Just ate for the first time :)

Hey everybody, before you read this, I know I went against everything that you're supposed to do when you get a new Bp, but thankfully I was lucky.

I got her yesterday morning and she's been hanging in her tub since then, she didn't feed on wednesday(her usually feeding day) buts that's not because she wasn't hungry, it's cause the place simply ran out of mice. I saw her in her hide with her head hanging out and knew she was hungry. So I put her in her feeding box today, dropped the mouse in there, and BAM she took it like a champ. But what I'm going to do now is wait another week, feed her, wait 48 hours and then try to handle her. Just thought I would share my first successful feed with y'all :)

Congrats on a successful feeding!

Congrats but also remember that the things you're supposed to do are simply a guideline. Every snake is different and it sounds like yours doesn't stress as easily as some do. That's a good thing, especially if you want to handle him a lot. :)

Awesome!! Congratulations and hope your snake keeps it up. It's so exciting when you reach milestones like that. Glad she's doing better and keeping stress down, and you're being very patient.

:gj:

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Originally Posted by Dracoluna

Congrats but also remember that the things you're supposed to do are simply a guideline. Every snake is different and it sounds like yours doesn't stress as easily as some do. That's a good thing, especially if you want to handle him a lot. :)

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X2 you beat me to it........you will hear a million things from a million people about eating, but every snake is different. Use what you read to find out what your animal likes.

Oh yes I will be handling her a lot :P

Oh also, does anybody else's BP cruise around the cage after eating? I thought she would go into her hide and digest, but nope she's just crushing around lol and the mouse was big enough so I know she can't be hungry still. anybody else's do this?

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Originally Posted by Trackstrong83

Oh also, does anybody else's BP cruise around the cage after eating? I thought she would go into her hide and digest, but nope she's just crushing around lol and the mouse was big enough so I know she can't be hungry still. anybody else's do this?

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Still hungry

She's just on the lookout for more food. You don't need to feed her anymore though, she doesn't necessarily need to be absolutely stuffed. You might be able to feed her two next week though if you want and if you think she'll take. ;) What size are the mice?

Oh man still hungry? So should I just wait until next week to feed her something bigger? Ill have my scale in then so I'll be exactly sure to get a mouse 15% . I had to eyeball it tonight.

My 2 cents.....I never go by percentages. The prey should be as thick or just slightly thicker then the thickest point of the snake. If your snake is searching for another, present another one see if he takes it.

Well that's the thing I won't have anymore mice until tomorrow. sooo should I just wait until next week to feed her more?

Again just my opinion someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I say let the snake digest his meal and feed him the bigger meal next week

Yeah I mean the mouse was decent size for her, but like I said I just had to eyeball it tonight. So I'll wait until next week and giver her a bigger mouse.

Just wait until your next feeding day and get something that's the same size or slightly larger than the largest part of your snake. It should leave a noticeable lump in his belly. Trust me, he won't actually go hungry before next week though he may act like he is. Also, some snakes will always act hungry. My big female corn will eat until she bursts given the opportunity because they are opportunistic predators. If you feed him tomorrow, you will change his feeding schedule and he'll have the first meal partially digested with another one that is just starting. Also, they will act hungry right after feeding sometimes. My more aggressive feeders all do that. It's just a personality thing.

Congrats on the first feed! I got my first BP about 2 weeks ago, and I too fed the day after he arrived... Such an amazing feeling seeing your first snake pound his first meal! :D

3rd feeding is tomorrow, fingers crossed! :D (trying a rat pup for the first time, hoping he takes it as well as he took his hoppers XD )

Ashleigh, yessss I'm still so happy that she ate :D :D . Ball pythons being the notorious picky eaters they are I was so happy to see her snatch that mouse REAL quick for the first time lol I'll wait until next Friday, and feed her a bigger mouse .

Also, is the 48 hour after feeding thing a guideline? Or is it actually fact that the snake takes that long to digest its food?

I would wait till the next feeding day to for more food.

I offer all of my newbies a meal on the first or second day, so I am not sure about that guideline.

As far as handling 48hr later, the point seems to be preventing regurgitation.

Jinx, yeah ill just wait until next friday and offer her a slightly bigger mouse. I'm so happy she took the mouse right away. Made my day :)
And yeah I know the 48 hour rule, but what if the meals wasn't that big? Like I said I had to eyeball the mouse tonight since my scale hasn't come in the mail yet. So you still think I should obey the 48 hour rule?

Since this is the first feeding with this snake, I would obey the 48 hour rule. The reason you don't want to handle them is it can stress them into a regurge which can be rather damaging to the snake. Personally, I know I can handle my corns before, during, and after a feeding but they don't stress at all now. With any new snakes that come in, I obey the 48 hour rule until I know that their temperament will allow me to handle them without stress. You do have to be very careful if you handle though because if they drop to the floor or something scares them enough, that can also cause a regurge. I realize it's tempting especially since you just got him but give him another day and you can play with him without much worry. If you really want to spend time with him now, open his tank and pet him. That will also allow you to gauge how he's doing with contact after feeding. If he shows signs of stress though, leave him be.