My new ball being shy

[yz2009]

I know ball pythons are shy and picky eaters but im wondering how long until they start to get used to things. Ive researched a lot about them and my terrarium seems to be set up how it should be. I got him about a week ago. He stays in his hide all the time. Ive just left him alone hoping he will get used to it. Today i tried to feed him and he wouldn't eat. He curled up into a ball. When i turned the lights off and got quite he unraveled but still wouldn't eat.

My question is where should i go from here. Should i just leave him alone inside of his hide and hope he gets a little less shy. Or should i handle him a little to try and get him used to me. Any advice is appreciated.

[CoolioTiffany]

Congrats on your new Ball,

Normally it takes about a week or so for them to get settled in. You did just what was necessary by not bothering him for a week, he's probably a bit settled in. Since he's still new he's gonna be shy for a while until he gets used to handling and the new feeding schedule.

By the way, a hiding Ball python is a happy Ball python. They tend to hide during the day time and come out at night to cruise around, so don't be alarmed if he doesn't go roaming around during the day time. This is why they are also considered not a very good snake for display.

New Balls tend to picky eaters, so don't worry too much about it. Balls can go a while without eating and no change in their weight so you don't have to worry now about refusals. If he's been refusing for a couple months, then that's probably the time to get a little concerned.

What are your temps, humidity, cage size, and hides like? What are you using for a heat source? Answer those first then we can be able to help you a little bit further.

Sometimes when you get a new snake they may be accustomed to their previous feeding, so if it was fed live it most likely could still be used to eating live rodents. Try feeding again in a few days and see if he takes F/T. If he doesn't, I would try a pre killed or live rat about the same size as the middle part of the snake's body.

One last thing, try handling the snake after you get it started eating; handling could stress it out and cause it to keep refusing. But keep in mind to only handle it a couple days after it eats. Snakes are slow at digesting so it takes a couple days to fully digest. If they are held right after they ate or within a day after eating they may regurgitate (or throw up) their meal.

Hope things go well for you and keep us updated on your new snake!

[BallsOut]

If your new bp has not eaten yet there could be several factors. First of all don't handle the snake until it eats. It could be stress related and handling will not improve this. Also what are the conditions in the cage? Live or frozen food? Prey size?

[yz2009]

There is a hot spot of 90 degrees. The cool side is just under 80. The humidity is usually between 40 and 50. Im trying to get it to stay higher. I have heating lamps right now, but i think im going to invest in some under tank heaters. He has on hide in the middle of the tank. He seems to like it. It is small enough so he can touch the sides of it when he is inside but he can easily fit in and out.

He is a baby ball i just got at petco. They said to feed him frozen pinkies (i thawed it out first with warm water)

[CoolioTiffany]

Everything sounds fine,

I definitely recommend a UTH, heat lamps just zap the humidity which sucks. When you get a UTH, I highly recommend ordering a thermostat http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=75 , ReptiTemps are the cheapest and are pretty reliable. If you do end up getting it I could help you out on how to set it up, just send me a PM.

Try keeping the heat lamp on one side of the enclosure with the hide you currently have and get another identical hide to put on the cool end. Snakes need to thermo-regulate which means they need to switch their body temps from going to the hot end to the cool end and vice versa. Having identical hides is essential, if the snake prefers one hide over the other it will not want to go into the other to thermo-regulate.

Pinkies are much too small for even a baby Ball python. Try feeding something larger like fuzzies or hoppers depending on the size of your BP. If he eats one fuzzy and there really is no slight visible bump in the snake then you can feed a second fuzzy to him if he'll take it. Sometimes you may just have to feed two fuzzies if one hopper seems too large.

Also, make sure the rodent is pretty warm after you have thawed it out. Some snakes just won't take a rodent that is too cool.

There is a hot spot of 90 degrees. The cool side is just under 80. The humidity is usually between 40 and 50. Im trying to get it to stay higher. I have heating lamps right now, but i think im going to invest in some under tank heaters. He has on hide in the middle of the tank. He seems to like it. It is small enough so he can touch the sides of it when he is inside but he can easily fit in and out.

He is a baby ball i just got at petco. They said to feed him frozen pinkies (i thawed it out first with warm water)