Ball pythons make excellent pet snakes in general, but they sometimes get picky when it comes to food.
If you have a ball python that's refusing food, or if you're thinking about getting a ball python and wondering if it's hard to feed them, this article is for you.
First of all, you generally want to feed your snake dead mice and/or rats.
Live rodents may bite and seriously injure your pet, and if your ball python is used to eating live preys, it will be pretty hard to revert back to dead ones.
Also, it's a lot more convenient to thaw a frozen mouse from your freezer than it is to keep a bunch of live ones in a cage and take care of them, or to make a trip to the pet store every week for your snake's lunch.
If you feed your pet dead preys, though, you sometimes have to fool it into thinking that they're alive.
Basically, a ball python relies on smell, body heat and movement when deciding if something is a food item or not.
To make sure that your snake eats its prey, it's best to unthaw it and then heat it a little by putting it in a plastic bag and then in a bowl of hot water.
Make sure that the bag is waterproof before putting it in the water.
You want your prey to be slightly hotter than room temperature, or else your snake might not eat it.
Use safe tongs to give it to your snake and wiggle it in front of its face a little if it's hesitant to attack the prey.
Whatever type of prey you choose, feed your snake preys that are as wide or a bit larger than the largest part of its body.
Young snakes eat about once a week, adults eat once every two weeks.
In general, you should move the snake out of its cage into a different enclosure when feeding it as part of the taming process, so that it associates the other box with eating.
The first thing to do if your ball python refuses food is to examine its environment, as stress is usually the main factor.
It needs a few places to hide in its terrarium.
The more the better; snakes feel a lot safer when they can easily hide.
Also, take a look at the ground temperature of the enclosure.
It should be around 90 F (32 C) in the hottest area and at least 75 F (24 C) in the coldest spot.
A temperature gradient allows your snake to move around and regulate its body temperature to what is the most comfortable.
Definitely put at least one hiding spot in the hottest area and one in the colder one.
If you don't think that the environment is the problem, try feeding your snake in the evening or even during the night.
Ball pythons are nocturnal, and that's when they normally hunt.
You can also try leaving the prey item in its cage for the night and see if it has eaten it by the next morning.
If that fails too, try live preys.
Some snakes will just not eat dead animals, period.
If your ball python refuses to eat despite all your efforts, feed it a gerbil.
Gerbils are the closest to what ball pythons eat in the wild, so they never ever refuse them.
The problem, though, is that they get addicted to them, so really use that as a last resort.
Ball pythons can fast for a few months without losing weight, but definitely consult a vet if it refuses to eat for a while and it leads to weight loss.