female python- feeding tips

[lysinlight87]

I purchased a female royal python 2 weeks ago (CF Jan 2013), it's been 3 weeks since she last fed. I've been offering her weaner rats that I've warmed up, she seems interested but won't take them (I leave them in over night). I've read that I should cut the rat so she gets the scent but I need to build up the courage to do this.

Today I decided to cover all sides of her viv except 1 door, I'm hoping this will make her feel secure enough to eat.

Considering this is such a young snake, I'm a little worried about her reluctance to feed. I was warned that pythons are difficult feeders but I want to get her back on track asap.

Does anyone have specials tricks to get them to eat?

 

[ReptileLove18]

i recently switched my snakes from live food to frozen food and these are some of the tips i was given and worked for me:

if you have any bedding from live mice or can get some from a local petstore, place it in the bag with the feeders to warm them up. i then warmed them in pretty hot water until i felt they were warm enough. doing this made the feeders smell like live food which is a serious plus when trying to get them to get frozen food.

i moved it around some when i offered it which enticed them to grab it. i also moved it around a tiny bit as they coiled around it to simulate live food fighting for its life, which may have been overkill but was the only way to get my girl who has been eating live food for 8 years to even think of eating that..

other tips i was given but did not have to use: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW!!

once the feeder is warmed up well, cut the skull open to expose blood. then put it back in the bag in the hot water for bout 20 seconds and offer it. i didnt want to do this but certainly would if need be, luckily i did not have to!

GRAPHIC CONTENT COMPLETE

i would try warming the feeders in bedding first and then if she does not take it within 10-15 minutes, take it away. if they dont eat it within that time, odds are they will not eat it. do not stress that she is going to starve, they can go awhile without eating even though it isnt ideal. the hungrier she is the more likely she will take it. my advice is to offer the food on the same day every week as a schedule is a good thing. my girls know when feeding day is because of this schedule and it works out best for all involved.

here is the link the to the thread i was given this advice on, its on page 3 and 4 https://www.chameleonforums.com/ball-python-keepers-mouth-rot-help-105502/index4.html

if you have ball python specific questions you can also message ChuWuti or Carlton as they have quite a lot of experience with ball pythons and they helped me a ton on this thread!!


Hope this helps some

 

[lysinlight87]

thanks for the advice! I have a pet mouse that I can take bedding from so I'll try that out. I think I will also have to bite the bullet & just cut the rat. I've been offering the feeders to her every couple of days & was then planning to feed weekly once I get her eating.

 

[ReptileLove18]

the bedding trick really seemed to work for my girls, the younger one seemed to intially think it was live and then decided the didnt care either way and my older needed more persuasion but finally got her to eat it too. i think having it the right temp and smelling like a feeder is important! because my older girl, who is a rosy the younger is a bp, wouldnt even look at the feeder twice so i warmed it up again and her head snapped around and she grabbed it up and ate it! so temp is important too as they have vents that allow them to "see" heat.

you may end up having to do that.. it sucks but if you get her to eat it the first time you may not have to do it again!

is the rat maybe too big for her? how big is she and how big is it?

 

[lysinlight87]

I've been offering her weaner rats, which is what the pet shop had her eating. She fed for them every week & then the upheaval of a new home put her off

 

[ReptileLove18]

moving to a new home certainly can put off the normal feeding habits as they have to get used to the new enviroment.

let us know how the next time works out for you!!

and i would love to see some pics of your girl how old is she?

 

[Carlton]

thanks for the advice! I have a pet mouse that I can take bedding from so I'll try that out. I think I will also have to bite the bullet & just cut the rat. I've been offering the feeders to her every couple of days & was then planning to feed weekly once I get her eating.

If the feeder you leave in her tank gets colder than normal body temp she will lose interest or won't even locate it.

And, nice thing about bps...they don't starve very quickly at all! Mine has fasted for months with hardly any change in body weight.

 

[lysinlight87]

mine is a royal python. I tried the cutting open & heating technique. She struck at it 3 times but wouldn't take it. Do I need to drop when she strikes or kept hold. I've been keeping hold expecting her to actually take hold of it

 

[lysinlight87]

Here's a couple of pics. She was hatched in January & currently weighs 156g

 

[Olimpia]

Royal pythons and ball pythons are the same thing, you guys just derive the name from their scientific name, which is more majestic.

These pythons tend to feel safest in a really tiny, dark spot. I've worked with them for years in places like zoos or pet stores and when we had a picky eater we would put them in a small (appropriate to the size of the snake, but snug), dark plastic container with air holes and leave them in with live food if they were on rat pups or try wiggling thawed rat pups with tongs, but the idea was to have them see as little of us as possible.

They tend to be pretty shy and some just don't like eating "out in the open" at all, the smaller and darker the space, the safer they feel. The other tips you've gotten are great but a tiny space usually helps, too.

