First feeding attempt... refused

We've had our baby BP for 6 days now, and tried to feed her for our first time tonight. She didn't eat. :( I think her refusal has launched me into overworried new mom mode.

The breeder we got her from said she had been eating live hopper mice so far. We wanted to feed f/t, so we got some frozen hopper mice. Should we have given her live food since that was what she was used to until we knew she was settled in to her new home enough to eat? Or is it ok to go ahead and try to get her to switch to f/t right away?

The breeder told us she was about 6 weeks old. How long can a young BP safely go without eating?

Congrats on your new little one!

How many meals did he have with the breeder? When was his last meal?

I just got mine this past Saturday also. Did you get yours at the All Ohio Reptile Show?

everything will be fine!

check your temps and your humidity just to make sure. do you have two identical hides which are nice and small? your ball will feel safe in a nice tight spot.

i would wait a week and try a live feeding... once you get your new ball eating... then try switching over to f/t. :)

(was the f/t nice a hot when you put it in?)

oh and no handling till it's eating please!

What Aleesha said.

Feed it what its used to until you establish a feeding pattern. Then try to switch. Try once a week with no handling until she eats a couple meals.

Steve

Make sure you leave your BP alone again for 7 days with no handling and try offer a live hopper, I know this is not what you fish to feed however try to at least have 3 to 4 successful feedings prior to attempt switching.

Also in the mean time make sure that

Your temperature and make sure they are 80-84 on the cool side, 90-94 on the warm side, of course this mean you need to have an accurate reading provided by a digital thermometer/hygrometer.

Check your humidity and make sure it is between 50%-60%

Make sure the enclosure is in a low traffic area.

Make sure your enclosure is the appropriated size, an enclosure that is too big can be overwhelming, and can cause stress overtime.

Make sure your hides are tight enough so your BP can snug in, all sides must be touching your BP's body (Avoid log hides as they do not really provide enough security for a BP).

Make sure you are doing f/t correctly. There are many things you can do which are a big help tot he snake eating it. A lot of people thaw in a bag and water which works well, but what I do is place the frozen mouse on top of the snakes cage. This way it is thawing and pre-scenting the room. I usually let them thaw for around 3-4 hours. You don't want to let them thaw to long or the mouse will start to decay.

If you still use the water/bag method make sure you prescent the room for at least 30 minutes. This causes the snake to smell dinner and gets them excited.

After the prescenting time, take a hair dryer to it and put it on high and keep it under for around 30 seconds.

I do that every week and my BP hasn't missed a meal. He was originally on live hoppers and switched to f/t the first time I fed him.

At six weeks old, I doubt he's had many meals in him and doesn't recognize f/t as prey. I would definitely recommend continuing to feed him live hoppers for a few more weeks before trying to convert to f/t. It will take time and patience, some will never switch. I personally feel all 17 of mine live.

try pre scenting the room it seems to really get the snakes hungry!

heres a link to show how:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=60

the hair dryer technique works great for f/t. i do it where my balls are and they go nuts once the hot, scented air enters their enclosures. my newest bp did not eat anything for the first 3 wks. now he eats like a champ. give it a try and good luck.




mando