another feeding question and a question on handling

hi guys

im new to royals/ball pythons. im from the uk. im part of a forum there which is great but its also a small community so takes a while for replies.

thats how i found myself here!

any way. ive had my ball for about 2 weeks now. last wednesday i assist fed him after leaving a fuzzy in his enclosure overnight which he did not take.

i let him settle in for one week before offering the fuzzy too. i was also aware he was being assist fed but as he is young i thought this was quite normal and purchased him off a private buyer any way.

last night, i offered him a fuzzy as i saw him out and about in his enclosure. he did not take it so i again left it inside his enclosure all night. this morning it was still there so i attempted to assist feed him. this time, not much luck and he didnt seem interested at all. where as last week he took quite easily.

i noticed it was stressing him a bit so i set him back in his enclosure and disposed of the fuzzy. (this is frozen, thawed btw).

now im concerned ive ruined our bond as i havent had him very long and literally last night was the first night i saw him roaming!

i really dont know what to do, i dont want to stress him out. i also dont want him going hungry.

i have been advised to leave him well alone for at least 3-4 weeks and only going inside his enclosure to change water, also do not offer any food.

he weighs 60grams empty right now which i thought was pretty light. infact, my blackberry torch weighs more than that!

am i worrying over nothing? his temps are spot on (32c in warm end) his humidity is fine 57% overall. he is in a RUB type container.

he has wood chippings as substrate and a little bit of decor.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

Welcome to BP.net a lot of people here will be able to help you with this issue,
i have a 10 week old ball that weighs around 86 grams which is pretty light aswell..

but balls can go months without eating with no ill effect...
but im sure more people will weigh in who will be 100% more helpful then me

but welcome to BP.net a fellow UKer!

Also balls are nocturnal so they will roam there cages at night, and sleep through the day.

hi,

yes im aware they are nocturnal. im still concerned. im at work constantly thinking about him.

thank you for the reply.

any other who wish to chime in please do. all help will be appreciated.

Welcome to Bp.net.......I went through the sane thing...I bought a baby that hadn't ate yet...I assist fed him 4 times (months worth)and still couldn't get him to eat...so I asked advice and was told to leave him completely alone for 14 days except to change water.....well on day 14 I dropped rat pup in and he slammed the poor little guy with such fury....I think by assist feeding and offering him food too much he was horribly stressed...he has now fed the last 3 weeks on his own....so my advice is to be patient buddy...I worried sick to the point where it affected my life by the lil guy not eating..and looking back now if I was to do it again I would of only of assist fed once.then waited 14 days for him to calm way down..then offered a live rat pup...your lil guy ate once,so I would just wait 10-14 days then try a LIVE rat pup or mouse hopper....it usually takes live to get them started and get the feeding response going..hope this helps...

Thank you for the great reply. I think it's illegal to feed live in the uk though

Any other tips?

I would not handle him until you get him eating well, treat him like a hatchling, food first and once he's eating well then handle him.
You will be able to bond with him after he's secure enough to eat on his own.
I would also try to make sure the f/t was properly warmed up, blow dry the mouse just before offering it to the snake, about 90ish Fahrenheit(32 Celsius) will help get a feeding response.

Ok sure hank you. I'll leave him 14 days with only water changes. Then offer food

Oh..I didn't know it was illegal...sorry....also if he doesn't eat in 14 days you might have to do another assist feed depending on how much weight he lost in the 2weeks and how skinny he looks...if you do have to assist feed in 2 weeks,wait another 14 days and try feeding again...keep to this schedule and I promise you he will eventually eat for you...

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Also can I get a picture of his tub and a picturee of him please...that will help me out alot so I can look at your setup...im no expert by any means.but I went through hell trying to get my hatchling to eat.so I feel obligated to help others out to save them the stress I went through...

ok ive done some research and it isnt illegal. just frowned upon.


however like you say i will wait 14 days then off thawed out food. if he really isnt eating after a month i will get hold of one live prey item, just to get him feeding.

http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/r...14346779_n.jpg

http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/r...49530992_n.jpg

http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/r...30712488_n.jpg

http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/r...92120456_n.jpg
thank you for the response.

Well, if its not illegal, I would try leaving a live, rat pup (with eyes closed still) in with him overnight and just leave him be in a dark quite room. Chances are it will be gone. Try this after you have let him settle in for a week or two with no handling, so he isn't stressed out. Also make sure he has two secure, snug hides. Sometimes it takes eating live a few times to get them going. Good luck with your baby!

