Successful Feeding :) only 1 day home. Is that bad?

[SpYdA]

Hello everyone i am new here and a proud new Owner of my new BP , So i need some opinions please. I bought her this past Friday and brought her home for a few hours then i took her to the water sprinklers with the kids and she seemed to love it never balling up chilling on my neck always head out very curious, after about 2 hours i took her home and let her rest. I went to the petshop where i got her to get her a mouse becuz they said they feed their snakes on Sat. and they told me theres no way she will eat she is too stressed and i shoulda never brought her anywhere for a week and they got mad at me. So i went home and the next day despite what they said i grabbed some tweezers and took the thawed mouse and dangled it above her and withing 3mins whammm she grabbed it and coiled nicly for 1min then down the hatch within 7-10mins. Sunday camei hanged her water and gently rubbed her a quick sec to let her kno im safe. her head came right out and rubbed on me showing me affection almost. She is also about to shed eye caps fell off and skin should be off next i think. So am i doing anything wrong? she doesnt seemed stressed at all she chills in her warm hide and peeks out every now and then.

[Eric Alan]

1) A snake eating successfully is never a bad thing. I'm surprised she ate, with all she's been through, but the fact that she ate is good.
2) You should completely avoid handling for at least 24-48 hours after a feeding to give her time to digest.
3) A shed should happen all at once (not eyes first then everything else later). Assuming those weren't stuck eyecaps from a previous shed and she is going into shed now, make sure her humidity is up and she has plenty of water available to drink. DO NOT try to help her out during the process by soaking her or rubbing the skin off yourself.

Most importantly though, CONGRATS ON YOUR NEW ADDITION!

[danielwilu2525]

Odd but, amazing behavior! Just remember to not handle them after eating till 48-72 hours have passed. Enjoy your new BP

[For Goodness Snakes]

Most of my customers think you should wait a few days before offering the new arrival food, I say offer the snake food as soon as you get it in its new cage. I've been breeding and selling snakes for over 25 years and have over 200 ball pythons in my collection. I always offer food to snakes that I just purchased and they usually eat just fine. My thinking is that a new arrival that is hungry is going to be more stressed than a new arrival with a full belly.

And as far as handling the snake after eating I say go ahead, just be aware of where the stomach is and don't grab the snake tightly in that area. I never consider not holding a snake that has just eaten. I do hundreds of educational presentations with reptiles all over the San Francisco Bay Area each year and have been doing them for about 20 years. At the end of my programs I let all of the snakes go onto a large table so the kids can handle them. Over 50,000 people have handled my snakes now and many times those snakes ate the day before and not once have I had one regurgitate.

You're going to hear a lot of conflicting information, pick and choose what works for you, but so far it sounds like you're doing great!

Good luck

Brian