 26th, they finally took food again on April 21st. I weighed them May 11th, they still weigh 30 or more grams than they did December 18th. ***For new keepers*** pay attention to your snakes, you'll learn their body language and behaviors when they are hungry. If your husbandry is good and all other requirements are met, your snake will tell you when its hungry. I got SOOOO annoyed with my snakes when they would fast, I would have to dispose of uneaten rats, that $$$ starts to add up. LOL I started breeding rats so I always had fresh rats to feed off, plus rats make good pets anyways. My Mocha/Spider is at 2032
grams, Butter/Fire is at 1676, Toffino 777, and Cinnamon / Mojave is at 286, about $15 a week for rats.
@iheart138, same here.
I have redtail boas for the times my ball pythons don't eat. They're basically garbage disposals lol
@@jessiesansing2126 been thinking about that, or a Mexican black king
How crazy is this? I just wrote a comment saying my ball Python went off feed from Dec. 26 to April 15th
I just got a 5 year old BP, that came from a Rub rack, and now i have him in a 4ft viv. He has a hide each end, and hot end temp set to 31-32c, He just came out of shedding for previous owner... I asked the owner when his last feed was, He said about 8 days ago... So should i be worried that my python wont take a meal?
Im aware thats its a new enclosure, New setup, He has just come out of shedding etc, So im guessing im just over-reacting? Right?
Also, I heard that handling BP's can cause them to not feed... Is this true?
I wanted the snake as a friendly family reptile, that my children can hold etc... But if handling puts them off feeding, Then perhaps its not the best breed of snake to have?
-- Sorry for the noob questions.. Im just new to owning a Ball Python...
@@KINOVAReptiles fantastic.. Thankyou for your reply.. Being a new Ball Python owner, i was getting concerned about him going 8 days without food...
But thankyou very much.... Great help
Mine quit eating in September and I offer live they all were started on FT none will eat it now. Justin I am surprised you did not mention ASF rats.
My ball python stopped eating two weeks ago and today it only took one hopper mouse and then struck the other one and spit it out. The only thing I can see there is wrong is that the weather is changing cooler where I’m at will that stop him from eating
My larger ball pythons (Male Fire Enchi ((5yrs old)) and Female Normal ((4 years old)) ) have been off food for a month and a half. My supposed 3yr old Bumble Bee is eating weekly on small f/t rats. I bought him without knowing his condition. Malnourished, severely underweight and very hungry. He eats weekly. He has been doing fantastic. I got him on Feb 15th of this year. But my other two just went off food. My fire enchi was a breeder but my bf bought him off the breeder. Any help would be great.
Any advice on a wild caught adult female BP not eating?
One of my bps literally refused for almost 4 months but barely lost any weight. We still every week supplied food but he wasn’t having it. Husbandry was spot on no sickness or illness. We just couldn’t figure out what the deal was. Two weeks ago he started eating again. Fingers crossed that he keeps eating. 😀 he was the only one out of our entire collection who was refusing.
@@KINOVAReptiles I do believe it was seasonal. He slammed both rats these past two weeks. I was clapping for him 🤣 genuinely excited to see him get back into eating. We kept such a close eye on him and weighed him frequently to monitor him. I wasn’t going to assist feed or force feed him. I believe that would’ve made the situation worse for him.
He still eating?
Mine isn't eating and it's none of these reasons. Everything with his habitat has been the same, nothing has changed. Still offering the same type of food. We have no clue what's going on with it. We've literally tried everything and he's still avoiding it.
Try 8 months...he's acting totally normal..he just ain't interested.... the big jerk
Now its the winter season and one of my normals hasn't ate for a couple weeks but he looks healthy so I'm a leave him alone and keep offering food once in a while,must be seasonal, cuz the rest don't play😂
Help! My 7 1/2 month old ball python is starting to have eating problems. She was fine with me the first 5 feedings since I got her but now she's going on 3 weeks no feed. I can usually get her to strike once, but she will miss and give up after that. It all started when she tried to eat a rodent 3 weeks ago, but she tried taking it down butt first, failed, and gave up. She hasn't ate since. Tonight I got her to strike it but she didn't wrap it, and again tried eating it butt first, failed, and gave up. What do I do? I am feeding frozen thawed. She was raised on live rats and I've been feeding her frozen thawed large mice since rat pups aren't available near me. Could it be she doesn't like the mice? But if that's the case, why would she eat them the first 5 feedings but stop now?
