snake help

[jrjackson]

hi we bought a ball python or my son in December and have only been able to get her to eat twice. she is looking very skinny and I don't know what to do. I have tried multiple size defrosted rats and she doesn't even look at them. please help

 

[kres1024]

About how big is the ball?
You try a live feeder yet?

 

[jrjackson]

she is about a foot and half, no have not tried live. honestly not sure how to feed live

 

[kres1024]

They can go off food from time to time ,and usually feeding live will entice a feeding response ,a medium size rat will do ,no bigger than your hand.,just drop the live rat in the enclosure and just keep an eye on them ,and usually they prefer to be feed in dark ,if the snake don't take the live rat within 30 min or so ,remove the rat and try again next day..

 

[jrjackson]

okay I don't know if I can do this.

 

[kres1024]

How were you feeding the frozen?
Did warm up the frozen rat?

 

[jrjackson]

yes warmed it in a glass of warm water.

 

[kres1024]

yes warmed it in a glass of warm water.

Yea they need to be really warmed up around 90 degrees any hint of cold spots on the rat , they usually won't take it

 

[jrjackson]

so how do I get it to 90

 

[kres1024]

Hot water ,and one of those small hand held temp guns,so you can actually get a temp off the rat and see if it's warm enough

 

[cmantis]

I would try pinkies from the pet store. A rat has the potential to bite the snake.

 

[edd]

1.5 ft is small to be eating rats. try a mouse no fatter then the snake.

 

[duke62]

I've had snakes all my life and never des them frozen rats. But the mouse in a bag spin it around till it's dizzy and put it in the cage. If it don't go after it in 1 minute try it again. If it still won't eat and you are really concerned force feed it by gently coercing it's mouth open with a round metal rod and take the dead mouse and put it's head in the snakes mouth. Also check for mites on the snake

 

[LongIslandPetVet]

I agree try a live mouse. It should be no bigger then the thickest part of the snake. How old is the snake. I wouldn't recommend a first time snake owner to force feed a snake without someone showing them how. How big were the F/T mice or rat you fed? How often has he shed, what type of substrate, heat source and what is the temperature of the enclosure on both the hot and cold side. Can you describe your setup?

 

[b-ridge]

One thing I would suggest/recommend if you decide to feed live is to feed your snake in another container. You don't want the snake to think that every time you open the lid that it's feeding time. With the different container your snake will learn that when he is placed inside the other container that it's feeding time
Other thing to ponder is that your snake will not eat if the mouse/rat is sick/diseases. Somehow/someway they have a 6th sense and can detect when something is wrong with the food therefore they won't eat it.
Try getting a live mouse/rat. The thrill of the hunt will usually get them to eat. If your not comfortable feeding a live mouse/rat you can use the frozen kind. Make sure it's thawed out and take something to wiggle the dead mouse/rat around so the snake can think it's injured and it's a easy meal. Feeding dead is the best method cause mouse/rats do scratch and you don't wanna take the chance of your snake catching a infection/disease from the mouse/rat by a scratch/bite but sometimes all they will eat is live
Hope I helped you out a little and good luck

 

[CleanYourTank11]

If you need help pm me, if your local to bk I can come by and take a look. There are many things you need in line, temp, humidity, make sure snake is Captive bred and not wild caught, most balls are captive especially with all the morphs around now a days.Usually snakes are the easiest pets ever but ball pythons are notorious for being bad feeders especially in the beginning.

 

[Paolissimo]

The way I used to feed mine, was to unfortunately, kill the mouse first. The reason I killed it first is because they fight back and might bite the snake in a small enclosure. Frozen mice never worked, and honestly i didn't want to keep them in my freezer. Once the mouse was dead, i dropped it in the tank and walked away. The reason i don't have a snake anymore is because of that, I didn't want to feed it anymore, too sad.

 

[Ponyboy]

Dip it in chicken soup