Axel Feeding Day!!

If you have any spare paper towel or toilet paper rolls handy, I still recommend adding those in. Helps with some temporary clutter and "safe tunnel" travel and ball pythons seem to love it! My boy loves going through them all the time. Just make sure you toss them if they get wet or peed on.

I want to know a few things first because I am not sure if I have my information correct:

You just picked up this ball less than 2 weeks ago and have fed him twice and I take it from pictures you have been handling him during this time? Am I correct in these assumptions?

I take it you have not let him settle in completely undisturbed outside of water changes and waste removal?

The reasons I am asking this as it looks like you have him in a wide open space with open hides and might not have left him alone enough to feel secure. I ball that feels unsafe will rarely eat properly. I always recommend not doing a thing for 2 weeks before even offering food for the first time and never touching until you can be sure it is settled in. That can take up to a month with a skittish ball or one that was in non optimal conditions to start with.

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Originally Posted by SDA

I want to know a few things first because I am not sure if I have my information correct:

You just picked up this ball less than 2 weeks ago and have fed him twice and I take it from pictures you have been handling him during this time? Am I correct in these assumptions?

I take it you have not let him settle in completely undisturbed outside of water changes and waste removal?

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Yeah and? He has been fine and I will leave him alone BUT he only ate once and I TRIED to feed him again and yes I have been removing his waste and also water changes(daily water changes.)
I know that I need to let him settle in but if people said it was alright if I did it then I'll do it. AND NO i have held him once but I held him for like a min. probably less then a min.

I hope you can open up and accept critiques and advice form people who have gone through this before. It is important to understand the nature of this species and learn to read tell tale signs of stress which I am trying to gather through questions. There are well established methods to getting a problematic ball to not be problematic and I'll just say if you want some advice, just ask. I will step back and just wish you all the best in raising you little one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SDA

I hope you can open up and accept critiques and advice form people who have gone through this before. It is important to understand the nature of this species and learn to read tell tale signs of stress which I am trying to gather through questions. There are well established methods to getting at problematic ball to not be problematic and I'll just say if you want some advice, just ask. I will step back and just wish you all the best in raising you little one.

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Look I love help, but you seem like you were being an smart butt... But I do need to stop being "Over protective" or whatever I am doing. So, sorry please continue.

Your ball is stressed. You fed it once, great but you are not addressing the underlying symptoms of stress which is most likely due to a lack of allowing acclimation.

My advice is leave him alone. Don't do anything outside of water changes and waste removal for 2 weeks. Limit adding or moving anything. Some clutter is fine but don't move a hide he is in or disturb him and get in and out quickly. Reduce additional foot traffic around his enclosure (what you normally do now is just fine). Let your snake settle in.

Try and take a breath before responding to people too. We are all helping so there is no reason to have a guard up when someone asks a direct question or makes a direct statement. That is the nature of this hobby and is not coming from anything but love.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SDA

Your ball is stressed. You fed it once, great but you are not addressing the underlying symptoms of stress which is most likely due to a lack of allowing acclimation.

My advice is leave him alone. Don't do anything outside of water changes and waste removal for 2 weeks. Limit adding or moving anything. Some clutter is fine but don't move a hide he is in or disturb him and get in and out quickly. Reduce additional foot traffic around his enclosure (what you normally do now is just fine). Let your snake settle in.

Try and take a breath before responding to people too. We are all helping so there is no reason to have a guard up when someone asks a direct question or makes a direct statement. That is the nature of this hobby and is not coming from anything but love.

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I will do whatever you say that'll make my BP happy and I appreciate you coming back and helping.
I am sorry with what I am doing, just I am sick for one and I do have a lot of guard up.

Like I said thank you for coming back and helping!!

What about feeding him BTW?

When my ball python was a baby, his absolute favorite hides were ritz crackerful boxes that just had the bottom torn off. I offered him other ones too, but he absolutely loved his cracker boxes and would use them to the exclusion of all others. The little tab made a nice entrance so the flap could be left intact. Try going through whatever cardboard boxes you have hanging out and see if you can find some nicely sized ones to add to his tank. It'll give a more secure hide than the half logs and it's free.

Edit: also, as far as feeding, chill out and wait a week. Ball pythons have very slow metabolisms and he's already eaten once for you. He's not going to be hurt by a week without food. It will be ok

First make sure his temps and humidity are correct. If they are try to feed in a week in his enclosure. What size did you try to feed? What size did he take from you last time he actually ate?