So my ball python been healthy he ate every week since I got em been about a year and a half since I’ve had em and Ngl I kinda did neglect getting him a bigger tank and like 3 months ago I got him a bigger tank (i also moved houses)he ate for about 2 weeks then out of no where he stopped eating like he never had skipped a meal before he hadn’t ate for about 2 months and last week he strike at it but he missed idk what’s wrong I done changed his straight twice and he still won’t eat any tips. He is a Super Spider python I didn’t know about their problems when I got em he has that wobble and he goes upside down a lot idk if it’s cuz of genetics or cuz of his age and season he’s also been trying to escape his cage it might be because it’s in a clear tank no background but I’ve always had em like that
IDK, Danny was eating good. I am not a 100% sure if he just like male or female rats, but I think he likes black males or black and white males. It is hard to find just frozen black male rates at Petsmart. The rats there are mostly white. Not sure why this is the case though? We always document when we try to feed him, when he eats, poops and does a nittrate, shed extra. He has a Zen tank , which is about 87% on the hot side and 75% on the cold side. He has hides on both sides, but he loves the hide on the hot side. The last couple of times, I tried putting him in a smaller feeding cage about an hour or so before I try and feed him, but they are very hard to regulate the temp and humidity. Not sure why he isn't eating in the winter. He usually eats pretty good this time of year. IDK? Is there something I am doing wrong? He is about 4 years old. I am getting worried.
Thank you, Justin! Perfect timing on this video. I sold someone a 2 year old male and we have been discussing his not wanting to eat for her. I sent her the link, it should be very helpful!
The only time my girl went off food was when I had a health issue that made me stink. I guess she didn't know it was me and not the rat. PSA don't stink when you feed your animals.
I know my ball python isn’t picky, because we tried every method 2 times! TWO TIMES!!!
Hey Justin here is one for you. I have a male that was breeding. He went off food in the middle of the season but maintained weight so he finished the season. All my girls went except one who is due to lay in 21 days. He has been done breeding since January. Still won’t eat and is starting to lose weight. Any suggestions to get a breeding male back on food? My other males have been back on food for a while now it’s only him not eating. I have cleaned his tub, moved his place in the rack, husbandry is on point (checked daily) and I even gave him a bath to get Female scent off him. I have offered smaller then his normal rats all the way down to pups, mice, and ASF.
Any idea why one would consistently strike and kill the rat, but not actually eat it? Happens over half the time she eats! I try to get it later and re-offer, but she won't take it. Same thing if I offer another live rat...
The size of the rat could be an issue. I don't know how big your snake is or how big the rats are you're feeding it so it's hard to say. Try giving it a couple nice instead of 1 large rat and see if that works.
Always great content! Good points to think on.
What is your thoughts on African Soft Fur rats❓❓I have tried to find some live ones in several states. I’d love to know if they would work. Also what about chicken chicks ?
Asf's are good apparently, very nutritional.
I wouldn't feed chicks, they are not very nutritional (the beak and claws worry me a little when it comes to swallowing), and I've heard they can struggle to go back to rats if you feed them chicks, so I personally would not bother with them.
