advice please

Got a quick question y'all...I got my first ball python about 7 weeks ago...he is in a 10 gal blacked out tank with a 91 deg hot spot,and a 82 deg cool side with both a warm and cool side hide...long story short is my hatchling wouldn't eat the first 3 weeks and was deteriorating really fast since he had never had a meal.so I started assist feeding him,I have assist deeded a total of 4 times(every wed).my question is should I keep assist feeding?I always offer a live hopper mouse and a rat pup for a few hours...then assist feed since he wont take either...should I stop assist feeding and let nature take its course and hope hinger takes over?also I have never handled him since ownership so stress shouldn't be a factor....please help guys n gals...im desperate...thanks for your time-jonny-

I'd stop assist feeding now, give him some time to get hungry and figure it out. In about ten days leave a small hopper in with him, turn off the light and leave the room for a little bit hopefully this will do the trick.

Also I have tried feeding at night....tried feeding in a deli large cup also.....also tried leaving a f/t hopper overnight in his cage....and tried leaving a rat pup overnight also....what do y'all think my next options are?continue assist feeding?

Awesome....thank you very much....I've been stressing out over this...I really appreciate it...I will wait 10 days and give it a try...I will let you know the outcome..thanx again

A snake going off food for 3 weeks is not an issue. That's not even that long for hatchlings. Unless they are losing weight drastically. So if he actually was deteriorating so fast in that short of time like you said there could be something wrong with his health. An internal parasite mabey. If it is true he was looking that bad that fast you should take it to the bet for a checkup.

I don't want you to be insulted but with this being your first snake there is a chance he was just off food and wasn't deteriorating as bad as you think and he would have been fine I you had just waited it out a little bit longer. Once you force feed that can just put them off food even more which could be why you are still having problems getting him to eat.

After re-reading your post I noticed you said he "had never had a meal". Is that true or do you mean he just hasn't had meal since you have had him. If it is true that he has NEVER had a meal then you never should have bought him. A breeder should never sell a snake if it hasn't eatten yet. Especially to a beginner. Sometimes getting a snake to eat their first couple meals can be tricky. If this is the case then it's not your fault at all it isn't eatting, but the breeders fault.

If it is only true that he only hasn't had a meal since you have owned him and he really is deteriorating like you states then a bet visit is important.

Again a lot of beginners just make mistakes with their first snake that could make them not eat and they get worried to easily and make wrong moves to try to fix the problem which can then make things worse. Remember I am not trying to be insulting but just stating this does happen.

When someone gets a new snake thy should always take at least one week( IMO 2 weeks) before they touch or feed the snake.

Right now if it was deteriorating like you said then do a vet visit. If it might have not been that bad then skip a feeding and try feeding it normally in acouple weeks instead of force feeding it. Continue not holding it durin that time and keep the setup good, which it sounds like it is.

Howany times have you tried feeding it before you started force feeding?

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Originally Posted by sprockett

Also I have tried feeding at night....tried feeding in a deli large cup also.....also tried leaving a f/t hopper overnight in his cage....and tried leaving a rat pup overnight also....what do y'all think my next options are?continue assist feeding?

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If you have been trying this many options in such a short period of time then I would believe it is the fact that you are trying too muh that could be keeping it off food.

When a snake isn't eatting most often the proper amount of time is al that is needed to get them to eat. Sometimes tryi something else a little can help. Most often trying something else too much just makes hints worse.

What are your exact temps not just cool side but warm (hot) side and ambient air temps and how are you measuring them. Small snakes usually eat well, the principal reasons why they do't are incorrect temps (high or low) and stress.

Your not insulting me..I like the blunt comments...I most definitely think I over reacted on him not eating....the pet store I gorging from said they were new hatchling only out of the egg for a week and just barely had there first shed.they were 10 bucks a piece...gosh I should of know right there..anyway I got him home and let him settle for a week..then tried feeding every 4 or 5 days for 3 weeks....he wouldn't eat and looked way skinny to me so I started assist feeding..he was 61 grams when I got him..then went to 55 when I started to assist feed...now he is at 80 grams....im an idiot...reading your post made me realize that I probably did more damage than good didn't I??

Assist feeding is such a stressful thing for a snake, and only should be used as a last resort. I can say that you are trying to feed it too often. Give it about 10 days then leave a live hopper in with it for a while.

Can you post pics of the snake and your setup?

Thanks heather....I will try...seems like 10 days is what y'all think I should wait.I really appreciate the advice...I've been stressing it....I will post pics of my lil guy(sprockets)and his setup...he is in a blacked out 10 gal aquarium with warm and cool side hide...hot spot low 90's and cool side low 80's with ambient temps in the mid 80's...and I use aspen bedding ontop of the butcherpaper that I put down first...and waterfowl is in middle of cage where it keeps humidity round 60%...I researched cage setups for months before I got this cool little bugger.but looks like my idiot self didn't research feeding like I should of...I got 2 corn snakes and they eat instantly any time of the day...so I overlooked the feeding of a ball python....plus it sounds like a huge mistake buying a hatchling that has never had a meal in its life....

