is this a problem?

[zelos888]

Hi,so i got my first ball on the 8th and was told she ate that Thursday,all she had ever eaten was F/T, so i decided to try and feed her on the next Friday.when i did,she took a snap at it on its side then let it go,a few min later she did the same thing so she didn't eat it i tried again on the 16th same result i then noticed her belly was pink and the next day her eyes were blue,so i thought that was the reason for not eating.Her shed finished on the 22 so i tried to feed on 23rd no luck. I haven't taken her out until just a few min ago to change her water.

Well i noticed when i got here she weighed 135G and as on today she is 120G she is about 4 months old,if there is anything else you need to know ill be happy to say.
pics taken today.

[Skittles1101]

She looks fine. The most common reason for not eating is usually husbandry issues. Can you describe your set up in full detail? Including how you read and regulate temps

[zelos888]

sure,she is in a small 15q tub with and UTH at 95 on warm side and 82 on cool side,i use a small digital thermometer to check temps. the humidity is 50-60%,80 when she was in shed. she is on newspaper then aspen on top. she has to small hides one on warm side and one on cool,she also has a water bowl i change every other day.three of the sides are blacked out with construction paper. she has been in the cool side hid since Monday if that makes a difference and when i put her back today she went to warm hide for about 30 min and is now in cool hid again,does it matter that cool side hide is slightly smaller then warm one?

[KatStoverReptiles]

Where are you reading your temps from? Ontop of the substrate or at the surface? Bps can and will burrow, so you really should be aiming for 90 deg on the warm side and 80 deg on the cool side at the surface, under the substrate.

I would also get 2 identical hides, that way she doesn't have to choose between comfort and the one that makes her feel more secure.

How are you warming the prey? Are you using your temp gun on it? Striking on the side and then dropping it is sometimes indicative of the prey item not being warm enough. Thaw in warm water until completely soft all the way through, then hit it with the blow dryer on the head for a few mins.

[zelos888]

My temps are from under the aspen but above the newspaper,directly on the bottom is around 97-98,ill get 2 identical ones this weekend when i go out thanks.

im letting the hopper thaw in fridge the night before and then setting it out 2 hours before feeding then running it under warm water while in a snack bag for about 2 min then i feel behind its head and around its belly to make sure it is warm. I will try the blow dryer next time as well.

[WifeOfSlasher]

Just a thought... our guy HATES when the warm side reads above about 88 degrees. He'll "pace" around his tank. He'll act like he wants to go in his hide but he'll come right back out. Maybe he doesn't like the temp and being that he's remaining on the cool side of the tank his appetite has been affected.

[KatStoverReptiles]

Just a question...but why the aspen AND the newspaper? And how deep are you making the aspen?

I, personally, would go for about 1/2" to 1" of aspen, no newspaper OR newspaper only. Also, lower your temps a bit to about 90 directly on the bottom.

[zelos888]

i have about a half inch of aspen and one page of newspaper.Alright ill lower it down some degrees.

im not sure why i have both i was originally just going to put newspaper but i thought aspen would also be more comfortable,also newspaper would make it easier to clean messes.is it bad to have both?

[KatStoverReptiles]

i have about a half inch of aspen and one page of newspaper.Alright ill lower it down some degrees.

im not sure why i have both i was originally just going to put newspaper but i thought aspen would also be more comfortable,also newspaper would make it easier to clean messes.is it bad to have both?

No...I don't think it'll cause any problems having both. I think lowering your warm side temps will help.

Also, back to your original question...it sounds like you may not be getting the item warm enough...

And...when you say hopper...are you talking mice? If so, that's way to small. The prey item should be slightly larger around than your snake is at its largest point. Or, 10-15% of the snake's weight.

[zelos888]

Where are you reading your temps from? Ontop of the substrate or at the surface? Bps can and will burrow, so you really should be aiming for 90 deg on the warm side and 80 deg on the cool side at the surface, under the substrate.

I would also get 2 identical hides, that way she doesn't have to choose between comfort and the one that makes her feel more secure.

How are you warming the prey? Are you using your temp gun on it? Striking on the side and then dropping it is sometimes indicative of the prey item not being warm enough. Thaw in warm water until completely soft all the way through, then hit it with the blow dryer on the head for a few mins.

Thank you for the blow dryer option,i just fed her and everything went perfectly fine i thawed the hopper(which was 16 grams) in warm water then tooks the blow dryer to it. not even 30 seconds after i put it in for her she took it and finished it withn 5 min. so thanks it was my fault she wasn't eating. :/