Feeding at night

If you just moved him to a new enclosure you'd probably want to wait at least a couple of days before you offer food.. he'll be a bit stressed from moving to a different cage and won't be likely to eat.

You need to wait atleast a week. Does he have water and heat in his new enclosure? Is the mouse live you plan on leaving in overnight? Out of my 40 ball pythons I only have 4 or 5 that will eat pre killed. The rest of them have to be fed live. Never leave them unattended when feeding live.

I would really recommend you leave him alone at least a week to get that secure feeling. Be very careful about leaving prey in overnight! Sometimes I will leave a rat pinky or a mouse hopper but nothing bigger than that. Mice can be worse than rats for chewing on a non eating snake. Give him a week break and then try a hopper for 15 min and see what happens.:gj:

Incase any body reads this i put him in a 10 gallon with abunch of hides so he feels safer and in 1 week i am gonna put a small mouse in his viv and hopefully he bites.

Its my theory that many new owners have problems feeding their snakes not only because of less than optimal husbandry requirements but also because they fail to notice the signs of "eating mode". If all your husbandry (heat, enclosure size, humidity, etc.) is optimal and your still not getting a strike then maybe its because you are making movements that throw you snake out of hunting mode and into defensive mode.

A curios snake with constant tongue flicking is a good sign. When my snake tastes around with short jerky movements than I know its in eating mode. If I slowly lower a prey item into the enclosure and wiggle it, he will strike. Now if I open the lid fastly and show that I'm not feeding but lets say cleaning he will retreat into his hide.

Have you tried wiggling the mouse to intice the snake? If it retreats or balls up you know its not in feeding mode, but if it gets closer and starts to investigate thats a good sign. Just keep wiggling it until he gets closer and closer and then BAM! You need a change of pants. (Feeding tongs are highly recommended for this approach).

Hope I didn't confuse you.

Austin

My snake has only demenstarated this behavior once with a live mouse but the slightest movement will put him on the edge witch makes my snake particulary hard to deal with so i belive my new setup will help.

In my new set up everything is really close togeather theres not alot of floor room with nothin on it but i still have the right temps on each hide and a water bowl. is this gonna be a problem.

also he chooses not to hide in his hides but behind a half long decorated with plants he uses the plants as cover i recon he did this when he was in the 20 gallon aswell

Its good that you recognized this behavior. Once you really get familiar with your snake you will know how to move and such around it without throwing it out of feeding mode. Slow, smooth motions usually work with mine. Overtime my snake has become less sensative to movement. I'm sure yours will too.

Austin

I have one snake that seems to be easily frightened of her prey, yet she won't eat the frozen thawed. I just give her a tight and secure hide where she can observe the prey item and strike when she is comfortable. It may also pay to leave her alone COMPLETELY for two weeks before attempting feeding again. I also feed my snakes at night.

well i moved him into his new enclosure wensdaty and i was planning on trying to feed him again next wensday should i wait a 2 weeks or just one i will try to get pics of the new enclosure here soon so you guys can crtique it.

Here is my setup

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...tank_thumb.jpg


the lamp on top is only a 7.5w light i found at my work it dosnt suck humity and it provides a photocycle and i can view him during the day.