Is it possible my snake is not nocturnal

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Could be roaming because he's hungry, but even when mine are hungry the day before or on feeding day it's always at night. What do you mean active during the day? Like just poking his head out or actively roaming and looking for an escape route?

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He just climbs all over the branch and just moves all over the place

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Originally Posted by LGray23

If you can, try a rat fuzzie, then see if he's still roaming. Hopper mice are pretty small, only my babies get hopper mice....

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When is not considered a baby he is only 7 months but has never refused to eat and eats every 5 days how big are fuzzies compared to hoppers

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Originally Posted by Bert Specht

When is not considered a baby he is only 7 months but has never refused to eat and eats every 5 days how big are fuzzies compared to hoppers

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Baby is a hatchling. You should switch him over to rats a.s.a.p. they have 10% more protein, more calcium and more fat than mice. You should feed him a rat that will give him a good sized bulge and up the size when there's no longer a noticeable bulge.

They are bigger, and 7 months is not a baby. I have two 2011 balls that were born this summer that are eating rat pups like crazy with no problem, which are bigger than rat fuzzies. My female albino that was born last month is eating hopper mice...I think you should seriously consider at least trying a rat fuzzie. They may look big to you, especially compared to the hoppers, but I can guarantee that he will take it. If he doesn't take the rat, try scenting it with a mouse (I haveto do this to switch from mice to rats). Do you feed live or f/t?

Live but thinking of going frozen and it's feeding day tomorrow so I will try a baby rat and see what's happens as well as black out the sides of the tank

There's your answer

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7months feeding hopper mice

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Most hatchlings are started on hoppers and quickly switch to adult.

You BP is underfed which likely explain why he is constantly rooming including during day time.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

There's your answer Most hatchlings are started on hoppers and quickly switch to adult.

You BP is underfed which likely explain why he is constantly rooming including during day time.

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Ok so I will go to rat pups every 5days instead of mice hoppers every 5 days and see what happens

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Originally Posted by Bert Specht

Live but thinking of going frozen and it's feeding day tomorrow so I will try a baby rat and see what's happens as well as black out the sides of the tank

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The way I switch from live to frozen is this.

Once they are eating consistently (which yours is), I get a f/t rat fuzzie or pup and thaw it out with a mouse in the same ziplock back. Once they are thawed, I heat them up in the same bag together. When I go to feed, I hold the rat with the tongs by the neck, so that it's being held as if it's alive and crawling towards the snake. Usually, once they catch the scent on the mouse, they don't hesitate. I've had pretty good success with this. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Bert Specht

Ok so I will go to rat pups every 5days instead of mice hoppers every 5 days and see what happens

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Actually as this point I would offer an adult mice and feed him adult mice for a few feedings then than attempt to switch.

Offering a different prey time as well as something much larger could be intimidating and lead to refusal.

You people may be advising larger meals, say rat pups, but regardless of his age... he only said his BP was 17 inches. Wouldn't that be far too stressful on him? I agree with upping the food size, but it seems like people have ignored that fact and jumped straight to ridiculously larger meals for his size.

Personally, I think the underfeeding is what lead to this size... My male BP is only 5 months old but he's around 26-27 inches and 385 grams, measured today. Really full & healthy. He can take a small rat because of his length, but going by the 10% standard, he can take 38.5 grams of food. Weaned rats for him... If you push it and do the 15%, then its somewhere around 45 grams thus the small rat. Not saying everyone follows this, but if you compare these numbers to something like a rat pup for a 17 incher, it just seems like way too much food. He said he hasn't weighed, but I'm guessing he's considerably less than my big guy.

based on this chart http://iansvivarium.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=75#p248
Rat fuzzies sound like the better choice with the standard 5-7 day feeding schedule.

I'm no expert but it just seems like obvious stuff people are disregarding here.