BP wont Eat and losing weight

**drewalan** · 02-10-2008, 03:23 PM

Help??? ive been reading alot of advice from this forum about pythons not eating,which is excellent advice... well i have a 2 yr old male royal python (ball python), and 2 months ago it bit my friend as i went to pass him the snake and the thing is he as not eatern since, i think hes starting to lose a bit of weight as i can now see creases in his skin in other words i can pinch his skin with my fingers, ive NEVER offered him live prey before yet i think its the only way to get him eating, or is there somthing else wrong.??? help

**Merlin** · 02-10-2008, 03:40 PM

I split this off so you will have your own thread.
The snake biting your friend would have nothing to do with the fasting unless a tooth ripped out and the mouth became infected. Thats Just something that they do this time of year.(the fasting that is)

How long have you had the snake?
Is it possible that it is getting ready to shed? That would also explain the loose skin.

**drewalan** · 02-10-2008, 04:50 PM

He's not shedded for 2 months aswell as not eating, its not active, it spends more time outside his cave and not hidden, its skin allover has a dull colour (kind of lost its glow) ive noticed his left eye has cracks over it, im used to its normal colour change's whens he's due a shed i.e blue/pink,

any ideas oh, and he's 3 yrs old.

**prismwolf** · 02-10-2008, 05:05 PM

Sounds like it might be time for a vet visit with that description of symptoms - especially if you know all the care requirements of heat/humidity are right. It could be parasites which is an easy fix - or something more.

**drewalan** · 02-10-2008, 05:16 PM

humm, thanks, i may give rep-vets a ring tomorrow then, or might try him with a live gerbil.. hes never had live food before, could be worth a try?

**prismwolf** · 02-10-2008, 05:23 PM

In his state (or at least the state it sounds like he's in) don't feed a live gerbil. Gerbils can be vicious. Instead - offer it fresh-killed (f/k). There are several ways you can do this. I prefer the Co2 method using baking soda and white vinegar. Very easy and very fast.
Small animal euthanasia at home

**smallgrayfox** · 02-10-2008, 07:48 PM

Oh, I sure wouldn't offer live food. Live prey can really do a lot of damage to even a healthy snake, and if yours has a problem, he might be very susceptible to a being seriously injured or even killed by live prey

It sounds like a reptile vet visit would be the very best thing you could do!

**Lyn** · 02-10-2008, 10:36 PM

Hi, and yes you are correct...ball pythons are notorious for going off feed. Have you checked his temps to make sure they are ok....how is he caged? substrate...do you generally feed in the cage?? Is the humidity Level ok in his cage? Losing weight is not a great thing..I would try live food and if that doesnt work then perhaps a vet visit with a reputable reptile vet is in order....good luck and keep us posted!

**Merlin** · 02-10-2008, 10:47 PM

And I wouldn't use a gerbil! Ball pythons have been known to fixate on them and refuse anything else. That will get expensive very quickly.

**drewalan** · 02-11-2008, 01:23 PM

on my way home tonite i bought a gerbil

and took straight home and put it straight into its viv, bad idea it was, the gerbil had a sniff around the snake never moved and when the gerbil sniffed out the snake it started to what looked like to me was attack it...

the snake just balled up, i quickly removed the gerbil, and then i came online and saw all this adviced 'a bit late eh'... just a question to ask "what do mites look like on a snake"