What does it mean when a ball python stops eating?
Sickness. If your ball python isn’t feeling well, they may stop eating. Snake mites, respiratory infections, and mouth rot are common illnesses seen in snakes. If you see any other symptoms of illness in your ball python, you should take them to your veterinarian for a thorough checkup.
Will a pet snake starve itself to death?
Snakes will not starve themselves to death unless they are neglected or ill. Some of the reasons why a snake may starve itself is overfeeding is their breeding season or they are stressed.
How long can a ball python go without eating?
Generally speaking, healthy ball pythons can go weeks without eating. And if your snake is an adult who already had a healthy body weight, it would likely take months before he’d start to suffer health problems. A handful of ball pythons have been documented to refuse food for longer than a year without starving.
What to do if your ball python won’t eat a rat?
Firstly, try to get your ball python used to eating rats as early as possible in his or her life, to prevent problems later on. The second message is that if you ball python is refusing to eat, it can be worth trying to switch them to the other prey item just to see if it appeals enough to start them feeding again.
When is the best time to feed a ball python?
I have one that typically refuses meals for about two months out of the year, while the others basically eat year-round. Something to keep in mind! Offer a frozen and thawed rat of appropriate size. Offer the meal after sunset, when the snake is more inclined to eat (ball pythons are mostly nocturnal).
How old does a ball python have to be to eat mice?
If ball python is over 2 years of age, calculate 5-7% For example, for a juvenile ball python, you can get a bag of frozen adult mice like this. Larger mice will be around 1-1.5 months old. However, as your ball python gets larger (up to a year old or so), you will need to either feed 2-3 mice, or switch to small adult rats.
How long can a ball python snake go without eating?
As we mentioned previously, you have a decent amount of time to figure things out. Almost every ball python can survive for a minimum of six months without a single meal.
