Not eating, don't know what to do...

I recently got my first ball python, and he is about a month old. I waited an entire week after I got him home to offer him something to eat (frozen fuzzy mouse), and he didn't go for it. Nor three days later when I offered another.

Apparently, he was eating live from the breeder I got him from, so I thought maybe if I tried live, that he would take it. So I got him a live pinky rat, because I read that giving him something too small and then offering the right size frozen rat will make them convert from live to frozen.

However, he is not even interested in it at all. It is in his cage now, and has been for about ten minutes, and though he is roaming around his cage and he obviously knows it is there, he either crawls right over it or around it.

Now, I have had him about two weeks, so I would think that he is at least a little acclimated to his environment, and he doesn't seem to mind me picking him up and holding him in short bursts. But I am starting to get concerned with the feeding thing.

Any ideas of what to do?

Try a mouse hopper.

I would refrain from holding him at all until he is eating for you.

Could you tell us more about his setup? A picture would be great.

Two weeks isn't really that long, he will be fine. Some snakes take a little longer to acclimate to their environments.

Try not watching him. If your snake is in a room where you can, shut off the lights and leave it alone for about 30-60 minutes and check on him. If the snake is in a larger area like a living room, then try covering the tank with a towel or something to make it dark and private. And like Kaorte said, it may be a set-up or husbandry issue as well...

His husbandry is spot on, as much as I can tell. He is in a 20 gallon long tank. The cool side of his cage is 81 degrees, and the hot side is 93. His humidity is 52%, He has the right size hides and no bright shining lights on him.

I have had him for two weeks, and I have only just started handling him a few days ago. He doesn't seem to mind it in the slightest (no striking or hissing or tight balling). He will happily explore my hand and not remain in a small coiled ball in my palm, so I take it as a good sign that he isn't beyond terrified of me.

I think I will wait a few more days to offer him another rat, and I'll turn the lights off and cover his cage and such so that it is private.

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Originally Posted by quillian91

Apparently, he was eating live from the breeder I got him from, so I thought maybe if I tried live, that he would take it. So I got him a live pinky rat, because I read that giving him something too small and then offering the right size frozen rat will make them convert from live to frozen.

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Do you know if the breeder was feeding live mice or rats? If it was mice, then he may not readily identify the scent of the rat as food. So I will have to agree with trying a live hopper mouse. I would also suggest watching, at least until he constricts it, and then leave him alone, if he looks like he isn't going to eat it right away...

If you got him from a breeder and he's still very young. A 20 long is most likely your problem. the breeder most likely keep him in something like a 6 qt sterilite tub from wal-mart. you can get one, put some air holes in the top of it. place it in your 20 long about 1/3 of the tub on the heat with the lid on the tub and the 20 long. adjust your temps in the tub. get him eating and then cut a hole big enough so he can crawl in and out of it, this will help when trying to get him use to the big tank. after a while when he gets too big for the tub, you can replace with a hide.

I have offered food to him again and Crane still hasn't eaten. Left one in with him over night and it was still there in the morning. I have tried Pinky Rats, Fuzzy Rats, and Fuzzy mice, and still nothing. He seems absolutely uninterested in it. When I had the live pinky rat in there, he slithered over and around the poor thing but never displayed any hunting behavior. If I try to wiggle the fuzzy around and make it seem alive, he will try to go away, and when I put him in a separate feeding container to see if that worked, he spent the whole time wall-climbing to try to escape and didn't seem to care about the rat.

I know that snakes (especially BPs) go through periods where they don't eat anything. The thing is, however, that I don't have any guarantee that he has actually ate anything before. Just the word of the woman I got him from. A worker at the local reptile pet store said that there was a problem with a bunch of baby ball pythons being sold for $45 in town and that none of them seem to want to eat. I paid $45 for him, so I am thinking that maybe I was scammed or something. I am starting to get worried because I have no idea if he has actually eaten before or if it was just something the woman made up to sell them.

Not that I want to give him away because of the feeding issues or anything. I love him dearly and I will do anything I can to keep him happy and healthy, but I am definitely concerned about the situation. He is about six weeks old, is my rough guess, since I got him on May 16th, and a few days before that the add said they were three weeks old. Of course, I don't know that for sure. Crane is an absolute delight besides the food issue. He is calm and isn't nippy at all.

But since he is a baby and I can't guarantee that he has eaten anything ever, what should I do? I am at a loss. I have read up about assisted-feeding and seen a few videos, but I would never do that until someone with experience (you guys), tells me that I should try it.

Any ideas?

Are you prescenting? Have you blasted the prey with a hair drier?

Yes, I have done both of those. But he is still not taking them. Left one in over night (and I keep my room pitch black, so there was no lights shining on him). Also covered the clear side of his cage with a towel for more privacy once, but he still refused.