Need some help plz

[Bling_my_leo]

My moms friend just got a baby ball. She said that it hasnt eaten yet. I asked what type of heating she is useing and she said none. I told her that your ball needs a uth. Do you think this is the reson thank you

 

[leonut]

I don't know if that's the only reason but, it definitly needs heat. a few more ditails may help tho. such as, what were the previous keeper(s) feeding it? what size cage? how long has it been scince she got it? has she given it time to settle down? reluctance to feed is rather common among balls. remember they have much lower metabolisms than humans. what seems like a long time to a person may be nothing to a ball.

 

[colleen]

Yeah...we need more details...

Is the snake a hatchling? Would this be its first meal, or has it just not eaten for HER yet? It is Oct now, so depending on the climate of where you mom's friend lives could determine a lot as well...I would def tell her to get an uth or a heat emitting lamp, a good thermometer, AND try using aspen OR paper towel as the substrate. I have had many ball pythons and currently keep roughly 25. Most of mine have always eaten BEST on paper towel, and if I can't get them to eat on that, I will switch to aspen bedding. However, it depends also on how acclimated the baby is. If she has had it for s few weeks or months it one thing, but if she just got the snake, it could be stressed out still. Ball pythons can not only be finicky eaters, but they get stressed easily especially when being moved around or handled and are unfamiliar with their new home. Also, make sure the baby has atleast one or 2 hides in the cage. This will help to calm her down and will help to acclimate her.

Also, what food type is she offering it? Depending on the size of the baby snake, she can offer it rat or mouse pinkies, rat pups/fuzzies, or as a last resort, African soft fur rats. Balls love them, as that is what they consume in their natural habitats. But again, it depends on the size of the snake.

I hope this helps??

 

[leonut]

oh yeah, try scenting it with gerbils as another last resort.

 

[Bling_my_leo]

She is keeping the hatchling ball in a plastic tubaware container about the size of a ten gallon. Its feeding on hoppers so the snakes not a hatchling older i think. The breeder was feeding the same items. The girl tried to feed it live hopper but no luck

 

[leonut]

try leaving a F/T hopper on a paper plate overnight. if he still dosent eat, wait 3 days and try again. if THAT fails try rubbing a gerbil on a mouse and see if that works. don't give him the gerbil tho, or he'll get hooked on them and never eat another mouse again. :main_laugh:
and seriosly, how long has this been going on? you will get better resullts if you ask her how long she's had it. and as coleen said balls sometimes go off feed in the cooler months.

 

[Nigel4less]

try leaving a F/T hopper on a paper plate overnight. if he still dosent eat, wait 3 days and try again. if THAT fails try rubbing a gerbil on a mouse and see if that works. don't give him the gerbil tho, or he'll get hooked on them and never eat another mouse again. :main_laugh:
and seriosly, how long has this been going on? you will get better resullts if you ask her how long she's had it. and as coleen said balls sometimes go off feed in the cooler months.

And how is Scenting a Gerbil any different from giving it a Gerbil, its the same scent.

I would definitely get some African Soft Furred Rats.

 

[leonut]

And how is Scenting a Gerbil any different from giving it a Gerbil, its the same scent.

I would definitely get some African Soft Furred Rats.

scenting it with gerbils gives the scent of gerbils without the taste. it triggers their hunting response. if you give them a gerbil, its very likely they will like it so much that they won't eat the other feeder.

 

[Nigel4less]

scenting it with gerbils gives the scent of gerbils without the taste. it triggers their hunting response. if you give them a gerbil, its very likely they will like it so much that they won't eat the other feeder.

Ummm...Snakes Hunt and recognize by Scent not taste, I think you should get your facts straight before you try to give advice.

Again African Soft Furred Rats still stand as my recommendation

 

[Starwild]

I'd get the habitat correct before trying anything else. I can't imagine a snake would eat and be able to digest properly when they're cold. They need a warm side of around 90F and a cool side around high 70's-low 80's, and humidity of at least mid-50% or so.

What does the body mass look like, does it seem like a heavy-bodied snake or is it thin? You might try weighing the snake and keeping a record of the weight, if it's not losing weight then you're fine to just try adjusting the habitat and food items, but if the snake starts losing a lot of weight and still isn't eating you probably should take the snake in to a vet to be checked for parasites.

But yeah, get the habitat straightened out first, and you'll want to wait about 5-7 days after a refused feeding before offering food again.

Good luck!

 

[leonut]

Ummm...Snakes Hunt and recognize by Scent not taste, I think you should get your facts straight before you try to give advice.

Again African Soft Furred Rats still stand as my recommendation

Ok, sorry what i meant to say was withought the sight of one. I assume she is using white lab mice? a gerbil is usually dark. scenting gives the scent of a gerbil while giving the same image the snake is used to. Also gerbils are usualy more wideley avalible. you can usually find some for free on craigslist or some other clasified site as oposed to the african soft fur rats. BTW, snakes don't just hunt by scent. they hunt by scent, sight, and movement.

 

[colleen]

They also use heat to locate their prey. Have you ever noticed the tiny heat pits on the front of their mouth/nose area? They stalk their prey by tracking heat signals. Just one more keen "sense" that we humans lack. I've taken some cool macro shots on some of mine. LOL.

 

[leonut]

any updates?