feeding issues

my ball python, witch ive had for two weeks i think still has not eaten. i know this is not unusual but im kindove dissapointed. i tried to feed him again today doing everything you guys told me to do and he seemed scared of the mouse. he just went under his hide spot. i read that that probably means he is stressed out and, if so, i would really like to know what it is. the temperature stays around 84 degrees farenhiet. somewhat warmer on the hot side. he likes both of his hides equally so that means hes probably regulating his body temperature. i have yet to obtain a hygrometer or whatever you call it. the humitity meter. i mist his cage about once a day. i have a vision model 211 and i have reptile bark substrate. if you guys have any infomation it would be greatly appreciated. tho i might not reply today because i gotta go to work in like ten minutes lol.

How big is he/she?

Are you feeding live? Pre-killed? Frozen/thawed? Do you know what he was eating before you bought him?

You sound a little vague about the temperatures. Do you measure specifics in the hot and cool ends of the cage? What sort of thermometer are you using? The little sitck-on dials you get at the pet store are notoriously inaccurate. You can go to Wal-Mart and get a really nice digital thermometer that will measure temps in two different spots at the same time, keep track of the low and high reached each day (so you can see how cool it really gets in there at night, AND measures the humidity.....all for about $15. If you don't have one of those, I highly recommend getting one.

Making sure your husbandry is the best it can be is a big step toward getting the little guy to relax and start eating. :)

Everything they said, plus it's not surprising for a BP not to be eating yet after two weeks in a new home. It's certainly not time to start stressing about it yet. I'd worry more about getting the device Judy described so well and making sure that all the temps and humidity are right. Those buggers are great for $15. I have several.

In what section of wally world can I get one of those bad boys!!?? I went there to look for one & all i could find was a crappy one. The thermo I got from Flukers screwed me up too. It is an analog one. It was measuring the hot side consistantly at between 83 & 89. Well, the last day or so, Jack has been spending an alarming amount of time on the cool side of the tank. It was worryin me a bit cuz when I picked him up he was freezing. I checked the temp again & this time it said that it was like 97 degrees!!! I said no wonder he has been avoiding the hot side. So, I took the heat lamp down & I will check his temp again later tonite. Again though, what section should I look in at Walmart for that dandy little 15 dollar thermo/hygro!!??

beats me eddie, i spent an hour in wal-mart last night and couldn't find one.

Eddie...Look in the lighting/hardware area. They have a variety of indoor/outdoor thermometers and timers and such. Don't be afraid to ask for help, searching. If they're just out of them, a salesperson should be able to let you know when they'll get more. You can probably find something similar at any decent hardware store, too.

Hey all, I've heard that WalMart has them in the Lawn and Garden section. I think it's supposed to be an outside thermo/hygro combo. Also I've seen the prices posted on here and other places from $10-$15. Hopefully that helped a little.

-Becky

Yep, I found it one aisle over from paint, with the other outdoor thermometers (like big analog ones).

cool, thanks marla.

I know that I sound silly but I just flat out love you guys!!! You are always there when i need ya!! LOL!! I will be headin over to walmart soon!!

Yeah, it took me forever to find it too. I had to ask somebody. Actually the first Walmart I went to didn't have one that also measured humidity. Maybe they were out of them. I went to another Walmart and they had it.

Hope your stores have 'em in stock, Will and Eddie. :) I actually stumbled onto them looking for a soldering iron (before i remembered I had one in the garage).

Yeah I stumbled upon them burried in the hardware area by a bunch of big ones you would see in like a garden or something... it has one probe and the digital display itself measures the humidity/temperature... I actually taped the probe inside the hot hide so i would know exactly what temp Icculus was at when he was in there and put the display itself in the tank on the cool side proped up next to the hide. The one I got was I think $13.99 it was the only thermo/hygro combo with a probe that wasn't wireless - do the wireless ones work well?

oh yeah putting the probe in the hide was Smulkin's Idea just so you guys know. No copyright infringement here! :lol:

LOL, it's all good Jonah. I haven't tried the wireless ones, but would be interested in hearing what anyone else has to say about them. The ones I got are like yours and run $14.88 here.

thanks il check out my local wal-mart for that thermomoter. i think i might know why my snake was avoiding the food. i looked at him this morning and his eyes were a cloudy blue, witch makes me think he is going to shed soon. i heard that pythons tend to go off feed during shed. is this correct?

Yes, most of them lose their appetite right about the time their eyes cloud over. A few of them will still eat, but most seem to just want to hide until it's all over with.

from what i read you're right on the ball - snakes don't like when they can't see, even though their eyesight isn't stellar. You are really going to want to get a Hygrometer ASAP if you suspect a shed... the more humidity the better and a good shed is a VERY good thing a bad shed can be a VERY BAD thing. You'll want to up your humidity to around 60-70% (is that right?) during the shed and make sure your guy is soaking or you may want to soak him if you suspect he doesn't have enough hydration. Normally you want humidity around 50-60% at least from what I've read. Shed requires more as the old skin must slide off revealing the new, moisture helps in this process. These guys know way more than I though that's just what i've learned reading and posting.

That's an excellent point, Jonah. If he's about to shed, you gotta get the humidity fixed in the next couple of days. If nothing else, you can make him a humid hide...which is a small hide with a moist substrate inside of it, like sphagnum moss...the whole thing placed on the warm side of the tank. Hopefully he'll use that, even if the ambient humidity isn't great.

And often times, it helps to show them what it is. Snyder loves her humid hide, but she had to be bathed a few times before she figured out what it was for and that she liked it.

il try that. my mom doesnt like it when i give buddy a bath. i did once and she found out lol. she was so upset. she made me wash the tub down with bleach. i dont want to put my snake back in there now anyway. (bleach CANT be good for a snake). il just fill a big steel pan with warm water and let him swim in that. the humid hide sounds like a good idea.

Actually, once the bleach has been completely aired out...your bath would be much better for the snake than the first time you put him in there. I got chewed out once for giving Caesar a bath in the sink...even though I'd cleaned it well before doing so. Even though it LOOKS clean, the surfaces of our baths and sinks are covered with all sorts of soap residue and germs and such...things that a snake isn't used to being exposed to.

All that being said...a pot or plastic tub that you know is free of any such residues and is only used for bathing your snake is a much better choice than the bathtub or sink. (Your mom will be relieved! LOL)