trouble feeding a new 2 month old

so I just went to the Sacramento reptile show this weekend and bought a 2 month old ball spider morph. beautiful snake BTW, but i am having trouble feeding it. the breeder said that he eats pinky rats. so i went out and bought a few frozen and tried feeding him. no Buenos. so im thinking that he needs to get accustomed to his new environment. i have him in a 10 gallon, but can move him to a 5 or a 20 depending on what you guys think. temps and humidity running normal (89 on hot side 80 on cool). what do you guys think, should i just let him go for a while or should i be trying every other day?
:banana:

1.1 Peter and Lucy

try feeding every 5-7 days. before you got him was he eating live or f/t? i would give it a couple days then try a live pinky rat

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Originally Posted by shadow120

try feeding every 5-7 days. before you got him was he eating live or f/t? i would give it a couple days then try a live pinky rat

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I x2 this message!!! Lol


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Thanks ill try the live ones. They were feeding live I think

Most of the time I wait at least a week before I try to feed and new arrivals. Some will show interest the next feed day for everyone and I will offer but most wont take is. So I would wait a week and try again :P

I also usually wait at least a week before I try to feed a new pickup. I would also try the live and see how that goes. Good luck!

Yes let it acclimate. Also is that 89 in the hide or the ambient temp of the hot side?

Thanks everyone, ill keep up the high spirits, and try again in 1 week with a live feeding

Its the ambient temp on hot side. Its been fluctuating lately between 85 and 89

Just a suggestion: you may want to try to blacken out the sides of his tank. It helped mine get used to his new surroundings. He went from a 6 quart tub with his breeder to a 10 gallon tank. Some people use black boards, while I use black shelf liners taped to the sides. Some BPS may not need it, but mine did.

My 2 month old BP also refused to eat FT after several attempts ( leaving it overnight with him paper bag trick etc). I've had to start him with a live pinky as well.

Good luck! :)

Sweet. Ill put some black construction paper up on the tank. I tried leaving the rat picky halfway in his hide overnight (worked for my last ball). Thanks!

Ps. I didn't know you could put them in the paper bag with the rat. I need more tricks like that!

My guy really just didn't want me watching. As soon as I put the fuzzy in with him he just looked at me. I covered his tub and put the lid on and he went for it in about 2 minutes. But your guy may not like the whole "There is a giant watching me" thing

Thanks, I put construction paper around the sides and back of the tank. Ill try the paper bag trick as well.

try the above suggestions, if it's a new hatchling I usually always feed live for a the first few meals then get them to go frozen later. Eating = comfort/safety. I'd they feel safe they'll eat.

also try offering the prey differently, I have a Cinny female who will not strike unless the frozen prey is offered face first and I'm holding it by the scruff of its neck. weird but some are like that. just play around with different positions.

good luck.

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Originally Posted by Xan Powers

try the above suggestions, if it's a new hatchling I usually always feed live for a the first few meals then get them to go frozen later. Eating = comfort/safety. I'd they feel safe they'll eat.

also try offering the prey differently, I have a Cinny female who will not strike unless the frozen prey is offered face first and I'm holding it by the scruff of its neck. weird but some are like that. just play around with different positions.

good luck.

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Ya, my other ball was like that for the first 2 months, super picky. Now she eats anything. Im sure this guy is just nervous about being in a new environment. Ill go to my reptile store and get a few live picky rats. Good suggestion about holding the rat different ways. Ill play around with it. If he doesn't eat though, how long should I wait until another attempt?

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Originally Posted by Sacstate707

Ya, my other ball was like that for the first 2 months, super picky. Now she eats anything. Im sure this guy is just nervous about being in a new environment. Ill go to my reptile store and get a few live picky rats. Good suggestion about holding the rat different ways. Ill play around with it. If he doesn't eat though, how long should I wait until another attempt?

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how long has it been since his last feeding?

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Originally Posted by Xan Powers

how long has it been since his last feeding?

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i'm pretty sure they were feeding him every weeks, so couldnt be more than 7 to 10 days. i went to the pet store and got some live pinky rats. and he ate both of them. but they were really small so, im going to try and get some bigger ones for next week.:D

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Originally Posted by Sacstate707

so I just went to the Sacramento reptile show this weekend and bought a 2 month old ball spider morph. beautiful snake BTW, but i am having trouble feeding it. the breeder said that he eats pinky rats. so i went out and bought a few frozen and tried feeding him. no Buenos. so im thinking that he needs to get accustomed to his new environment. i have him in a 10 gallon, but can move him to a 5 or a 20 depending on what you guys think. temps and humidity running normal (89 on hot side 80 on cool). what do you guys think, should i just let him go for a while or should i be trying every other day?
:banana:

1.1 Peter and Lucy

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I also picked up a ball at the sacramento show last weekend, it has yet to eat. That being said I do not fear they won't eat, usually after travelling and of course tiny display cartons and people touching them for 2 days they can be stressed out. My feeding day was yesterday, they did not take. I tried again today, they did not take so til next friday they will have to wait. At two months old it should be 100+ grams if they were sellin' it there, missing a feed hasn't hurt them in my experience. Once you get them onto a schedule they usually won't miss.

