Feeding Question

[Brittr24]

I have a baby ball that we got about a month ago. He had been feed the day before we brought him home and we were told he eats live mice weekly. He refused to eat the next week and after doing research I realized he was in the process of shedding. The next week, I feed him the night after he shed, and he took the live mouse which was about 2-3 weeks old. He refused again to eat the week after but we had changed his living quarters in the mean time. This work I put him in his old living quarters ( new feeder tank) along with another 2-3 week old mouse. Within 2 hours he took the mouse but I don't know for sure that the young mice are big enough for him. Should I attempt to give him another small mouse tomorrow? Or do I wait another week until his next feeding?

Also, is there any way to switch a ball from live to f/t? So far he has refused to eat anything but live however it is a 1/2 hour just to get to the nearest feed store with mice. (I tried dancing it, putting it infront of his nose, and soaking in chicken broth.)

[Skilla6000]

I have a baby ball that we got about a month ago. He had been feed the day before we brought him home and we were told he eats live mice weekly. He refused to eat the next week and after doing research I realized he was in the process of shedding. The next week, I feed him the night after he shed, and he took the live mouse which was about 2-3 weeks old. He refused again to eat the week after but we had changed his living quarters in the mean time. This work I put him in his old living quarters ( new feeder tank) along with another 2-3 week old mouse. Within 2 hours he took the mouse but I don't know for sure that the young mice are big enough for him. Should I attempt to give him another small mouse tomorrow? Or do I wait another week until his next feeding?

Also, is there any way to switch a ball from live to f/t? So far he has refused to eat anything but live however it is a 1/2 hour just to get to the nearest feed store with mice. (I tried dancing it, putting it infront of his nose, and soaking in chicken broth.)

Soaking it in chicken broth? Who told you to do that? And for the mouse size it all depends on the snakes size. If your snake is 100 grams you should be feeding it about a 12-15 gram mouse. If you would like to switch him to f/t there is a lot of things you can do you can pre kill the mouse and offer it to him freshly killed or you can try scenting a dead mouse with rat scent not chicken broth. Also when you're feeding your snake try not to leave it in attended, nightmares could happen if you do. One more thing about the issue of him not eating check his temps and humidity levels they should be about 50% for humidity... Hope I helped keep us updated try offering a mouse around 15% or the size of a mouse the size of his fattest part of his body. Good luck.

[Mr Oni]

The chicken broth thing works for milk/kings/corns.
I had to use it for my Milk when he was a baby but never heard of it working for a BP.

As many, many people say here that they "researched" just be sure to take the time to actually read through the sticky's and a few months of posts. Your situation is a shared one so dont be afraid to look around, you could be missing the best situational answer or a good suggestion.

Heres a link to a DIY CO2 feeder chamber.

http://diyco2euthanizekit.blogspot.c...e-kit.html?m=1

[KMG]

Chicken broth is a method. I'm not sure why you would scent a mouse with rat scent when trying to switch from live to thawed. That would be to switch from mice to rats.

When switching the snake to a thawed feeder the most important thing is to make sure you present the feeder at a very warm temp. I put mine in hot tap water from the sink and always feed the more stubborn feeders first while they are good and warm.

Another method is called braining. You simply pierce the skull which allows the juices inside to attract your snake in hopes of getting a stronger feeding response.

Plus like mentioned you can offer pre killed for awhile and then eventually switch to f/t but this takes time and requires a live feeder.

Also if you are feeding in a different cage than the snake lives it can cause stress and interrupt the feeding mode. Try feeding in it's regular cage. It will not make it aggressive and alittle substrate will not hurt. Just make sure to dry of the feeder a bit and you will be fine.

As far as the feeder size. It should be equal to 10-15% of your snakes weight. Or as wide as your snakes largest section.

[Skilla6000]

Chicken broth is a method. I'm not sure why you would scent a mouse with rat scent when trying to switch from live to thawed. That would be to switch from mice to rats.

When switching the snake to a thawed feeder the most important thing is to make sure you present the feeder at a very warm temp. I put mine in hot tap water from the sink and always feed the more stubborn feeders first while they are good and warm.

Another method is called braining. You simply pierce the skull which allows the juices inside to attract your snake in hopes of getting a stronger feeding response.

Plus like mentioned you can offer pre killed for awhile and then eventually switch to f/t but this takes time and requires a live feeder.

Also if you are feeding in a different cage than the snake lives it can cause stress and interrupt the feeding mode. Try feeding in it's regular cage. It will not make it aggressive and alittle substrate will not hurt. Just make sure to dry of the feeder a bit and you will be fine.

As far as the feeder size. It should be equal to 10-15% of your snakes weight. Or as wide as your snakes largest section.

Like mentioned above he said it does not wrk on ball pythons... And for scenting a mouse with rat smell would depend on where he lives where I am we can't have live rats... So that's why u suggested it.. It will also help on switching from mice to rats

[KMG]

Like mentioned above he said it does not wrk on ball pythons... And for scenting a mouse with rat smell would depend on where he lives where I am we can't have live rats... So that's why u suggested it.. It will also help on switching from mice to rats

It worked for this person. I have never tried but have seen it suggested many times which makes me think it works. I don't usually suggest it because I have no experience doing it.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...=chicken+broth

Your rat suggestion confused me even more.

I think you should handle your feeding issues before you start trying to handle others. I'm thinking that your refusal to answer our questions means you know your setup to is not ideal. Feel free to respond on your thread, not here. You will take the time to solve others problems but not yours.

[kitedemon]

I see a few things here. OP you should stop fussing with the little fellow, don't move him place him somewhere new (or feed in a separate container) just let him settle in. I would offer exactly what he has been taking live mice? He needs to settle in and eat regularly before you try to switch him.

Temps here are critical, small snakes are not interested in breeding so they don't go on hunger strike. The ambient air temp and warm spot surface temps re important. When they are incorrect too high or too low they will not be able to digest properly and as a result not feed. The ambient air temps are more critical than most understand. Many breeders only use ambient air temps to hold correct temps.

Ambient temps should not be cooler than 75ºF (and a hot spot must be provided) to about 85ºF

Surface warm should be around 90º (small snakes like yours this can be lower 88ºF is fine)
Cool around 80ºF

I would suggest to check all your temps, and not try to switch either rat to mice or live to F/T until you have had 10 back to back feeding.

Snakes and particularly Ball/Royal pythons need to feel secure to feed this is why I opened with let him be. He will feel less threatened with familiar surroundings. Make sure he has hides that are small ish, and I like to add (air) cover a fake plant or something to allow little ones feel like birds will not see them. Remember a snake likes to see and not be seen.