New BP owner! Help!

Hello all! :)

On February 11th I became the proud owner of a baby ball python, Dakota, which is about 5-6 months. I bought him from a pet store, (petland discounts). This is not my first snake, I have a corn snake also, Rex, which is about a year and a few months in age. The same day I got Rex, he ate within the hour and doesn't have a live or F/T preference although he is mostly on F/T and eating fuzzies or rat pups.

But, Dakota on the other hand, is a totally different story. Dakota is such a sweet snake, doesn't mind being held, was head shy the first day but has improved on that 110% since I got him, active and healthy, and currently 98 grams. What worries me is his feeding. When I received Dakota on the 11th, the pet store had just received him on the 4th. So 1 week later, he was already going to a home. I knew from the start that he might be stressed for a while due to all the moving around. When I was speaking to the clerk, he told me that Dakota ate at their housing facilities 2 weeks prior to me buying him which sets his date of last meal to the 28th of January. He was also eating live. I've tried to feed him twice since I've gotten him and to no avail, I get nothing. Although I am trying with F/T, I'd hate to try with live and be stuck with a mouse that I cant do anything with.

Also, there was one time where he was laying in his cage looking a little weak and worn out so I picked him up and placed him in his waterbowl and he drank water for a little while and then pepped right up. It was a little weird.

I'm probably just being a worry wort but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Help please! :tears:

I would just try feeding him live to get him back in the swing of things. Once he gets going again, you can work on switching him to f/t.

What kind of enclosure is your BP in? Rack, tank, tub... and can you post a picture of it?
What is the temperature on the cool side of the enclosure?
What is the temperature on the warm side of the enclosure?
How are you measuring temperatures and humidity?
How are you regulating temperatures and humidity?
Does your BP have access to hides on both the warm and cool sides of the enclosure?

To tail on to what bcr229 said. My most optimal conditions are:

Cool side ambient: 80
Warm side ambient: 90
Warm side ground: 88-91
Humidity 45%-55% (during shed 60%-70% using a wet wash cloth)
I have have a 25g tank with 80% of the lid covered in saran wrap
60w red bulb running 24/7 (on the warmside)
UTH that covers 1/3rd of the warmside
I have to keep the room around 80 degrees to maintain these conditions with my reptile room's wall heater

Feeding:
Thaw F/T for 2-3 hours in room temp water in plastic bag, then thaw the same feed for an hour in very warm water in plastic bag. If they don't take it, warm it with a hair dryer for a few minutes and be sure to twist and move the F/T by the tail and get them interested (zombie dance).

Doing these husbandry techniques I never have to mist the cage, just wet and wring the wash cloth every 2-3 days or so and making sure that it isn't sporing mold.
Other than keeping up on the humidity and temperature, everything is perfect and my guy has eaten whenever I have offered. If you can nail the husbandry part, and handling when appropriate, they will eat when they are ready. While they are in a binge period be sure to not handle them to avoid stress. They are not stupid, they will eat when they get hungry. If one of my snakes refuses feed I will wait a week without handling and offer again. If they refuse again, add a couple days on top of the week and offer again. They will eat when they are hungry, just make sure the feed is WARM. Other than that it is just a waiting game. Good luck!

I would suggest you stop handling all together, except for cage maintenance until you can get him eating. Start with live if you need to, then try switching over. At 98 grams, you need to start getting some weight on him.

Also check out the care guide on the main page :)
If you look over your husbandry - rather than having us ask a bunch of questions about your set up and going back and forth with us here - and make sure it is pretty much on the nose with that care guide, things should improve. Sometimes just a little tweak can make a huge difference.
A couple of weeks without feeding isn't the end of the world... try not to stress YOURSELF too much.

If the husbandry is tip-top, as the care guide recommends, then you should try looking into some of the feeding suggestions. There are TONNES of posts on how to switch from live to f/t! Very helpful :gj:

Best of luck!

First off, let me echo the no handling thing. Until he starts feeding, I'd handle him as little as possible. Handling can really, really bug some ball pythons. And as far as feeding is concerned, don't expect him to feed like your corn snake. In addition to my ball pythons (of which I have close to 40) I have four pet snakes all different species. They eat every week without issue, without fuss. The balls will go off of food for months just because they don't like you. So don't stress. If he gets to be too thin, like losing lots of weight to the point where you notice his skin being really loose, look into assist feeding (AS A LAST RESORT THOUGH. I've had to assist feed new babies from time to time and it's stressful on you and the snake!) Also, keep in mind that some balls WON'T switch to F/T without assistance. I prefer frozen thawed, but I still have stubborn ones that just Won't do it. They'd rather die. Same with switching from mice to rats. Some just WILL NOT do it. Lots of methods to try before it comes to that though.

Give it some time and breathe. Try to get your husbandry in line as much as you can and try to make sure he has adequate hiding places in the meantime. Keep in mind that pet stores don't always get their snakes from reliable breeders and usually don't have great husbandry, so he's probably stressed out already.
Deep breath and give him some adjustment time. :salute:
Have you tried feeding him in the dark yet?