First time owner: feeding questions

I recently bought my first ball python, so I will have a bunch of questions as I go. I've read The Ball Python Manual and have been doing a lot of research online, but there is some information that I haven't seen yet, so I'll ask here.

A little background first: I bought this snake a little over 3 weeks ago at ReptiCon in Gonzales, LA. When I asked about feeding pattern and schedule, the breeder told me "He's a little pig". I was told his feeding schedule was Thursdays and he ate frozen rats. The first time I offered food, he struck but didn't latch on. We left the rat in the feeding box with him and checked an hour later and he hadn't eaten yet. We left him in the feeding box overnight with the rat and he had eaten by the time we checked again the next afternoon.

Here we are, 3 weeks later, and he hasn't accepted food again. I know it can take them some time to acclimate to new surroundings, but he has been out and about in his cage since a couple days after I brought him home. I know they can fast for a month or more at a time, so I'm not too worried, but I'm starting to wonder what's going on since the breeder told me he's a really good eater and his weight has dropped 8g (463g to 455g) over the last week.

I'm not sure what information is pertinent since I'm new to this, so I'll put as much as I can think of here. His hot side stays right at 90 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity of 50% (I think - can confirm once I put him back in and the temp rises again). I have tried feeding in the afternoon and night, and he has been in his feeding box for the last 2 hours (12:38pm local time). I'll usually let him sit in there for a few hours with the rat after I offer for 10 minutes. I also tried adding his hide to the feeder box this time and brained the rat after an hour of leaving him in there. The rat is currently an inch away from the opening to his hide. The feeder box is a clear Rubbermade container that's a little bigger than his normal enclosure and it's not heated. Let me know if I left any pertinent information out.

So here are my questions and I'll number them to make answering easy.
1) At what point should you worry about the length of a BP's fast? Is it a time thing, or a weight thing, or both?
2) I've come across several methods to help coax a BP into eating, so what other methods are safe/humane and have worked for y'all?
3) Based on the information I gave above, should I modify anything?

When you say feeding box are you moving him to a separate enclosure just for feeding? If so try feeding him in his enclosure. There is no need to move him.

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As above really ... always feed in the Viv / rub , put some card down and feed on top of that to prevent any substrate being swallowed with the rat ..

I'd ALWAYS feed in the evening , in low-light , as they are nocturnal . I heat my mice / rats with a hairdryer and offer immediately - mine usually strike from within their hides - just dangle the rat at the opening .. if it doesn't strike , repeat the hairdryer trick and again offer immediately .


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When I got mine. I didn't know when he was fed last. So I tried the 2nd day I had him, and he refused it. Then was reading where everybody said to leave him alone and ignore him about a week. I did that. Tried feed him again. And he has been snagging them ever since. Been feeding frozen too.
Wouldn't leave it in too long, especially overnite. Then it will cool down too much. (Just what I've read). You can just re-freeze it and try again later.

I suggest feeding him in his enclosure. No need for a snake to be moved around before he eats.

Also if they eat a little substrate it really isn't that big of a deal, I mean they digest bone!

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