If you have any further questions you can pm me. Also your setup sounds fine besides what is the RH%? I would personally recommend a DIY rack with tub setup, much easier to maintain.

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Oh i also go to sac state too, :cool:.

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Originally Posted by Ryan Chin

I also picked up a ball at the sacramento show last weekend, it has yet to eat. That being said I do not fear they won't eat, usually after travelling and of course tiny display cartons and people touching them for 2 days they can be stressed out. My feeding day was yesterday, they did not take. I tried again today, they did not take so til next friday they will have to wait. At two months old it should be 100+ grams if they were sellin' it there, missing a feed hasn't hurt them in my experience. Once you get them onto a schedule they usually won't miss.

If you have any further questions you can pm me. Also your setup sounds fine besides what is the RH%? I would personally recommend a DIY rack with tub setup, much easier to maintain.

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Oh i also go to sac state too, :cool:.

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Right on man! I still need to get a few things for both my snakes like a large water dish and other random things. The RH% is between 65 and 75. RH being humidity correct? Also, is an UTH REALLY necessary for both snakes? I have 1 UTH with a thermostat but have not yet transferred it over to my older bps tank. I do have a small hot rock hooked up to the thermostat set at 90 flat.

Hot rock in tank not good, unless regulated by Tstat. The built-in stat which comes with rock is not reliable


Follow advice of others on feeding. Patience number one requirement for BP owners

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Originally Posted by AdamF

Hot rock in tank not good, unless regulated by Tstat. The built-in stat which comes with rock is not reliable


Follow advice of others on feeding. Patience number one requirement for BP owners

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Ya its a hydrofarm tstat. Works purdy good. And ya ill follow the advice on here. A lot of good tips

I'd really steer clear of the heat rocks, even with a tstat. just not needed for a ball python, better off with under the tank or side heat on the outside of the tank.

As everyone else has set, UTH is the way to go. I personally recommend flexwatt, it is what I use in my rack and even glass cages. If you need help finding some let me know IMO flexwatt is the best heating solution available for our pets especially since it's 1/4 the price of brand name UTH's

Sounds good. Should I use a UTH even for the 2 month old? Prolly a dumb question. Could you send me a link for the best flexwatt? Im on a pretty tight budget...

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Originally Posted by Sacstate707

Sounds good. Should I use a UTH even for the 2 month old? Prolly a dumb question. Could you send me a link for the best flexwatt? Im on a pretty tight budget...

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FW is best choice for any age BPs

Just Google search "buying flexwatt" and you will find many options. It is definitely the cheapest way, and most energy efficient as well.

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Originally Posted by Sacstate707

Sounds good. Should I use a UTH even for the 2 month old? Prolly a dumb question. Could you send me a link for the best flexwatt? Im on a pretty tight budget...

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yes you can use flexwatt throughout the entire life of the snake. Under the tank or on the side is up to you. I have two racks that use back heat instead of belly and work great for smaller racks or tanks. If the room the snake is being kept in isn't temp controlled belly heat may be the best option.

I'm at work/on phone so can't look up links but google "LLL reptile+heat tape" should come up with the link. I buy most of mine through them.

I should use under heat even if the temp on the hot side is around 90

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Originally Posted by Sacstate707

I should use under heat even if the temp on the hot side is around 90

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is that a question? lol is the temp on the hot side 90 with a uth already in use? 90 is fine but you are using a t-stat to regulate right?

Sorry I was using my phone earlier haha. Ya I use lamps to keep my temps up. Hot side surface hide measures 90° F regularly. So do I need bottom heat if it is that high? I just don't want to shell out the big bucks for another pad and tstat if I don't need to ya know?

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Originally Posted by Sacstate707

Sorry I was using my phone earlier haha. Ya I use lamps to keep my temps up. Hot side surface hide measures 90° F regularly. So do I need bottom heat if it is that high? I just don't want to shell out the big bucks for another pad and tstat if I don't need to ya know?

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yeah sadly the uth is one of the most important things in the tank, unlike my blue tongued skink or a gecko, ball pythons aren't going to normally climb a tree to sit under the heat. they'd much rather go somewhere dark, warm, and secluded hence putting a hide on the cold side and the hot side over the uth. That way it feels secure in both hides and can use both for thermo regulation.

mind you this is in a tank set up, tubs are entirely different. So I'd say if you can't spring for it right this second then just make it a priority for whenever you can, I used to use one top heat lamp and one uth on the same side and that kept my hot side perfect.

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Originally Posted by Xan Powers

yeah sadly the uth is one of the most important things in the tank, unlike my blue tongued skink or a gecko, ball pythons aren't going to normally climb a tree to sit under the heat. they'd much rather go somewhere dark, warm, and secluded hence putting a hide on the cold side and the hot side over the uth. That way it feels secure in both hides and can use both for thermo regulation.

mind you this is in a tank set up, tubs are entirely different. So I'd say if you can't spring for it right this second then just make it a priority for whenever you can, I used to use one top heat lamp and one uth on the same side and that kept my hot side perfect.

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Ya that was my last set up. UTH with a bulb above on the hot side. Well I already have a tstat and a zoo med heat pad. I could throw that on one of the tanks and get some of that flexwatt.