First snake, refused first meal. How long should I wait?

I picked up "Newman" about 10 days ago now and he refused his first F/T meal last night. Should I try again tonight with F/T again? Should I wait a week and try live?

He seems a bit stressed, moving around quite a bit during the day.

Whats the cage setup like?
Does he have 2 hides, one hot side, one cold side?
What are the temps/humidity at?

Feeding again too frequently can cause more stress. Wait a week before trying again. In the meantime, read over our CARESHEET and double-check your husbandry to make sure everything is dialed in to help the snake feel as comfortable and secure as possible.

The more exposed he is, and/or the more frequently he is messed with, the harder it will be for him to feel safe enough to eat in his new home.

first, make sure your husbandry is within proper range.
once you have that right (if its not already), you can try again tonight, but i would just set the rodent in the enclosure and leave it over night, instead of holding it in front of him, if its not gone by tomorrow, take it out and try again next week. if he refuses a couple more times, you can either mess with the temps of the rodents, or try live.
how are you thawing?

I only just ordered my Herpstat from Spyder (they were closed for the holidays) but my temps are dialed in. Right now humidity is at 51% (I mist when it dropps below 50), Hot side below substrate is 94.1 and cold side is 82.1.

Has two hides, one on either side, some fake plants to fill in the voids on either side, and a large water dish on the hot side and a small on the cool side just to keep the humidity up.

**Right side now has a similar plant to left**
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...1/IMG_9737.jpg

did you give him a good week or so to settle in?

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Originally Posted by UpNorth

I picked up "Newman" about 10 days ago now and he refused his first F/T meal last night. Should I try again tonight with F/T again? Should I wait a week and try live?

He seems a bit stressed, moving around quite a bit during the day.

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What was the breeder feeding him? You may need to make sure you are offering the same prey (rat/mouse, live/FT) for the first few feedings before changing to what you want to feed.

Yes let him settle for 4-5 days, had him out just to switch up his hides and add some plants but he was fine while handled.

Spoke to the guy where I bought him when I went to get feeders and the breeder had the lot of the young balls on F/T as well as live mice. I got frozen rat pups (a little on the small side). I did try to feed him fairly early at around 7:30pm.

If he is out and about tonight I may plop a feeder in and leave it, and if he doesn't take it I'll try again next weekend.

**I also just re-sealed the lid with a layer of plastic wrap, then 3 layers of foil. I am going to try to eliminate the heat lamp so the humidity doesn't drop as much.

One other thing I should note is that he is very curious. If someone walks into the room, I mist the cage, or any other small change he comes out to see what's going on. I really don't think I'll be able to convince my parents that Newman needs his own room.

Talked to my sister and he is apparently still out and about trying to get out of the cage. Temps are fine as double checked with my temp gun, humidity is low but in range (50%).

Think he is just hungry? Been almost two weeks since his last meal after he refused on Sunday.

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Originally Posted by UpNorth

Yes let him settle for 4-5 days, had him out just to switch up his hides and add some plants but he was fine while handled.

Spoke to the guy where I bought him when I went to get feeders and the breeder had the lot of the young balls on F/T as well as live mice. I got frozen rat pups (a little on the small side). I did try to feed him fairly early at around 7:30pm.

If he is out and about tonight I may plop a feeder in and leave it, and if he doesn't take it I'll try again next weekend.

**I also just re-sealed the lid with a layer of plastic wrap, then 3 layers of foil. I am going to try to eliminate the heat lamp so the humidity doesn't drop as much.

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Part of the refusal could be due to he was in mice and are trying rats...good luck

Go Noles >>-----;;>>

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Originally Posted by RetiredJedi

Part of the refusal could be due to he was in mice and are trying rats...good luck

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This I totally agree with.

We could get our bp to take rats for a few weeks but it took close to 30-45 minutes for live, sometimes an hour of stalking and ignoring. After awhile he had no interest BUT if we drop in a large mouse he's right on it. This says a lot considering that we've had our guy for 16 months and up to date has refused a grand total of 3 weekly feedings. He's just not interested in rats. Before attempting rats again I would try feeding him what he was getting before. There's quite a few tips to trick them into a switch when you have him eating regularly again. We are currently doing the switch to f/t. :rolleyes: Damn these finicky eaters anyways :P

When I was working in petstores, I would tell new snake owners like I am about to tell you.....leave him alone....don't look at him/her, or touch him/her for 6 days......then late in the evening, throw a live hopper, or small adult mouse in the tank......turn off the lights adn walk away......check on him in 15-20 minutes.....if the mouse if gone....great...if not, the snake was never eating.......

Jason

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Originally Posted by JTrott

then late in the evening, throw a live hopper, or small adult mouse in the tank......turn off the lights adn walk away......check on him in 15-20 minutes.....if the mouse if gone....great...if not, the snake was never eating.......

Jason

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Please, OH PLEASE don't live live prey in the enclosure unattended :( This is asking for bites.

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Originally Posted by WifeOfSlasher

Please, OH PLEASE don't live live prey in the enclosure unattended :( This is asking for bites.

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LOL.....i have over 100 snakes, and have better things to do besides watch each of them eat, plus, I don't have time. It already takes me over an hour to throw rats, go back and check who has eaten, and mark the tubs of animals that have not eaten. I would be willing to bet, as it has NEVER happeneded to me, that in 15-20 minutes, nothing will happen. Snakes get eaten by rats because idiots leave rats/mice unattended for long periods of time.

Do things the way you do, but don't ASSUME that because you read it on a caresheet, that is the way it is. That is the problem with caresheets. Some caresheets also say to remove the snake from its enclosure to feed it so it does not mistake your hand for prey.......REALLY.......that is the dumbest thing I have ever read.

Ball pythons can be sketchy eaters to begin with. Leave it alone. Don't look at it, or touch it for about a week. Throw a LIVE rat/mouse in the tank, and TURN THE LIGHTS OFF AND WALK AWAY. Do NOT leave it all night. Check back in 15-20 minutes, and if it is eating, it will eat. If it does not eat it, as previous people have posted, do not offer for another weak, but under NO CIRCUSTANCES handle the snake. You are just stressing it out.

I stand by my post.

Jason

Apparently this clutch was on both live mice and f/t rats. I'm going to try him again on the weekend and just toss in the f/t pup.

It might be the fluctuations in temp/humidity, went from +6 Celsius yesterday to -13 today outside.

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Originally Posted by UpNorth

I picked up "Newman" about 10 days ago now and he refused his first F/T meal last night. Should I try again tonight with F/T again? Should I wait a week and try live?

He seems a bit stressed, moving around quite a bit during the day.

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Just give him time to adjust to his new home. I would try once a week to feed him a f/t. If, he refuses still after a few week's? I wouldn't worry to much unless you see significant weight loss. A bp can go a long time without eating and will be just fine. Live would be a option to try but only temporarily. F/T is for me the best way and safest way to feed my constrictor's. Your last resort if he doesn't feed in say 6 month's would be to assist feed.

Thanks, that is the general consensus. If he was in fact on F/T before like the guy at the store said, I will just keep trying once a week with the frozen dudes (I bought 3 pups) until he eats.

I knew he was getting ancy during the day for a reason. Took the f/t pup in less than 20 seconds.