I’m new at breeding In the first year . My male just killed his rat but didn’t eat it I found out this morning? But iv fed him once a week he’s 1000 grams now n has him got maybe 2 months but just started pairing to with to females but only a few days a week per female only two females? Prolly messing it all up ll
Mine went on strike from April to December . He is a healthy 1000 gram 3 year old albino piebald
Well said. Thanks Justin 😁👍🏼
I got my ball python Nov 26 and she still hasn’t eaten and I have tried every method, every type of rat and mouse…. I’m at my wits end
My 4ft 6 year old male ball Python is refusing to eat, its scaring me because its been about three months. He usually goes through phases of either very quickly taking prey or taking it a bit slower. Recently he hasnt been eating at all, he acts slightly interested in it but wont eat, i recently got a baby redtail and their cages are next to eachother, could that be a reason he is refusing to eat? He stopped eating around the time i got my redtail so im guessing their cages being next to eachother might have something to do with it? I really need some help, ive had him for over a year now and he’s only ever refused one other time. He eats a large rat every three weeks, he hasnt had any trouble with them before now
Awesome video JKR. We have a Pastel Lesser Yellow belly Het Pied that was off for a while right after the 1000 gram wall. She hit 1120 went off and it was frustrating. We dropped off small rats to XL Mice. She exploded to 1400, now eats everything lol. Thanks for the knowledge Justin.
Absolutely, thank you for the advice you offer in your videos. We need more like you.
My ball Python is a little over 6 weeks and he is refusing to eat for over a month and I am getting really scared for him and I don’t know what to do… his tank is 87 degrees, he has a hideout, a branch to climb on and of course his water bowl. I feed him frozen thaw like what his breeder told me and still nothing…
Trying to get picky Ball pythons to eat feels like performing a ritual, they won’t take the offer just because
Kobylka fans from Indonesia 🎉🎉🎉🎉
My snake is scared of eating rats he always slithers away from them and he’s starting to get a ridge on his back instead of round
This helped!! Thank you! My 7 mo ball python usually eats every week but lately he was refusing the rat pups and I had to throw at least 3 away even after refreezing them. He would act interested, but wouldn't strike them. It was 2 weeks since he last ate. I figured maybe he wants a bigger rat so went to the pet store last night and bought 2 small rats. After thawing the rat out, offered it to him and he sized it up and looked pretty excited....boom! He took it! That was a big meal, his biggest yet! I'm relieved haha
Never ever re freeze rodents!!!!
I can’t get my girl to eat she’s been on a hunger strike for 4 months.. she’s getting thin and it’s worrying me 😢
Really useful video thank you. My son started with a pet snake last year which I soon fell in love with and so have recently set up a small business having bought 22 snakes to breed. They are all in good condition but I haven’t been able to get 2 of them to feed, I think the stress of them moving put them off food. This has given me some great ideas of how to make some changes and try and get them back on food. 😊
@@KINOVAReptiles one of them ate tonight, I’m so happy. She was 1229 grams when I bought her 2 months ago and had dropped down to 1101 as she hasn’t once fed so I was wondering if moving her had triggered her hitting the wall. Anyway I put her in a smaller RUB, gave her extra lots of extra hiding places and she definitely seemed more interested when I tried to feed her at the weekend but she still wouldn’t take the rat. I’m in the UK so can only use frozen/thawed and have tried her with rats and Multis but decided to change up as much as possible on your advice and I consequently purchased some XL mice and tried her with that tonight and she took it. Not the biggest of meals for her but it’s a start and that’s amazing. Thanks so much for the advice. 😊
My bp started not eating, shes eating only rats then i tried to feed her another type of feeder a hamster then she ate it, at the nxt feeding week i let her tried to offer rats then she refused it again and now i will feed her a hamster cuz it has a high in fat.. what should i do to let her eat rats again?
You can try to offer a small rat right after you feed a hamster - sometimes that does the trick
@@KINOVAReptiles thanks sir
My Mojave went off for a month+..she lost mad weight and I just assist fed her today a fuzzy and she took it..I'm 😁💙💙💙
@@KINOVAReptiles she ate 2🥰💙💙💙
I got my BP two weeks ago and she has not eaten. I have tried to make sure to set up everything well for her and do not know what to do.
Thanks for the info love the help you always put out !
It's been almost a year and he still won't eat
I am very sad god I wish I can find this video soon phython eats my brother for not eating 3 weeks😭
My BP (over 12 year old Male) was on 5 month hunger strike. He finally ended the hunger strike tonight. Tried a significantly smaller prey item and it worked. Hope this helps for others.
@@KINOVAReptiles thank you. T'was a small meal, so might attempt another feed in a week, but i dont want to push my luck.
