Im Newbie

I got my BP "Kratos" barely 2 weeks ago, 3x i tried to feed him Mon or Thurs cause thats what they told me his feeding schedule is but Kratos refuse to eat thawed mice. I try not to handle him too much so he wont be stressed now all he does is hide 24/7 past couple of days. My temp on warm side at 89 and 82 on cool side + UTH. Anything wrong with Kratos or should i leave him be?

If he is not eating thawed, try live. Ball Pythons are picky.

Ball pythons hide all day, that's normal. Where did you get thus snake? Is your UTH regulated by a thermostat? This is a very important thing to prevent accidental burns. If your snake is very young you definitely gotta go with live food.

No I was told that he's been fed with thawed mice.

I got my BP at Petsmrt, I do have the UTH that came with the habitat kit I bought. I handled him last night for few minutes he seems fine but just concerned he has not eaten for 2 1/2 weeks now. I am scheduled to feed him again tomorrow, not in his enclosure but different box any suggestions?

PetsMart doesn't feed F/T, they always feed live pinks as far as I know. BPs are too big for pinks to be any good for them, I'd get him a live fuzzy and see if you can jump-start him eating, or scent an F/T prey with live mouse bedding and simulate the natural scent that way. Otherwise his behavior sounds perfectly normal.

Also, many folks on here will tell you that feeding in his enclosure is less stressful on the snake and poses no risk as far as cage aggression goes, that's a myth with BPs. It's up to you how you choose to feed your snake, however. I find it more convenient to feed in-tank, personally.

First and foremost make sure you have a thermostat for your UTH, if not turn it off. I doubt the pre-made habitat kits come with it. Despite what someone in the petstore may tell you, a thermostat is not optional it is a requirement. Well you could use a rheostat I guess and that would be fine just harder to maintain, you can pick up a rheostat (lamp dimmer) at lowes or home depot easily enough. A thermostat might have to be ordered online.

How are you measuring your temps? What kind of thermometer? Where is the probe?

As mentioned above there is no need to feed in a separate enclosure it will only lessen the chances of your snake eating. In general a hiding python is a happy python. If he is out roaming then something is generally not right, they do sometimes come out and explore at night though.

When are you trying to feed him? They are nocturnal so try feeding at night. Also try heating up the prey item with a hair dryer, if he still won't take it then leave it in the cage over night. I'd try a few more things before jumping to live. Especially if he already is known to eat F/T.

Thanks for all the info guys. Petsmart only feeds FT, no live so I just thought thats what we should keep him on. My concern with feeding in his enclosure is him confusing my hands with food and more importantly, I've read that his substrate can be eaten along with his meal. I keep aspen as his substrate.
The probe is down by the UTH and his substrate is about an inch and a half deep. i have 2 digital thermometers and one regular one that reads temp and humidity.

Again a thermoSTAT is a requirement. As far as getting your hand confused for food, just dont smell like a rat you will be fine. I half joke here. Seriously though your snake can tell the difference. As far as eating some substrate, they dont get a nice clean surface to eat off of in thw wild, and they can digest bones so nothing to worry about there.

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