Need some advice to make life easier

Just recently bought a ball python and I love him. Clyde is really cool and docile. This whole habitat setup is really difficult to keep up since there's so many factors I learn about each day. Hopefully I can come back from deployment and Clyde will be healthy since my wife will be his caretaker for a period of time.

Anyways what I'd like some more knowledge about is this... I take him out of his habitat and he's calm for 5 minutes until I'm on the couch with him and then he tries to just get away. I sit there with my hands acting as a treadmill while he works hard to go explore away from me. I understand he's curious but how can I coax him to relax and stay on me and watch some tv.

I don't want this to be some super long story with millions of things to answer in it and people get lost at what to pick out and answer. So here's my final question. He is about 3 feet long. Maybe a tad shorter. Is he suppose to eat every other week or every week? And how will I know if he's hungry. I've had him for 5 days now and don't know his eating schedule from his past. Don't know when he last ate. I unthawed a small fuzzy mouse the proper way. Did everything right and the past two days in a row attempted to feed him. He did not seem phased by the food. And when dangled in front of him no interest. Gave a little bop to the nose to entice him and he backed away. I made sure the environment was right (in a separate container) and even left him alone for two hours with the fuzzy in there. I will appreciate your input greatly. :)

The ball python will keep on trying to explore that's all up to the personality of the snake. For the feeding I would say try feeding it once a week if it doesn't want to eat don't worry try next week just remember don't handle it give it 12 hours before you feed it and 24 hours after you feed it.

Thank you. I didn't know a snake could have personalitys even the slightest. That's interesting. Sounds good. I'll keep the feeding tip in mind

Snakes DEFINITELY have their own, individual personalities. Your snake will want to explore a bit, and there's no real way to calm them down and get them to want to sit and chill. They will sit and chill when/if they are comfortable and choose to do so.

Moving forward, feed your snake every 7 days in HIS enclosure, moving to a "feeding tub" in counter-productive.

Also, what does he weigh? Length isn't as important as weight when it comes to feeding.

Lastly, your prey is too small. They should only be on fuzzies until about 200 grams. A snake that is close to 3 feet should definitely weigh a lot more than that. Depending on your snakes weight either Lg adult mice or jumbo mice would be the right size, or you may want to try rats, in which case a weaned rat or rat pup would be best. This is why knowing the snakes weight is important.

This ^^^^^. Spot on.

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Originally Posted by Devildogyuttt

Just recently bought a ball python and I love him. Clyde is really cool and docile. This whole habitat setup is really difficult to keep up since there's so many factors I learn about each day. Hopefully I can come back from deployment and Clyde will be healthy since my wife will be his caretaker for a period of time.

Anyways what I'd like some more knowledge about is this... I take him out of his habitat and he's calm for 5 minutes until I'm on the couch with him and then he tries to just get away. I sit there with my hands acting as a treadmill while he works hard to go explore away from me. I understand he's curious but how can I coax him to relax and stay on me and watch some tv.

I don't want this to be some super long story with millions of things to answer in it and people get lost at what to pick out and answer. So here's my final question. He is about 3 feet long. Maybe a tad shorter. Is he suppose to eat every other week or every week? And how will I know if he's hungry. I've had him for 5 days now and don't know his eating schedule from his past. Don't know when he last ate. I unthawed a small fuzzy mouse the proper way. Did everything right and the past two days in a row attempted to feed him. He did not seem phased by the food. And when dangled in front of him no interest. Gave a little bop to the nose to entice him and he backed away. I made sure the environment was right (in a separate container) and even left him alone for two hours with the fuzzy in there. I will appreciate your input greatly. :)

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If he's always on the move as you describe than maybe he's simply hungry ....

Mine will usually sit/ lie on my lap or in my hands quite happily after a minute or so , once they've had a little mooch around .

For what it's worth ... and assuming your temps are correct etc etc

The secret with Balls / Royals in particular - is really to feed in the evenings as they're nocturnal and ensure that the rodent is WARM when offered ( ideally low light or dim lighting ) .

I thaw out as normal then plug a hairdryer in close by - then warm for about 15 seconds then offer using tongs IMMEDIATELY .... if it doesn't take it just keep repeating the procedure .

Also a couple of mine will only strike from within their hides so I wiggle the food in front of the entrance.

This method is proven but if there isn't even a tongue-lick then it's best leaving for a week then try again .



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Is it possible he won't take the fuzzy because it's too small?

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Originally Posted by Devildogyuttt

Is it possible he won't take the fuzzy because it's too small?

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That's possible, but I would suspect other reasons first. Usually husbandry and/or stress are the main reasons they might refuse. Sometimes they just go off feed for a while. As long as the snake isn't losing weight it shouldn't stress you out too much.

If you provide a weight that would help us to help you also.

You can use weight as a guideline for young ball pythons. Around 10 to 15 percent their body weight. Grab a digital scale. They go for about 15 to 20 dollars.

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If you've only had him for 5 days, the constant movement/exploring could also be a sign of stress. Around here we generally recommend leaving new snakes alone for at least 3 or 4 successful feedings-- i.e., for three or four weeks or longer depending on how often he gets fed. You may want to consider just leaving him alone for a few weeks and only handling him when you need to and see if that helps him with both his feeding habits and his ability to chill out with you.