non-eater-need advice

Thanks for the advice. I have a zoo med thermometer in the center of the tank, and then a digital thermometer and hygrometer about 1.5 inches above the cage floor on the warm side of the tank. i made my own hides by taking some small clay (ceramic?) plant saucers and chipping off a small part of the edge allowing the snake to go into it. i sanded down the sharp corners making sure there are no edges that could in anyway hurt the snake, no matter how hard he might try to push against it. after that I put both saucers in boiling water so they could become sterilized.
I tried to make sure the mouse was thoroughly warm by allowing it to soak in warm-hot water for a while.
I have been trying to feed him in his main cage as I thought that moving him might stress him to much before feeding time.
I handle him once every ten days or so, not for more than ten minutes at a time.

I forgot to add that I use a basking lamp on the warm side for about 8 hours a day to get the tmps that warm. i might try to go a week without the lamp because i have noticed that as soon as i turn the lamp, within 5 minutes he goes to the cool side hide. I will try to skip out on the lamp for a while and see if that doesnt help his feeding response.
thanks for all the advice! I will keep giving updates, I'm pretty confident he will eat soon. He has got to be starving :./

Joe's two cents.

After you thaw out the mouse and it is nice and warm. Use a paper towel or rag and gently rub the little mouse down to get any moisture off. The moisture on the outside of the mouse gets cold very quickly and can be a turn off for the snake.

Though this is a small detail it could be the problem.

I had a snake that didn't eat for about 5 months and asked for help on here and got the best advice ever! I was told to crumple up newspaper and almost fill the cage with it, it makes them feel more secure, not so much open space. I did that and sure enough, tried a live mouse five days later and he ate it!! He's been eating like a pig ever since :banana: Thanks again Fatboy!! :gj:

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Originally Posted by nitroball

I had a snake that didn't eat for about 5 months and asked for help on here and got the best advice ever! I was told to crumple up newspaper and almost fill the cage with it, it makes them feel more secure, not so much open space. I did that and sure enough, tried a live mouse five days later and he ate it!! He's been eating like a pig ever since :banana: Thanks again Fatboy!! :gj:

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That's a great tip that's been passed down from Kevin McCurley.

It sounds like you're doing everything correctly from what you've described, but I would try to stick with live. Try the newspaper trick and offer a live mouse in about a week (leaving the newspaper in).

Watch for lurking behavior (head out of the hide, looking interested in its surroundings) and that will be a great time to offer the food.

If push comes to shove, I am somewhat local to you (I live in Marietta) and would be happy to try to help you out, even if that's helping you with setting up an even smaller enclosure with a tub set-up that may also help get a reluctant feeder to eat for you.

thanks everyone for the advice! the newspaper seems like it might be a good idea, i had never even considered doing that. Today I did not turn on the light and the temp has been at about 83 degrees with 52% humidity. he has been much more active too, i came home and he was on his branch, so it was encouraging to see more activity, perhaps a sign that he is more comfortable now and possibly ready to take a mouse. im going to wait until next thursday to feed him again so he can get more used to a schedule. I use aspen snake bedding on top of paper towels as my substrate, if that makes a difference.
I think i will try for another live feeder on thursday, i think a live mouse will stimulate a better feeding response.
Also, i did dry off the mouse before introducing it into the cage, he just did not seem interested.

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Originally Posted by tuggernuts

thanks everyone for the advice! the newspaper seems like it might be a good idea, i had never even considered doing that. Today I did not turn on the light and the temp has been at about 83 degrees with 52% humidity. he has been much more active too, i came home and he was on his branch, so it was encouraging to see more activity, perhaps a sign that he is more comfortable now and possibly ready to take a mouse. im going to wait until next thursday to feed him again so he can get more used to a schedule. I use aspen snake bedding on top of paper towels as my substrate, if that makes a difference.
I think i will try for another live feeder on thursday, i think a live mouse will stimulate a better feeding response.
Also, i did dry off the mouse before introducing it into the cage, he just did not seem interested.

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83 degrees for the warm side is a little cool - see if you can keep temps on that end about 88-90 all the time. 80-82 would be good for the cool side.

Activity is normal in the evenings, but not something you want to see a lot of during the day time. A happy ball python is one that you rarely see, because he's tucked away inside his hide, feeling safe and secure.

When you see them with their heads peeking out of the hide actively watching their surroundings, that's the best time to drop in a live prey item.

Actually, being more active is a sign of stress. I never see my bps during the day, unles it's feeding day of course. Even then i only see my large female because she is a pig, and can smell a mouse.

Is 84 your warm side, or ambient? That's too cold for the warm side, it needs to be 90-92. What are you using for substate (floor cover). I used to use aspen, and found it was blocking too much heat, so I switched to paper towels and that us much better.

update! I bought a live feeder from petco yesterday, it was a brown adult mouse. I waited several hours after I turned off the light and it was completely dark in my room before I putt he mouse's cardboard container in the cage with my ball. Nothing happened for a while, and i was dissapointed that my ball didnt show more interest. so i went to bed and during the night the mouse chewed its way out of the cardboard container. I wen this morning to get the mouse out, but it's container was empty, and there was no mouse to be seen. i lifted up my ball's favorite hide and there he was, coiled up and with a big lump about halfway down his abdomen. so i feel extremely relieved, i was getting worried that he wasnt eating at all. thanks everyone for the advice! :gj:

also, since he hasnt eaten in a while before yesterday, would it be worth it to try to offer him another mouse today? i did not witness him eat the mouse, idk if there is way to tell if he would eat another one by watching the way he eats? just a thought. I would like to get him up to a bigger size and eventually on rats, i guess that just comes with time