Acclimating hatchling - when to feed?

Hey everyone,

I bought my first ball python this weekend at the CRBE in Toronto (which I have already posted about, yay!), and I am wondering, how long should I wait to feed him?

Knowing he is two months old, he should be eating every 5-6 days... however, I also know that I should wait about a week (yes?) before trying to handle or disturb him. I made this mistake with my first corn snake, by not acclimating her correctly her first week. I fed her two days after getting her on her regular schedule, and also handled her the first and second day of having her (oops...).

So, I got Beau on Saturday, and was going to wait until this upcoming Sunday to try handling him, and thought about trying to feed him the Monday. Unfortunately, he is in blue right now, and I have no idea when he will shed. I ALSO have no idea when he last ate!
He was CRAZY active last night, most likely looking for food.
So now I am wondering; do I wait to feed him until Monday when he has hopefully shed (meaning he has probably gone 10+ days without a feeding), or do I feed him before the week of acclimation is up??

I think I may get a hold of his breeder to see when he last ate.
Please feel free to give me your opinions, or other suggestions!

Thanks for reading :)

Congrats on your new snake!

They can go a long time without eating. I personally would wait until after he sheds to try feeding. It shouldn't matter the last time he ate unless he looks deathly thin - which is probably not the case. The hungrier he is, the more likely he will be to eat for you on the first try. I would wait until after he eats at least once or twice before handling - and always wait 48 hours after a meal to handle.

I assume I should wait to handle him after the feedings, to make sure he is actually feeding properly and not too stressed?
This is going to be tough... I don't want to wait two more weeks! ;)

He's going to shed in a few days. I'd offer food the day after he sheds. Don't worry about food now - just make sure to keep his humidity high for the next few days :)

Also, I suppose I should mention that I will be feeding him outside of his vive - so waiting to handling him until after his first feeding is technically not possible (but I could just not "play" with him beforehand). I know everyone has their own opinions about this, but mine stands firm that it is something I want to do with all of my snakes. I also feed ONLY f/t, not live. Luckily he has been eating f/t already!

But going back to my other question; I should wait to handle/feed until after he sheds?

Thanks!

EDIT: Thank you Ricky, I uploaded this question right after your post and didn't see it!

Yea just bump up the humidity and let him shed, then actually I'd probably wait until the day after he sheds just to let him fully recover from shedding.

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Originally Posted by NH93

Also, I suppose I should mention that I will be feeding him outside of his vive - so waiting to handling him until after his first feeding is technically not possible (but I could just not "play" with him beforehand). I know everyone has their own opinions about this, but mine stands firm that it is something I want to do with all of my snakes. I also feed ONLY f/t, not live. Luckily he has been eating f/t already!

But going back to my other question; I should wait to handle/feed until after he sheds?

Thanks!

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If I may offer some friendly advise :)

1) Feed him inside his viv. If you're really against it (not sure why you would be) then - once he's coiled around the rat, quickly put him in a separate tub to finish. Moving prior to feeding can often times cause your BP to refuse food, especially as hatchlings. BPs are much pickier than corns.


2) I'd leave him alone until he's done shedding, and done eating.

Drew is very available though, if you have questions about feeding etc I'd contact him. If you dont have his phone # or email he replies to messages on his FB very quickly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rickys_Reptiles

If I may offer some friendly advise :)

1) Feed him inside his viv. If you're really against it (not sure why you would be) then - once he's coiled around the rat, quickly put him in a separate tub to finish. Moving prior to feeding can often times cause your BP to refuse food, especially as hatchlings. BPs are much pickier than corns.


2) I'd leave him alone until he's done shedding, and done eating.

Drew is very available though, if you have questions about feeding etc I'd contact him. If you dont have his phone # or email he replies to messages on his FB very quickly.

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Yea I missed the post about the feeding him outside of his enclosure. I wouldn't particularly do this with BP's because of the vast number of things that can make them go off fed.

Thanks for the advice! I have contacted Andrew (or Drew?) to see when Beau's last feed was.
As a few others have suggested, I will wait until Beau sheds to feed him.

