she wont eat :(

her cage is kept at a constant 80 degrees, has a water bowl, coconut substrate, and hide.
I try to feed her every weekend (once a week)
for thawing the mouse i just leave it to thaw then close to feeding I put it in a plastic bag then into a hot cup of water. as far as I know the mice have not been frozen then thawed again and again.

so far I have handled her about four times......when I was removing the stuck shed and then just randomly but stopped because I thought it may be stressing her. if it helps I will put a picture of her cage and the mice I'm feeding her.

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Originally Posted by melrappmel

her cage is kept at a constant 80 degrees, has a water bowl, coconut substrate, and hide.
I try to feed her every weekend (once a week)
for thawing the mouse i just leave it to thaw then close to feeding I put it in a plastic bag then into a hot cup of water. as far as I know the mice have not been frozen then thawed again and again.

so far I have handled her about four times......when I was removing the stuck shed and then just randomly but stopped because I thought it may be stressing her. if it helps I will put a picture of her cage and the mice I'm feeding her.

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does her cage have a hot spot of 90-94 degree?

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Originally Posted by melrappmel

she is a normal ball python she was about three months when i got her. The guy I got her from was a good breeder and told me she had eaten at least two times.

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3 months old and she had only eaten twice? If that's right sounds like you got a bad eater.

Try an appropriate sized live mouse.

Make sure the cage itself has solid sides, back and top (covered) and is in a low traffic area. Then make sure there are at least 2 hides (if not more) in different areas of the cage. Keep the temps and humidity correct, wait a couple of weeks for the snake to feel comfortable and safe, and then try to feed again.

No handling other then needed maintenance during that time. All of mine took frozen thawed right away with this method , even though they were fed live at the breeders.

Try live food if needed. If NOTHING works, you might have to take her to a vet, so they can try to check for internal parasites, etc...

My bet is, that snake never felt "safe" enough to eat...

Well i have a problem eater and i normally do not keep snakes so "young" so i do not have any smaller tubs that i can heat and in a rack.

So here is what i did.
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/1060/ballst.jpg

Week later he started to eat =)

I'll try adding another hide and making sure shes in a low traffic area and if she doesnt eat I supose I'll try feeding live

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Originally Posted by Definitions

are asf's legal in california?

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Nope... I found frozen ASFs at a shop in San Diego (for a particularly picky eater), but live ones are definitely illegal.

To the OP, I think it's time to try live mice! Most (at least half) of my BPs are live-only feeders, so that seems like the obvious solution to me. It's your decision of course, but I would suggest trying that soon... also try rats instead of mice, since some snakes prefer one over another.