Running out of ideas on feeding please help

[Ekats93]

I acquired my second ball python, I have a pinstripe girl who is amazing in every aspect and I thought what a breeze time for more. I've always had my eyes on a banana and when I saw his sunset look I fell in love so home we came. We get home give a week of rest and i try to feed, was told he did live some frozen mostly live I didn't think switch would be hard since he's still a baby, was 5 months. So week one normal f/t left out in fridge then out then heat gun fail week 2 f/t defrosted in worm water then dipped in hot before feeding fail gave a week rest. Then tried leaving in enclosure ... Fail tried shoebox fail... Tried braining fail tried rat failed tried chicken broth failed tried scenting with litter and leaving litter on tank to get him exited ... Nada.Went back to reptile show breeder reccomended 3 live 2 fresh killed then frozen he ate them all except frozen... He finally got comfortable eating and them after frozen lost interest. Tried live again tonight and he ate it but took him forever he literally had no idea what he was doing it's like he forgot. First two times with live he got injured but recovered and ate the fresh killed was also very exited for live now he avoided it mouse was pretty much running circles he kept backing away eventually got the hold of things and did what he was suppose to. My concern is what now? He is spider banana male, almost 8 months still at 350-380 grams due to 2 months if not more of fasting, it's almost winter time I don't want to do live, closest store is 1hr away, they stink too much to keep as temp pets and I am hating the live feeding a due to all the injuries. He also recently started the wobble... It's been a nightmare I barely take him out now because he gets stressed out from the commotion of feeding when I do I'm very gentle with him, he's really sweet but shy starting to warm up to me finally I just want him to be happy full and healthy and hate seeing him be so small in comparison to others his age... I want to start taming him out but want his eating improved first any ideas welcome in aquarium located inside closet covered top temps hot90-cold80 two hide spots water uses both spots humidity 60+/- no shedding issues. When he eats he poops a few days maybe a week later so not concerned . I don't know maybe it's me stressing but need to switch to f/t.. .

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Not all of them will switch , and those who do may take weeks, months or even years.

When buying a snake you should be prepared to feed what works even if it means live.

Switching requires tough love but also require for you as a owner to know when to stop and feed the prey that works versus the prey YOU want.

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[Ekats93]

yeah i figured that much when i first got him he was a fatty so each week after failed attempts of f/t i did weight him and he didnt seem to loose any weight so that's why i kept trying once he started using live he did eat and gain the weight back and then some so after a few i tried fresh killed and he did that as well so thats when i figured ill try to sneak a ft in there but it just didnt work so live again. I do realize that this is a time consuming matter and im fine with that i just wonder at what point i should even attempt to try a f/t again so that i dont throw him off feed again. Could it even be from his wobble he is pretty disoriented even when i hold him hes all over the place flipping head backwards and i noticed during feeding he seems to try to go for the live but its almost a confused look like why did it just run to the other side he always attacks them by cornering them when they are standing still... eventually he does snap out of it its not all the time that he is disoriented but more often then not... maybe not at all related who knows just trying to figure this guy out...

[wolfy-hound]

With my spider girl with the serious wobble, I always feed fresh killed. I don't want to give her live, because of the possibility of her hitting it poorly and getting bitten.

There should be some reason that he will eat fresh killed but not F/T. Maybe it's not hot enough? Try drying it well and using a hair dryer to give it a real hot spot and then do a really nice zombie-rat-dance?

Good luck.

(My Hepburn- spider girl is extremely small and never has grown well, which I don't know is from something in her due to the spider gene and extreme wobble, but maybe your guy is also a slow grower).

[Ekats93]

Yeah when he was smaller 5 months his wobble wasn't bad it was once in a while now I can barely put anything in the tank he knocks it over he's always hitting his head on stuff and with live he got bitten twice with supervision and I took teeth out ASAP which is why they healed quickly. He usually gets the live ones even not when they are moving but standing still I though vision problems but his vision is fine so maybe I will try making them hotter I end up taking them out and heating periodically anyways because it takes him like 15 minutes and he's done defensive strikes on f/t and shows interest but doesn't take it. Took fresh killed within 1-2 minutes though so tongs in container don't bother him I stick them in there with live ones to stop bite so he's used to having them in there. What do you do for fresh killed to kill them because I've been smacking them on floor that's what I used to do when I worked as a zoo keeper that was our protocol since we had to do so many. Do you have any other method ? Only other thing we use to do is hold heart until it stops but I got bit a lot so not doing that. Even if he's small that's fine I love him just would be nice to get him switched eventually for bigger prey items for now I'm just hoping he keeps eating.