Signs of hunger, stress?

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Originally Posted by dr del ❤️

I'm sorry if I missed it but how are you heating the F/T rat fuzzy?

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I've thawed his rats - - pinky's so far, the next meal I'll offer is a fuzzy, by putting the prey item in a reclosable zipper bag and filling a tupperware container with water. The prey items that I've offered have been fully thawed, warm, and dry every time I've tried to feed him, it was one of the first things I checked to make sure I was heating his prey right when he refused food for the first time.

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Originally Posted by iddah

I've thawed his rats - - pinky's so far, the next meal I'll offer is a fuzzy, by putting the prey item in a reclosable zipper bag and filling a tupperware container with water. The prey items that I've offered have been fully thawed, warm, and dry every time I've tried to feed him, it was one of the first things I checked to make sure I was heating his prey right when he refused food for the first time.

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have you tried scenting the room for like, 30min to an hour before offering?

When ours wouldn't eat, I covered the entire tank...even the front...with paper and didn't so much as peek at him. Then waited about 5 days. Then I thawed the rat literally on top of the snake cage. Then blow dried it with a hair dryer in the room with the snake. This worked for us! Good luck!

UPDATE

Moved my boy from his viv to a new, 15qt tub setup today -- it's the same plastic IKEA storage tub I posted pics of earlier. The tub has been furnished with substrate, a ceramic water dish, and one low-ceiling plastic hide, situated on the warm side; he has a new heat mat, regulated by a t-stat. Temps and humidity are good, and I drilled ventilation holes into the tub to provide sufficient airflow. Again, like with his tank, I used black paper to cover the sides and back, even the lid, to minimize his stress and "visibility." As before, I have not handled him at all, except for a few minutes today when I moved him to the tub.

I also took his weight today, he has lost a couple of grams, and has gone 4 weeks w/o feeding now. This is his /first day/ in the new tub setup, I'll give him about two weeks, to see if he'll start eating now that he's housed in a more tighter and enclosed space. His next scheduled feeding is 09/16, and I still have him on a 7-day schedule. I also have f/t fuzzy rats for him ready in the freezer, upgraded from the pinky's he has been refusing, and I'm planning on scenting the room properly as well and letting his prey item thaw directly on top of his tub to see if that makes any difference. My plan now is letting him get acclimated to his tub, offer food, and make sure my husbandry stays on point.

If he still refuses to eat, the breeder has offered to take him back to get him eating again and get some weight on him but as of right now, this is how I'm going to proceed; and hopefully, my baby will de-stress and accept food.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/wIQjocY.png

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Originally Posted by iddah

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/wIQjocY.png

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i see you, Solidus!!!


thank you for the update! that's good on the breeder for working something out with you, but hopefully it doesn't come to that!

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Originally Posted by tttaylorrr

i see you, Solidus!!!


thank you for the update! that's good on the breeder for working something out with you, but hopefully it doesn't come to that!

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He started exploring the tub right away but already went inside his hide a couple of times, I'm gonna let him do his thing and then offer him a fuzzy on the scheduled feeding day, I know he may not take it right away, but I'm really hoping he'll start eating in the tub. His breeder has been really helpful and supportive, I don't want it to come to that, either, but if that's what it takes to get him to eat, I'll gladly give him away for awhile until he's bigger and eating. So far, so good, though, I'll keep the updates coming.

Hide looks too big. You need to have 2, one on hot side and one on cool side. That tub looks a bit on the small side relative to the size of the hide and water bowl. Probably alright if you had appropriately sized hides.

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Originally Posted by SiXandSeven8ths

Hide looks too big. You need to have 2, one on hot side and one on cool side. That tub looks a bit on the small side relative to the size of the hide and water bowl. Probably alright if you had appropriately sized hides.

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I've been looking for a size S plastic hide but I can't find one, they're sold out/unavailable on every pet store near me as well as from the two online reptile stores in my country, he has however been using that hide since I got him, it's medium size, and I've also added paper towels inside it to make it seem more crowded for him. I am aware two hides are normally recommended, and he did have two, while he was still kept in a viv setup. This is temporary, until he starts eating.

The tub is small (15qt; and an even smaller one was recommended but that size is what I had in hand) on purpose, did you even read what my thread is about? I am following the instructions from this post to the best of my ability / what resources are available to me at this time to get my baby to start eating.

In terms of hides for the smaller ones I have always used plant pot saucers with one hole cut in the side ( twice the width of the snakes widest part).

I think the low ceiling helps to add to the feeling of security somehow - you can bed it down in the substrate to ensure it is the correct height to touch their back when inside. :)

The hide is absolutely too big. The plant saucer or a paper towel cardboard end will be the way to go. The little guy is looking for a place to set up camp and grab his prey items. All your other husbandry and environmental setup seems on point. He needs a very small hide right away.