Quick question

Hi there, I really don't like the fact my first post on the forum is me asking for help, but I have to do it. I'm "new" to keeping reptiles in the sense I've had my corn snake for a year and my female BP for around a month.

The Ball Python (Kez) hatched on the 9th of July, 2012 and was eating fine. She came to me and has had one feed, a couple of days after I got her here and she settled in. She weighs 143g and is being kept in a 9L RUB. The second time I tried to feed she had literally just went into blue so I thought "I'll try get her to eat and see if shes a blue-eater or not". Proved to be a mistake as since then shes not taken a feed. She struck out for the mouse but missed it and hit the tub that shes in. Now, could her non-eating behaviour be down to this hit? How would I resolve this? I've offered her 6 feeds, all heat up with hairdryer/sitting on a plate over boiling water, tried to get her to strike off my hand (breeders reccomendation) and all to no avail.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.

First of all.......:welcome: Second....how often are you offering her food? You should only offer it every 5-7 days, even if she is refusing. Offering more than that can stress her out. Are you offering a fresh mouse every time or freezing and re-thawing mice? Also, please describe how your tub is set up and what the temps and humidity is. A lot of food refusals are due to some type of environmental stress.

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Originally Posted by Exotic Ecthotherms

First of all.......:welcome: Second....how often are you offering her food? You should only offer it every 5-7 days, even if she is refusing. Offering more than that can stress her out. Are you offering a fresh mouse every time or freezing and re-thawing mice? Also, please describe how your tub is set up and what the temps and humidity is. A lot of food refusals are due to some type of environmental stress.

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Thanks :)
-Well I was offering her every 4-5 days. I last offered her yesterday and decided I would cut down on handling and offer her a feed on saturday/sunday.
-Yes, it's a fresh mouse everytime, I've never re-thawed food for my snakes, I don't do it with myself so why should I do it with the snakes just to save a little bit of money.
-Its a 9L plastic RUB, locked on top, medium cave and a small water dish, aspen bedding and temps are around 90 on the warm side and around 76-80 depending on the time of day on the cooler side. Humidity is around 50%.
The tub is clear so I'm kinda swaying towards that could be the/part of the reason. But how much of the tub should be covered?

At this point you shouldn't be handling at all until the snake starts eating again. Your snake is extremely underweight for its age.

Is the heat pad you are using to heat the tub with being regulated by a thermostat and monitored with a probed thermometer?

You might have to try feeding live. What size mice are you offering to this snake? How big are they in comparison to the snake?

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

At this point you shouldn't be handling at all until the snake starts eating again. Your snake is extremely underweight for its age.

Is the heat pad you are using to heat the tub with being regulated by a thermostat and monitored with a probed thermometer?

You might have to try feeding live. What size mice are you offering to this snake? How big are they in comparison to the snake?

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I am using a Pulse Proportional Habistat heat mat and an IR thermometer. I was thinking that I may have to go down that route. I'm offering medium mice which measure about 2-3inches head-butt and are as thick/a little thicker than the snake itself.

Could the hitting the tub be anything to do with it?

I seriously doubt it.

Are the hides that you are using tight fitting for the snake?

like so?

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...t/21819934.jpg

No, it's not as tight as that although she does touch the sides of the hide. Should I put in a smaller hide?

I would try that, and absolutely no handling unless it is truly necessary. Just leave the snake alone for a week then try feeding a live mouse that is the correct size.

So you would recommend feeding live? Aswell as the hide adjustment.

Don't handle your snake at all. Leave her alone for a week. Only reach in to clean. Then you can offer food. Make sure the mouse is heated up to 100 degrees F. You can measure with a temp gun. An 110 on the face is good. Usually mine is ok with 100

Yes, if your snake is as old as it is and as small it is time to take some more drastic measures.

As warm as 100-110? Right ok, thanks for the advice on feeding.

Also, when it comes to covering the eclosure should it just be the 2 sides and back of the tub that should be covered or all 4 sides and leave the lid or what?

Honestly, I would try feeding a live hopper mouse to jump start the feeding response. It is important to get food into that snake. As the others have said, do not handle your snake until he's eaten at least 3 consecutive times.
You can go back to F/T once the snake is an established feeder.
If it's a shy snake, you can darkern the tub to make him feel more secure or add more clutter in the tub.

Good luck

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Originally Posted by Deann

As warm as 100-110? Right ok, thanks for the advice on feeding.

Also, when it comes to covering the eclosure should it just be the 2 sides and back of the tub that should be covered or all 4 sides and leave the lid or what?

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It's up to you. For my picky snakes that are in stand alone tubs, I drape a small handtowel over their tub. It creates enough darkness and provides air flow. ( The towel only overhanges about an inch or two down so it's not smothering the entire tub.)
The rest of my snakes are in racks so it covers all 3 sides.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

Honestly, I would try feeding a live hopper mouse to jump start the feeding response. It is important to get food into that snake. As the others have said, do not handle your snake until he's eaten at least 3 consecutive times.
You can go back to F/T once the snake is an established feeder.
If it's a shy snake, you can darkern the tub to make him feel more secure or add more clutter in the tub.

Good luck

It's up to you. For my picky snakes that are in stand alone tubs, I drape a small handtowel over their tub. It creates enough darkness and provides air flow. ( The towel only overhanges about an inch or two down so it's not smothering the entire tub.)
The rest of my snakes are in racks so it covers all 3 sides.

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Thanks for the advice. What do I do with the mouse if she still refuses to eat? Thats what I'm most scared of. :P

Well you have 3 options.

1. keep it until next feeding day
2. try to return it to the store
3. kill and discard

Personally when feeding live I will put the rodent in with the snake (watching the entire time the mouse is in the snakes cage) if the snake doesn't show any interest after 10 minutes I will kill the rodent then place the dead rodent in the snakes cage overnight.

(If you are feeding the snake in a separate container I suggest that you stop doing this as it can stress the snake out)

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

Well you have 3 options.

1. keep it until next feeding day
2. try to return it to the store
3. kill and discard

Personally when feeding live I will put the rodent in with the snake (watching the entire time the mouse is in the snakes cage) if the snake doesn't show any interest after 10 minutes I will kill the rodent then place the dead rodent in the snakes cage overnight.

(If you are feeding the snake in a separate container I suggest that you stop doing this as it can stress the snake out)

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And how would you suggest killing it? I would feel terrible but the way I'm seeing it - The snake is my pet and to survive it's gotta eat, the mouse isnt a pet, it's food. Alright perfect, thanks.