I think I've seen this mentioned somewhere, not sure if it was on this forum or not. Anyway, now that breeding season is done all my snakes are getting back into the swing of things. With the most important thing of course being eating.

Well despite offering hides to all my BP's that have skipped more than 2 meals in a row, I now also cover the front of the tubs of snakes that skip too many meals.
I've had 3 snakes (mind you I don't have that many snakes to start with) that even with a hide would not eat. So I covered the front of their tubs one morning and that very same night, all 3 ate.

I am a big believer that ball pythons are both agoraphobic and heliophobic. I think these two things can cause anxiety and stress in ball pythons, thus causing them to not eat, or not eat on a regular basis.

Anyway, my really cheap and easy method of covering up the front of a tub is to just take some packing paper that is about 27" long and fold it over a couple times to make it 5" high. Then just tape up some loose ends and place against tub in rack, just like in the poor cell phone pic I took, that can be seen below.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/tubblockcopy.jpg

This has helped me out and hopefully it can help some others out.
You can go even further with a picky eater with smaller tubs sizes etc. as well.

One thing to remember, some snakes just might not be good eaters no matter what is done with their tubs, lighting, temps, feeding schedule, etc. so keep that in mind.

I cover up the fronts of my cages with feisty Bloods and it works pretty good

Ive even considered tinting the glass of the cages

That's a good idea, I have covered the fronts of tubs when feeding pain in the arse bps... but I might try that with a few, it might help to have the PITA ones covered all the time.

it might help to have the PITA ones covered all the time.

Yes, I should have mentioned that I don't take the cover off unless I'm checking on the snake, changing water or cleaning bedding. The cover stays on 24/7 otherwise.

Do you cover the fronts permanently? Do you have some that refuse even after all this?

Dan

I am a big believer that ball pythons are both agoraphobic and heliophobic.



i had a feeling they were afraid of angora sweaters and helicopters too...
maybe it's true !

seriously bro, good advice. sometimes, if you have the option, even just moving them from a high traffic location to a less traveled one can help. i bet a lot of people will see good results from trying this.
ck

Do you cover the fronts permanently? Do you have some that refuse even after all this?

Dan

I don't take the cover off unless I'm checking on the snake, changing water or cleaning bedding. The cover stays on 24/7 otherwise.

I moved my male off feed for 0 months out of the bp room into another room with no females and he decided he now needs more then just air and water and decided to eat.

Lol I meant to say 9 months :)

i had a feeling they were afraid of angora sweaters and helicopters too...
maybe it's true !

seriously bro, good advice. sometimes, if you have the option, even just moving them from a high traffic location to a less traveled one can help. i bet a lot of people will see good results from trying this.
ck

ck, the thought of you in an angora sweater just creeps me out :eek:

But back on topic, there are many things one might try with non feeders and covering the tub/enclosure WORKS. Mainly because balls, by nature, are nocturnal. Although there ARE exceptions to EVERY rule here too :D. My oldest pair lived together in a 50 gallon tank without a hide for many years and you could drop a rat in there any time day or night and it was tapped within 3-5 minutes every time. This is NOT to say they didn't have their off periods, they did. I just let them have them and eventually they would come round to eating when they felt it was time. I've just learned not to panic. :D

Lol I meant to say 9 months :)

I'm glad you specified that. I KNEW ya ment more than 0 :lmao:

Good info, thx for sharing!

ck, the thought of you in an angora sweater just creeps me out :eek:

The thought of Ck wearing an angora sweater and flying a helicopter is creepy and freaky at the same time....


But back on topic, there are many things one might try with non feeders and covering the tub/enclosure WORKS. Mainly because balls, by nature, are nocturnal. Although there ARE exceptions to EVERY rule here too :D. My oldest pair lived together in a 50 gallon tank without a hide for many years and you could drop a rat in there any time day or night and it was tapped within 3-5 minutes every time. This is NOT to say they didn't have their off periods, they did. I just let them have them and eventually they would come round to eating when they felt it was time. I've just learned not to panic. :D

Patience is a big factor in trying anything new.... you gotta give your method/s time to work, can't be changing em up because they didn't eat within a week.... just saying. Gotta let the mental dust settle.... :yes:

Patience is a big factor in trying anything new.... you gotta give your method/s time to work, can't be changing em up because they didn't eat within a week.... just saying. Gotta let the mental dust settle.... :yes:

Good point Scott. Switchin' techniques off and on will just delay any progress you might make.

I've done this and it worked for me.

I paint the sides black on my tubs

I tried this on a lemon blast who was off feed for a few months. Put construction paper on the front of the tub...Fed 2 days later and BOOM....slammed a big ole rat. Thanks for the tip.

Very good info, we notice the same things. Snakes in solid tubs never refuse. Move picky snakes in solid tubs and even better they start eating!! They do, after all, live in Termite Mounds and Burrows out in africa! :cheers: Good info Chris!

I have better luck feeding during the day than evening.

Thanks for the tip I tried this out for just a few hours last night attempted a feed. She showed intrest but I got no strike so I left it with her and when I woke up it was gone.

Thanks again for the tip

I paint the sides black on my tubs
I have 13 tub rack sitting up in my garage I need to bring down still and I think I'll grab some plastic primer and black spray and hit the fronts of each tub.

I tried this on a lemon blast who was off feed for a few months. Put construction paper on the front of the tub...Fed 2 days later and BOOM....slammed a big ole rat. Thanks for the tip.
Glad it worked! :)

Very good info, we notice the same things. Snakes in solid tubs never refuse. Move picky snakes in solid tubs and even better they start eating!! They do, after all, live in Termite Mounds and Burrows out in africa! :cheers: Good info Chris!
Yep, people seem to forget where these things live out in the wild. A hole in the ground, i.e. a tight dark spot where they feel safe and cozy. That's why I think giving them a dark safe place is ideal. :)

Thanks for the tip I tried this out for just a few hours last night attempted a feed. She showed intrest but I got no strike so I left it with her and when I woke up it was gone.

Thanks again for the tip

Great! Glad it worked! :)

We had one big female BP a few years ago that was so finicky about feeding that we had to feed her absolutely last in the snake room. If she sensed anything going on around here (us moving around, other tubs sliding open and close, etc.) no way was she going to eat. Feed her last, move away from the rack immediately and make sure the room stayed quiet and she was fine and ate well. Do anything else - constant refusals. Some of them are just very, very particular about their feeding routines but once you find out what works, it tends to work well.

The thought of Ck wearing an angora sweater and flying a helicopter is creepy and freaky at the same time....

I kinda like that idea:cheers:


Patience is a big factor in trying anything new.... you gotta give your method/s time to work, can't be changing em up because they didn't eat within a week.... just saying. Gotta let the mental dust settle.... :yes:

or compound the problem .

How does this cover effect their light cycle? I notice alot of people go with a solid color tub with ARS, Freedom Breeder, etc as well but im curious on his this would effect the snakes day/night.

That is a good idea, thanks for sharing!