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

He looks just like my lil guy did when I got him...I also forgot to mention..I took black paper and blacked out the sides of my rub....you can also try that...and honestly I wouldn't keep trying f/t...you can switch him later down the road...we need ti get him eating first..so live rat pup pr mouse hopper like the guy above me said...anymore questions don't hesitate to ask..I check this thread several times a day...and will continue until your lil guy eats

balls are known for going months without feeding. true, but this is a hatchling. they can still go some time. but 2 months would be pushing it without any feeding.
what size is the tub he's in?
what type of wood chips? what's it made out of?

you need to try a LIVE small hopper mouse. once he feeds 3 to 5 times then switch him to a freshly killed one. after he takes that you can try f/t.
you need to get a good feeding response. the best way is to start with live. some will take f/t right away. he won't, the breeder couldn't get him to feed. he might be tough to get to feed even with live.

when I can't get one to start feeding on it's own. and it's time for assist feeding. I assist feed something that's smaller than what would be offer. after a few assist feedings they still won't feed. I assist feed 5 times every other day. then I stop for 14 days. this will give him something inside and get the digestive track working, also without being feed the 14 days, will give him time from all the stress and hopefully he will feel a little hunger and kick in a feeding response. leeve him alone as much as possible, no handling. no looking, just check on his water and what is needed. then slowly open his enclosure and place a small hopper, without him knowing that you are there. I usually do this when the room can be dark also. I wouldn't handle him until he feeds 3 to 5 times on what you want him to feed on. don't worry it won't make him harder to handle.

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also if you have to assist feed, I saw a good sticky on this site for assist feeding.

hi last time he ate was 20th of june and the time before that was about week before (so the seller told me). he wouldnt eat on 27th. hence why im here.

i dont know where i can get hold of live food. i will offer f/t again in 14 days and if i get no response i will do my best to find live.

hes got beech chips. ive added pics of his enclosure to this thread. just have a look on the previous page.

thanks for chipping in guys, appreciate it.

Ok I got too tempted today. Thawed a fuzzy, left it on part of his heatmatt outside his rub for 15 mins to warm to 31c. Brained it, picked it up with tweezers and moved it about a bit just in the entrance to his hide. Before I knew what hit me(or more like the mouse) my snake absolutely nailed the fuzzy. He curled round him until he was "dead" then ate him up. To say I'm happy, proud and relieved is an understatement. Thanks again for all the help guys. I will now leave him for a few days to digest and carry on settling in.

Congrats :)

thank you, hopefully in about 7 days time he will eat again.

Yay! Glad he ate for you. That always make you feel good.

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I saw him roaming his enclosure the past 2 nights so I offered him another fuzzy which he glad snatched off the tongs and ate up. Will leave him for 10 days now and offer another one. So glad it looks like things are working out.

How big should I expect his stools to be?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tryme

hi guys

im new to royals/ball pythons. im from the uk. im part of a forum there which is great but its also a small community so takes a while for replies.

thats how i found myself here!

any way. ive had my ball for about 2 weeks now. last wednesday i assist fed him after leaving a fuzzy in his enclosure overnight which he did not take.

i let him settle in for one week before offering the fuzzy too. i was also aware he was being assist fed but as he is young i thought this was quite normal and purchased him off a private buyer any way.

last night, i offered him a fuzzy as i saw him out and about in his enclosure. he did not take it so i again left it inside his enclosure all night. this morning it was still there so i attempted to assist feed him. this time, not much luck and he didnt seem interested at all. where as last week he took quite easily.

i noticed it was stressing him a bit so i set him back in his enclosure and disposed of the fuzzy. (this is frozen, thawed btw).

now im concerned ive ruined our bond as i havent had him very long and literally last night was the first night i saw him roaming!

i really dont know what to do, i dont want to stress him out. i also dont want him going hungry.

i have been advised to leave him well alone for at least 3-4 weeks and only going inside his enclosure to change water, also do not offer any food.

he weighs 60grams empty right now which i thought was pretty light. infact, my blackberry torch weighs more than that!

am i worrying over nothing? his temps are spot on (32c in warm end) his humidity is fine 57% overall. he is in a RUB type container.

he has wood chippings as substrate and a little bit of decor.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

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Not to be rude but NEVER leave a mouse in the cage overnight!!. I cannot stress this enough. They attack the snake if they get hungry or feel like chewing. http://www.mccarthyboas.com/BoaWithRatBites00.JPG
Also make sure you are monitering the temperature on both sides of the tank and the humidity should be between 50%-70%. Temps should be at abought 89 at the basking spot and on the cool side about 82-85. If the humidity is low try misting. Humidity and temp issues are a cause of stress and can make your ball not eat. Also if he was eating live before some will refuse F/T so you will have to feed live.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bpownerjoey

Not to be rude but NEVER leave a mouse in the cage overnight!!. I cannot stress this enough. They attack the snake if they get hungry or feel like chewing. http://www.mccarthyboas.com/BoaWithRatBites00.JPG
Also make sure you are monitering the temperature on both sides of the tank and the humidity should be between 50%-70%. Temps should be at abought 89 at the basking spot and on the cool side about 82-85. If the humidity is low try misting. Humidity and temp issues are a cause of stress and can make your ball not eat. Also if he was eating live before some will refuse F/T so you will have to feed live.

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even if its been dead in the freezer for two weeks with its throat slit by the reptile shop i purchased it from?

also, temps and humidity is spot on and he has been feeding for 2 weeks now. non assist.

thank you for the feedback.

You can leave frozen ones, not live

Now that he's eating on his own, there's no need to make him wait so long between feedings. Feed him at least every five days, since he's so small.

I was going to wait 7 days. Would 5 be more ideal?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tryme

I was going to wait 7 days. Would 5 be more ideal?

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Yes 5 is good for small snakes. After a year or two they can go to every 7 days.

cool thanks ill try again on thursday then. :gj:

He's eating every 5 days now, thanks