During feeding I dropped the lid to his humid hide hitting him on the head stress! He didn't eat for months I reduced size of food and served frozen thawed he hasn't refused since
Thank you for sharing this one Justin.
All 3 of my males simultaneously went off food 2 months ago...8 females still eating (not sexually mature yet).. definitely seasonally related
My friend snake hasn’t eaten in two years and he had him for 2 and he’s from trying live in frozen though I told him to try chicks and he’s working on it now
If it's been two years he needs to go to the vet.
@@KINOVAReptiles ok
Great video i keep frozen rats mice and asf in different sizes and change the food type every couple of weeks and size up and down not to keep them in the same pattern and that works well and that was something i got from gavin at balls2u great advice but great video from you on the subject
So my ball python just started not eating, what do I do with the live rat lol
we got a Lemon Blast 3 weeks ago he is refusing live and frozen
Thanks...this was very helpful
So I have a Bally that never Shrek her food😅 anyone else have this issue.
My ball python has only eaten 3 times in the past 2 years ive tried everything
Think my baby formed a habit of refusing
What I've learned is the more your offer the less they eat, the less you offer the more they'll eat.
Awesome video,thank you for sharing....👊👊👊👊👊👍🙂👍
@@KINOVAReptiles the pleasure is all mine,always eagerly awaiting for he new instalment of #Hetflix....👊👊👊👊👊
I got my ball python a few months ago. She ate f/t 3 times before she went on a 5 week hunger strike. She ate once then went on another 5 week hunger strike. She is still young and small so I was getting worried and I eventually got her a live mouse. She took it right away and so far hasn't refused any meals. Even the few times she did take f/t it would take a long time before she ate it. Lots of dancing the mouse around, reheating it to keep the body temperature up, and just hoping my picky missy would eat. Her strikes and coils were lazy like she was just going through the motions. Her demeanor changes completely once she sees a live mouse in the enclosure. She quickly closes in on the mouse and strikes hard and fast. I wish she would eat f/t but she does what she wants and she's doing well now. I'm not going to try to get her to go back to f/t. She feeds eagerly now and I doubt she would ever accept a f/t mouse ever again.
If you put them in hot water first, not too hot though it will trick them into thinking it's live. Works with mine, but mine will either constrict or spend 10 mins or more sniffing it before swallowing.
I saw a video and heard that some snakes do this because they want to eat their owners. And that they have to starve themselves in order to do so.
This is a myth! :)
My bold python was born Sept 9 2019 he hasn't ate in about month and a half maybe 2 months he is about 4 ft long and he has been eating frozen but I thaw them out he normal takes it but I don't know why he just stopped I need help please
Mine also hast eaten for 2 months too
Dude my snake is going like 10-11 months and I can’t get her to eat. I’m so nervous something is seriously wrong with her. I changed her cage a while back and figured that’s what causes the strike. So I went back and put her back into her cage when she was eating regularly. But still nothing. Any advice from anyone??
Try all the steps in this video and if that doesn't work might be time to seek vet assistance!
I already tried everything
Such valuable information 👍
Nope its only three months
Love the video
Wry well said! Thank you for this awesome info
Thanks for the vids!!!
This is such a GREAT video! I got an adult 1.0 Banana Pinstripe for my breeding project. Awesome snake, healthy as an ox. He was a little flighty and seemingly afraid at first. I chocked it up to him living his entire life in a tub rack system, whereas he was now in an aquarium style enclosure-lots more space, new environment, etc. I offered him a frozen/thawed rat his first week-nothing. Second week-nothing. This continued for 2.5 months. I was at whits end. He hadn’t lost significant weight at all and he was exhibiting signs of comfort in the enclosure. I eventually decided that I would try removing him from the enclosure on feeding days and I decided to offer him a live mouse. What do you know? He snatched that bad boy up like it was nobody’s business. I did the same last week with a small rat and BOOM! I’m going to do this for a couple more weeks to solidify his eating. Hopefully I can figure out the way to transition this to him eating in the enclosure and eventually, going back to frozen/thawed-which is what the shop told me he was eating. At either rate, this was a phenomenal and much needed video. Thank you for that!