First Feeding- Help!?

[mischevious21]

So I just got a week old Yellow-belly, and todays time for his first feeding . The only problem is- he and the little fuzzy have been cuddling for the last 20 minutes... What should I do? I was told to feed him the first time in a closed paper bag, and thats what Im doing, but its not working. My other ball had eatin once before when I got her, and has always been a good eater... Any suggestions please?

[lord jackel]

I was told to feed him the first time in a closed paper bag, and thats what Im doing, but its not working.

Not sure who told you this but it is a big misconception and causes more issues then it solves. My guess is your baby is now completely stressed out by being pulled out of its comfy home by a large hand thing that wanted to eat it and then put in a noisy bag with another animal. (your snakes perception).

I recommend you remove the mouse, put the snake back and leave him alone for another week then try again...but this time feed in the cage.

Just to make sure what is his cage setup? temps/humidity/hides/etc.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

So he is a week old meaning he was not started and has not have his first shed yet? When did you purchase him?
Can you describe his enclosure, size of the enclosure, size of the hides, temps, humidity, devices used to measure them etc?

[mischevious21]

I got him about 4 days ago, his enclosure in a 15 gallon, sliding door, temps about 76 on the cool side and 86 on the warm, and I dont have a humidity guage but the room that the snakes are in (which is also my room), is pretty humid bacuse of my fish tank. And I had the same cage and setup for my other ball and she did fine.
Theres a hide on both sides, on the cooler side its about3-6 inches and the hide on the warm side is about the same, and theres a peice of drift wood going across the whole cage that he likes to coil up on.
And thank you very much for your advice, but as I was typing this- success! I had taken the fuzzy out for a couple hours, just put them in a shoe box (similar to what I feed my other ball in), and after 5 minutes- he just struck and is swallowing!! Yay!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Well I am glad you have been successful with your first feeding however I will still recommend you to get a digital thermometer/hydrometer like this one that you can find at walmart for 12$.

I dont have a humidity guage but the room that the snakes are in (which is also my room)

Remember you should not guess your temps or humidity, you MUST know them, dial and stick device are not accurate and your temps could be even lower then what you think

temps about 76 on the cool side and 86 on the warm

Your temps should be 80-84 on the cool side and 90-94 on the warm side.
Humidity should be 50%-60%

Theres a hide on both sides, on the cooler side its about3-6 inches and the hide on the warm side is about the same

Both hides should be tight (all sides touching your BP's body) and identical so your BP does not chose security over thermo-regulation.

I know you think your setup is fine because you have used it for your other BP however even if it does not cause any issue right now it will over time and since you have only own your first BP for only several weeks he probably have not shown any problem YET.