Don't beat yourself up for buying a BP pretty much straight outta the egg. It would have been a better choice to buy an established snake but you got this one and all you can do is learn from it. Really the fault is in the store not you. They shouldn't have been selling snakes like that.

Corns and snakes deffinatly are different when it comes to eatting habits. BP's have a lot more eattin issues.

Wait the 10 days before trying to feed. If it was my snake i'd wait 2 weeks. Then try feeding it like normal. Do it later at night. Feed him in the tank. Do not move him to a different container. If someone has told you to put it in a different container they don't know what they are talking about. If you are feeding live just put it in the tank and leave it for a while. If f/t get a pair of tongs make sure the mouse/rat is good and warmed up and dangle it in the tank in front of the snakes hide. I assume it will be in The hide as they generally are. Don't stick the prey in the hide. Just dangle it a little in the aspen in front of it. If his hea is poking out of the hide a little just keep it in front of him. Let him go to the mouse don't get after him with it or it could scare him.

If he doesn't take it in a couple minutes warm it back up and try it again in a little bit 20 minutes - 1 hour. If he doesn't take it then just leave it in the tank over night. If it is still there in the morning wait another week and try that again.

Thank you for explaining it in detail for me.I really appreciate it....I wanted to keep asking questions but didn't want to get laughed at...noone else said what to do if it didn't work...but you did.you have answered all my questions...I will wait the 2 weeks instead of 10 days....give the lil bugger more time to chill and get hungry...another question...how long would those 4 assist feeds prolong his life if he don't eat?just so I don't worry my ass off if he wont take hopper in 14 days???thanx a million-jonny-

make sure these is lots of stuff in the tank too. fake plants or even balled up newspaper to give cover. Remember they are instinctively afraid of birds so over head cover is important to make a 'secure' feeling set up.

Basically if he isn't drastically loosing weight he could go a while with our having any problems. Healthy mature snakes can go months an months without eatting. Especially in the winter becuase that is their breeding period do they got something else in there mind beside food.

When they are hatchlings you need to be a little more warey. And yours is even a little more special case.

If it was mine this is what I would do if he still continued to not eat. Wait the 2 weeks. Then I would wait another week and try again. If not then I might try waiting another 2 weeks to feed again. As long as it is healthy looking and isn't dropping weight quickly (a gram or two here and there would be normal) I would probably wait 2 months before I started to worry. I'd most likely still wait it out longer but I would start to worry. Again this if the snake is still in good health during that time. I would react different if there was something wrong with its health.

Don't worry about asking questions. Better to have someone laugh at you then do something wrong. If people are just making fun of you then don't talk to them and just deal with those helpin you. This forum is here to ask questions.

You got more questions ask. If you are worried what people might think you can just PM people you know will help you.

Keep an eye on your snakes health. That's the most important thing. Like I said before that is how I would treat my snake in this situation but I would also change what I was doing if the snakes health changed. I just eyeball their health personally but if you want to measure the weight to help you out. Do that just not too often and don't do it a few days before you try to feed. Again make sure he is loosing too much weight. Also if he is becoming really lethargic that is a bad sign too. Which can be hard to tell swing as how balls don't really move much. But when you do take them out just to either check the weight or clean the tank(if needed) it is bad if he is more like a wet noodle.

Well im crossing my fingers.....went sown stairs and my baby is out milling around in the cage as usuall in the evening....tonight is the first feeding attempt since my original post...I just dropped the live hopper in there .....how long till I should go check on him??thanx guys n gals...gosh im nervous...I hope he eats

I'd leave him for 30 mins and check on him. Keep it completely dark, or as dark as possible and do not disturb him the entire time. If you check in 30 mins and he still hasn't eaten, give him some more time.

I have left hopper mice in with a snake over night and the next morning the prey was gone.

Ok.thanx heather.....im sooooo nervous....he is getting skinny and needs to eat....I will keep y'all ipdated

Wooooo hoooooo .....he ate heather....I just opened tub and he was back in his hide over hot side..so I lifted it up and there he sat curled up with a lovely NEW bulge in his tummy.....I honestly shed a tear....its been a long 2 months of worrying....I owe you and a few others a huge huge much appreciated THANK YOU...y'all saved my lil buddy life...im forever gratefulfor the advice...without y'all I would ofnever waited so long to try and feed again...so he would of probably never ate cuz of stress...sorryfor long post..im just overjoyed

Yay!!! I'm so happy and excited for you! Now try again in 5 days and I'm sure he will scarf it down for you again :gj:

I would wait a week before I fed again. Congrats man. Time pays off.

Glad to read that he ate for you, that's always a relief! And welcome to BP.net!

Im so relieved...thanx again van garret for the step by step instructions....you saved my lil buddies life...im speechless how helpful people are on this forum...I am honored to be a part of such a great group of people...I will be a all python keeperfor life