Had my baby ball 10 days, still has not eaten...

Hey Gang,

First off thanks for all the help so far setting up the tank for my baby ball. I've had the snake for 10 days today and still have not gotten him to eat.

Here's what I've done per the advice from this forum...

*Added UTH on one side of the tank with a regulator switch to keep the temp around 90.

*Added a temp and humidity monitor (temps mid 70's on the bedding away from the UTH) and humidity in 50-60 all the time it would seem.

*Added another hide (one on the colder side of the tank, one on the UTH side)

*Put a large water bowl hallway over the UTH side to increase humidity...the water temp is not hot though...I made sure that wasn't an issue.

Here's what I have attempted in terms of feeding...

*thawed arctic mice heated up with warm water and with a blow dryer (tried both)

*bought newborn African rats...2 of them...they are fuzzy little pinks that can't even walk...they just squirm which I thought would really entice the snake...He does flicker his tongue at them while I hold them from the tail with my feeder tongs an inch or so in front of his head but he does not strike...

What should I do next and do I have reason to worry? The snake is very active and calm...he slithers around most of the day now and sometimes hangs out in his hides...no aggression at all so far. Just seems very chill...but I would think by now this snake should be eating...

Any advice on how to get this to happen?

Thanks!

Now that your husbandry is dialed in just let him acclimate and get hungry. Offer a completely thawed and warmed f/t feeder every 7 days until he eats. If he's a shy eater you might try feeding him in a really dark room and leaving the f/t feeder in his tank overnight. You can also try putting him in a small plastic container, or paper bag, with the f/t feeder overnight. Braining or scenting the prey item are other options. Best wishes and keep us posted.

Don't worry, 10 days is not bad. Your little guy will eat eventually. Sounds like your temps and hides are good. What kind of enclosure is he in? If he's in a glass tank, sometimes it helps to cover 3 of the walls so he feels more enclosed (you can use the stick on shelf liner for that if that's the case). Then just leave him alone and introduce food when he's in his hide and appearing comfortable. If he's hungry, he'll come out and eat.

What was he being fed before you bought him? This is what will most likely get the best feeding response. You shouldn't try other food items until you've tried what he's used to. Most breeders feed live hopper mice to their young BPs (or fuzzy mice if they're small), so that's what I'd try next.

10 days really isn't bad. How many times have you tried to feed him? Sometimes they just need a bit more time to settle in without us bothering them.

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Being very active during the day is a sign of stress again the enclosure is too big for an hatchling that size

Again

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BP are are not very forgiven with husbandry issues.

Here is what I recommend to get back on track ASAP

Get a 6 quarts tub

Aspen bedding

1 Plastic flower pot saucer for hide (6 inch in diameter)

UTH

Thermostat

Provide a temp of 86/88 on the warm side.

Leave the animal ALONE for a week so it adjust to his new setup (no handling until the animal eat successfully for you)

Once the week is over offer a live mouse (right now the animal feeding is the priority, switching to F/T is only secondary). Place the mouse in the tub (do not feed outside the enclosure)

When the animal reaches 200/250 grams you can switch to either a 15 quarts tub or 10 gallons tank, the 40 gallons tank will be fine when your snake is an adult but until than the enclosure must fit and meet your BP's need.

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ASF are not the solution plus the one offered are way too small, a live hopper is what is needed.

Again BP are not forgiven and the longer you wait to make the needed changes the worse it will get, it's an hatchling and getting it back on track ASAP is very important.

I am not trying to argue but the tank size is not an issue. These guys are born in hundreds of acres of flat land naturally in the wild. If size was an issue, ball pythons would not survive in the wild. As long as you crowd the floor and give more then just two hides, a large enclosure will not cause it stress.

The prey size is way too small as stated. My hatchlings start off with mice and ASF hoppers. You want the prey to be the exact same size as the fattest part of your snake's girth.

You want to avoid handling your BP for the first week you get it, I give two weeks. Do not handle it the day of feeding or the day after. Do not feed it outside of its enclosure. Separate feeding tubs are stressful.

Feedings times can make a difference. Some of my snakes will not eat until it is dark out while other wont eat until early morning. Most will be happy to eat at anytime but it may be an idea to try to feed your ball python during the early mornings or early evening.

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Originally Posted by ArabianOak

*Added UTH on one side of the tank with a regulator switch to keep the temp around 90.

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I just want to be sure - did you put it on the side, or the bottom? Because that reads like you put it on the side.

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Originally Posted by BCS

I am not trying to argue but the tank size is not an issue. These guys are born in hundreds of acres of flat land naturally in the wild. If size was an issue, ball pythons would not survive in the wild. As long as you crowd the floor and give more then just two hides, a large enclosure will not cause it stress.

The prey size is way too small as stated. My hatchlings start off with mice and ASF hoppers. You want the prey to be the exact same size as the fattest part of your snake's girth.

You want to avoid handling your BP for the first week you get it, I give two weeks. Do not handle it the day of feeding or the day after. Do not feed it outside of its enclosure. Separate feeding tubs are stressful.

Feedings times can make a difference. Some of my snakes will not eat until it is dark out while other wont eat until early morning. Most will be happy to eat at anytime but it may be an idea to try to feed your ball python during the early mornings or early evening.

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After trouvbleshooting feeding issues with new owners for a decade I will not argue either, you just cannot compare wild and captivity, this has been proven to make a difference and work.

BTW they don't use hundreds of acres in the wild their range is very small, they live in TIGHT, DARK termite mounts where they spend 80% to 90% percent of their time hidden to only come at night to ambush their prey not something you can compare to a life exposed living in a tank surrounded by humans.

Smaller is better any experience owner and breeder knows that, a 40 gallons tank even filled up just does not cut it for an hatchling that size.

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Here's what worked for me. My daughters Mojave hatchling went 15 days. Breeder we got her from said she was eating fuzzy mice and had only eaten live. So we picked up a bag of f/t fuzzy mice at the expo as well. 7 days later I offered her one and she just defensively struck about 3 or 4 times then hid in her hide. 7 days later tried again and while she seemed VERY interested wouldn't take it. Normally I'd have waited another week but she seemed so close to taking it I thought I'd try one more thing the next evening.
I had some larger hoppers in the freezer from the corn snake and thought maybe a larger prey item may entice her to eat. So thawed one of those, heated properly with blow drier and she absolutely slammed it. She's been eating like a champ ever since.

Leave it alone for 4 or 5 days then offer a LIVE hopper mouse.

What was and now are the weights?