live feeding...

hey guys i just got a ball python from my local pet store it is a wild caught snake i tryed feeding her a live mouse earlyer today but she didnt take it so im just guessing she wasnt hungry but if she turns out to be a picky eater than what do i do? if anyone has any tips that would be nice.:gj:

oh and one more thing....... she comes out alot at night almost as if she were looking for food. okay thanks for reading.. :):):):)

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Originally Posted by Mrgbb

hey guys i just got a ball python from my local pet store it is a wild caught snake i tryed feeding her a live mouse earlyer today but she didnt take it so im just guessing she wasnt hungry but if she turns out to be a picky eater than what do i do? if anyone has any tips that would be nice.:gj:

oh and one more thing....... she comes out alot at night almost as if she were looking for food. okay thanks for reading.. :):):):)

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Congrats first off :gj:.Now please leave her alone in her enclosure for a week to adjust to the new home.You can change the water but no touching :colbert:

They are nocturnal. They're gunna be more active at night then any other time.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

Congrats first off :gj:.Now please leave her alone in her enclosure for a week to adjust to the new home.You can change the water but no touching :colbert:

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thannks =]
i figured that i let her explore the enclosure whene she comes out..... but that wasnt the main reason i posted thi thread its because im kinda affraid to feed her live for the risk of injuries but also if she doesnt eat than what should i do? because ive heard that wild caught snakes always have trouble feeding.....

Look if u feed live. Say u put mouse in (20-30 mins tops) say it does start to bite the snake stick something in the mouth. pencil ur finger whatever this will put that to a end :P

If it goes to scratch it just hold the feet lol

Never leave it in more then 20-30 mins tho and when it takes it if u see anything go wrong just help the snake out.

I had a mouse start to scratch ours just held the feet. It messed up like 2-3 scales nothing big didnt hurt snake

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Originally Posted by Mrgbb

thannks =]
i figured that i let her explore the enclosure whene she comes out..... but that wasnt the main reason i posted thi thread its because im kinda affraid to feed her live for the risk of injuries but also if she doesnt eat than what should i do? because ive heard that wild caught snakes always have trouble feeding.....

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Sadly the refusing to eat is common in wild caughts.Since your not sure if she is going to eat or not yet dont get yourself worried.Did the pet store say she ate for them yet? If so what was it?

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Originally Posted by joepythons

Sadly the refusing to eat is common in wild caughts.Since your not sure if she is going to eat or not yet dont get yourself worried.Did the pet store say she ate for them yet? If so what was it?

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the pet store just got her the day before i picked her up the guy drove out to nj to get her for me:cool:
so the guy had no clue if the snake ate or not i asked but he he didnt know.... so i guess im just gunna have to wait and see.:)

My mom bought me my ball python from a pet store for Christmas. Couldve been a wild catch but im not sure. Dont be discouraged if he/she doesnt eat for a while. I got Max(my bp) on Xmas day. The pet store said he ate the Monday before that (you cant always believe what they say. The just want to sell you something) So we judged off that. So we tried feeding him every Monday for 3 weeks and NOTHING didnt even strike at the mouse we tried to feed him. On the 4th week he finally ate. Just offer food to your snake once a week and if he/she doesnt eat dont be discouraged. Wait exactly a week and try again. If your going to feed it live watch and make sure the mouse doesnt hurt the snake (scrath, bite, etc) and then turn out the lights and let it eat in some privacy. Personally I watch the strike cause its fascinating to me then i turn out the lights and leave him alone. Again dont be discouraged and dont be afraid to ask anymore questions. Were all here to help.

Good Luck!
Corey

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Originally Posted by f4n70m

Look if u feed live. Say u put mouse in (20-30 mins tops) say it does start to bite the snake stick something in the mouth. pencil ur finger whatever this will put that to a end :P

If it goes to scratch it just hold the feet lol

Never leave it in more then 20-30 mins tho and when it takes it if u see anything go wrong just help the snake out.

I had a mouse start to scratch ours just held the feet. It messed up like 2-3 scales nothing big didnt hurt snake

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yea i had it in the enclosure for about 15 mins and the snake just looked at it with like confussion:confused: lol sometimes the snake would start to creep up on it but than the mouse would go sniff the snake and she would jump back like shes afraid of it.....

