New to snakes

Hey everyone, My husband just bought a baby ball yesterday. The pet store told us they feed on Thursdays so we attempted a feed this evening but Monty doesn't seem too interested. We are wondering if maybe it (not sure if its a boy or girl yet) is just not eating because it isn't used to the environment yet? It was raised on F/T so that is what we are feeding, not to mention that I don't think I could do live anyhow. Also how long should we leave the mouse in there before disposing of it? Thanks for any advice!

How did you thaw it? If the heat signature isn't hot enough it may not show interest.

I don't leave a feeder in longer than 15 mnutes, then I refreeze. You should only refreeze once and I would only refreeze if you thaw in hot water. If you thaw by leaving it out and try to refreeze you will find it pretty nasty the next time.

It could just need longer to settle in or your husbandry might need some adjusting. I'm just guessing though. Post more info and we can help you better.

You should wait a week before trying to feed when you buy a new snake. So just wait until next thursday. Leave him alone to get used to his new home. They usually won't eat when they are nervous. Make sure you have hides in there as well. :)

I usually heat the f/t with a blow dryer and then Dangle it in front of them. Most of them strike instantly but others take a few seconds to strike.

Well you shouldn't offer food for a week after getting a new snake. Don't worry it will be fine. It needs to be left alone and given time to adjust to it's home. I hope you're meeting the snake's basic needs and have already done your homework by reading several care guides. That being said, welcome to the forum. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

We thawed it in hot water and we do have a hide...Monty is pretty much just staying in the hide lol. We do need to get another hide though. I did see that the husbandry can affect if it eats or not so I checked and the high temp right now is 90 and the low side is about 81. Humidity is at 53. We have been pretty much leaving it alone until it is adjusted so I guess we will just take the mouse out and wait until next week! Thanks so much!

What is your set up like? Temps? I know it is tempting, but it is best not to handle your snake until it is eating. Try feeding in the evening/ at night, make sure you heat the rodent up to 'body temp', a hair dryer works well for this. It may take a few weeks to get your snake feeding, or it may be quick. Just have patience.

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Originally Posted by Annageckos

What is your set up like? Temps? I know it is tempting, but it is best not to handle your snake until it is eating. Try feeding in the evening/ at night, make sure you heat the rodent up to 'body temp', a hair dryer works well for this. It may take a few weeks to get your snake feeding, or it may be quick. Just have patience.

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High temp right now is 90 and the low side is about 81. Humidity is at 53. It is definitely tempting to hold it but we are behaving ourselves and haven't bothered it all while its settling in. The most interaction we've had was putting the mouse in and we did that with tongs. We got a snake kit from petco and it came with bark but we are thinking we are going to switch to the aspen in a couple weeks.