 

[lysinlight87]

mine's in a 3 foot viv, with 3 hides and a concealed water bowl. The sides are covered with cardboard. I have a small faurnarium that my corn snake is in, he's itching for more space. Should I swap them round? I've had conflicting advice regarding enclosure size. Originally the python was in this faurnarium but I moved her on the advice of someone on a different forum. I'm worried that if I move her again, it will set her back in terms of settling in

 

[Olimpia]

What I'm recommending isn't something she has to live in permanently, it's just a little plastic container or something for feeding time. It's better to feed outside of their living tank anyway, as it might save you a few accidental hunger bites down the line (trust me, no one likes pulling python teeth out of their hand for weeks). I've done this a lot and it works a good 95% of the time, it takes them an hour to feel safe in a small dark place, they'll eat, we let them digest a couple hours, and put them back in their homes.

 

[ChuWuti]

mine is a royal python. I tried the cutting open & heating technique. She struck at it 3 times but wouldn't take it. Do I need to drop when she strikes or kept hold. I've been keeping hold expecting her to actually take hold of it

If she strikes but doesn't take hold, she could be trying to get it away from herself because she's feeling threatened for some reason.

When I offer my BPs (ball python/royal python) feeders, I dangle them a little off to the side of their heads, not immediately in front of them. They seem to feel threatened by having a prey item dangling right in front of their nose. A couple of inches away to one side works best for me.

I actually feed my pythons in their habitats. Years ago, with my first BP, I started out putting him in a feeding tank as so many people recommend, then quit after a really interesting discussion about that on another forum that analyzed all the pros and cons. The argument that convinced me that putting in a separate feeding tank is unnecessary is that they are going to associate your smell with feeding, but if you pick them up fairly often withOUT feeding them, they won't learn that your hand in the tank automatically means food. They'll sniff (tongue-flicking) and determine immediately that you don't have any food when you don't.

Hence, though I understand how people might feel that feeding in a separate enclosure is better, in my experience, either way works well.

You definitely want to have the prey item hotter than your hand, even when using feeding tongs. I heat the head thoroughly after ensuring that the body is completely thawed.

I noted that at one point you said you're offering food every couple of days; this could be pretty stressful, so you might give the snake a week's rest. It won't starve to death in that time--not even close--so don't worry. Don't handle it, don't move it to another enclosure for the next week--just let it relax and get used to its environment.

Also, check your temperatures, as being too cold often stops pythons from eating. What is your cool end temp? Hot end? Basking temp? How are you providing heat?

If you can get rat bedding from the pet store, that would be better than mouse bedding--you want the rat to smell like a normal, living rat so it will appeal to the python. Smelling like unfamiliar prey (mousie) might add to her apprehension.

Also, at 156 grams, the prey item should weigh 20-30 grams (about 15-20% of her body weight). 10% is appropriate for maintenance of an adult python, i.e., keeping them at an appropriate adult weight, and something over 10% to no more than 20% is fine for a growing juvenile.

Some people power feed; I don't like to do that myself. Just as feeding humans lots of calories leads to obesity, feeding snakes lots of calories leads to obesity. Thus, with a young snake, while its growth may seem more rapid, much of the calorie overload is actually going into fat, and some research on captive snakes indicates that power feeding and the resulting obesity contributes to shorter lives.

Good luck! If I think of anything else, I'll post again, but right now a cat is about to walk on my computer to convince me I should feed him dinner!

Sandy

 

[lysinlight87]

thanks for your input.

I will give her a weeks rest in terms of offering food.

She has a heat lamp above the enclosure but I'm not sure on temps, she refuses to come out her hide & probably isn't getting much heat as a result. I have a heat mat below the viv that is currently switched off. I can use that instead- it has a thermostat attached so I guess this would be be preferable in terms of temperature control.

I will weigh her food also. I'm not sold on moving her to a different place to feed, I can only see it causing her more stress so I'll try to get her feeding where she is. She seems a very healthy snake & I guess I'm just going to have to be patient- not my strong point!

I think my feeding technique will take practice & persistence. It's so much easier with my corn snake- I just drop a mouse in & he eats it, simples.

 

[FalyBreeder]

Another idea (most people hate this idea but...) try a day or 2 old chic (live). Never failed for me! Also might use an appropriate sized small plastic tote damp with a mixture of peat moss/cedar chips as substrate with a heat pad under to keep heat/humidity up. Keep it dark. Remember for the most park ball/royal pythons are nocturnal and use their heat ducts and tounge to sence and feel out prey. This is how I have to house our wild caught pythons for months after they come in because of their fear and nervousness so it should be great for a scared girl like yours to feel more secure

 

[lysinlight87]

I got her to feed tonight! after someone mentioned she might be scared of the feeder, I realised that she was actually terrified of it. So I downgraded from a weaner rat to a large mouse & she snatched it straight off me. I'll check in the morning that she did eat it, but she took it away into her hide & I guess that's a good sign

 

[ReptileLove18]

yay! i hope she does eat it!! let us know! im keeping my fingers crossed for ya

 

[lysinlight87]

she ate it. So pleased

 

[Lancecham]

I am glad she ate. It could have been the size difference in the mouse that you offered. But I suspect it was the different smell of the mouse. Rats and mice have a different scent to them. Some ball pythons have a preference to what they like.

 

[exoherppy]

Congrats on getting her to feed. I can understand how you feel.

What I did for mine was to feed smaller rats, similar to the size of large mice. The first few weeks, I warmed it up with a hair dryer, then scented the F/T rat with the bedding from my mice tub. Now I just warm it up with a hair dryer.

My girl is feeding fine now even without scenting.