@cweimer4 i watch till is dead and he starts to go for the head. Not like little scratches or a little bite would do much dmg but i also dont want him looking all jacked up ya know

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Originally Posted by cweimer4

My mom bought me my ball python from a pet store for Christmas. Couldve been a wild catch but im not sure. Dont be discouraged if he/she doesnt eat for a while. I got Max(my bp) on Xmas day. The pet store said he ate the Monday before that (you cant always believe what they say. The just want to sell you something) So we judged off that. So we tried feeding him every Monday for 3 weeks and NOTHING didnt even strike at the mouse we tried to feed him. On the 4th week he finally ate. Just offer food to your snake once a week and if he/she doesnt eat dont be discouraged. Wait exactly a week and try again. If your going to feed it live watch and make sure the mouse doesnt hurt the snake (scrath, bite, etc) and then turn out the lights and let it eat in some privacy. Personally I watch the strike cause its fascinating to me then i turn out the lights and leave him alone. Again dont be discouraged and dont be afraid to ask anymore questions. Were all here to help.

Good Luck!
Corey

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thanks =] were you feeding f/t or live? when you first got max?

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Originally Posted by Mrgbb

yea i had it in the enclosure for about 15 mins and the snake just looked at it with like confussion:confused: lol sometimes the snake would start to creep up on it but than the mouse would go sniff the snake and she would jump back like shes afraid of it.....

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Yea look. Wait a week from ur last feed. Then try once every week. What are u trying to feed it??

Dont try to keep offering food. Think of it this way. You want some1 to keep shoving food in ur face when u dont want to eat? Thats how a snake would feel and just stress em out

Im sure he will eat sooner or later..

Just make sure ur temps are on key and make sure he feels secure. Tank not to big. Small hides. All that :)

Good luck im off to bed :)

Edit: Idk just me i would not try f/t if its wild caught i doubt he would go for that i would try smaller mice (If im wrong guys feel free to correct me)

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Originally Posted by f4n70m

Yea look. Wait a week from ur last feed. Then try once every week. What are u trying to feed it??

Dont try to keep offering food. Think of it this way. You want some1 to keep shoving food in ur face when u dont want to eat? Thats how a snake would feel and just stress em out

Im sure he will eat sooner or later..

Just make sure ur temps are on key and make sure he feels secure. Tank not to big. Small hides. All that :)

Good luck im off to bed :)

Edit: Idk just me i would not try f/t if its wild caught i doubt he would go for that i would try smaller mice (If im wrong guys feel free to correct me)

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okay thanks =] sounds good to me =]:):):) gooooodnight:salute:

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Originally Posted by Mrgbb

thanks =] were you feeding f/t or live? when you first got max?

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I fed him live and still do. I tried f/t but i went back to it simply because he refused the 2 of them that I tried.

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Originally Posted by f4n70m

@cweimer4 i watch till is dead and he starts to go for the head. Not like little scratches or a little bite would do much dmg but i also dont want him looking all jacked up ya know

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Wrong one bite in the right area and the snake is dead! :weirdface If you wait until the snake is settled in you should have no problems.If it refuses to eat let us know and we can share some ways to get it to eat for you :gj:

Not that it really matters now, but I see two things (one for sure) wrong with this. Why did you buy a wild caught bp from a pet store? Buying from the pet store is only mariginally questionable, but buying wild caught is borderline ridiculous.

There are tons of breeders out there with an abundance of normal captive bred bp's, and even after shipping many times they are cheaper than a pet store. Wild caught bp's are notorious for having parasites and being problem feeders -- why would you want to do that to yourself?

Anyway, I guess what's done is done -- good luck!!

George

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Originally Posted by joepythons

Wrong one bite in the right area and the snake is dead! :weirdface

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Maybe if the mouse is alot bigger. I dont see a small mouse doing that much dmg from one bite :confused:

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Originally Posted by chapskis1

Not that it really matters now, but I see two things (one for sure) wrong with this. Why did you buy a wild caught bp from a pet store? Buying from the pet store is only mariginally questionable, but buying wild caught is borderline ridiculous.

There are tons of breeders out there with an abundance of normal captive bred bp's, and even after shipping many times they are cheaper than a pet store. Wild caught bp's are notorious for having parasites and being problem feeders -- why would you want to do that to yourself?

Anyway, I guess what's done is done -- good luck!!

George

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yea well i got it pretty cheap because the guy in the pet store told me it was captive bred and when i got home i found 2 ticks on it so i went back the next day and he gave me some of my money back lol i was gunna give it back but i like her to much lmao yea if i knew she was wild caught i wouldnt have got her.:oops:

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Originally Posted by f4n70m

Maybe if the mouse is alot bigger. I dont see a small mouse doing that much dmg from one bite :confused:

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Wrong :colbert:.What would you do if i placed you in a cage with a much larger then you lion? You would fight! The size of the creature does not matter its who gets the kill shot first ;)