I don't want to feed in his vive because I have had a bad experience with a cage-aggressive corn -- I realize that they are different, and that BPs are pickier, but it is something I'd like to learn for myself, and also hopefully, if possible, get my snakes in the habit of. The corn has already gotten the hang of it.
Obviously I want what is best for my pets, but the BP is young, and I'm hoping to be able to "shape" him, if that makes sense?

I promise I won't come back in a few weeks saying "My BP won't eat!" if he gets stressed about moving containers ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NH93

Thanks for the advice! I have contacted Andrew (or Drew?) to see when Beau's last feed was.
As a few others have suggested, I will wait until Beau sheds to feed him.

I don't want to feed in his vive because I have had a bad experience with a cage-aggressive corn -- I realize that they are different, and that BPs are pickier, but it is something I'd like to learn for myself, and also hopefully, if possible, get my snakes in the habit of. The corn has already gotten the hang of it.
Obviously I want what is best for my pets, but the BP is young, and I'm hoping to be able to "shape" him, if that makes sense?

I promise I won't come back in a few weeks saying "My BP won't eat!" if he gets stressed about moving containers ;)

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Snakes can't learn, their brains lack that ability.

As long as you handle your snake regularly, he'll be fine. I promise you (and you can hold me to this) feeding your snake in its enclosure will not make him "cage aggressive".

It is your call though, you are it's mother now and you need to do what you feel is best :gj:

Just remember. Corns and Ball Pythons are as similar as a Whopper and a Big Mac. Similar - but not the same. I hope you know what I mean ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NH93

Thanks for the advice! I have contacted Andrew (or Drew?) to see when Beau's last feed was.
As a few others have suggested, I will wait until Beau sheds to feed him.

I don't want to feed in his vive because I have had a bad experience with a cage-aggressive corn -- I realize that they are different, and that BPs are pickier, but it is something I'd like to learn for myself, and also hopefully, if possible, get my snakes in the habit of. The corn has already gotten the hang of it.
Obviously I want what is best for my pets, but the BP is young, and I'm hoping to be able to "shape" him, if that makes sense?

I promise I won't come back in a few weeks saying "My BP won't eat!" if he gets stressed about moving containers ;)

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You moving your BP to a different enclosure can easily make him refuse his food. Like Ricky said, handle your snake instead of never bothering with him and you'll be fine. The only animals I feed outside the enclosure are my 3 Rufous and the ONLY reason I do this is because I keep them housed together and I don't want more then one of them to go for the same food item. So I avoid this by putting them in tubs and feeding them.

My BP's I feed in the tubs but I deal with them once a week at least if not more, depending on various situations and I've never had any of them become aggressive. However my black pastel if I put a rat in there for him and I try to remove it by hand will strike at me but it's because there is the smell of food right in front of him and my warm hand going near his face.

I do know what you mean Ricky :P
And I have to respectfully disagree with your point about snakes not learning. There's actually brand spankin' new evidence to support that they can in fact learn! I don't have the citation at the moment (as I'm not at home), and I know that everyone's opinions on this subject are also different.

That being said, my snake is the smartest damn snake in the whole world (even though I just got it and have never fed it or really handled it, but since I am its mother, he is the smartest snake in the world).



;)

EDIT: Learn on a simple level, I mean.

Thanks again everyone, but I more interested in your opinions on my first question(s), not moving to a feeding bin thing :)
I know that if he refuses food, it is my fault and I will deal with it if it happens.
I didn't mean to go off track with that, my bad!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NH93

That being said, my snake is the smartest damn snake in the whole world (even though I just got it and have never fed it or really handled it, but since I am its mother, he is the smartest snake in the world).

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I'm sure he is :gj: Keep us posted. I wanna see some post shed photos and a feeding update :)

Thanks for coming on here and asking for advice.

Speak of the devil...

We literally just found a shed in his tank.
I think I will wait to feed him until Sunday though! If he can go without the food, I'd rather he be comfortable in his new home first. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NH93

Speak of the devil...

We literally just found a shed in his tank.
I think I will wait to feed him until Sunday though! If he can go without the food, I'd rather he be comfortable in his new home first. :)

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Really I don't see why you would wait if you're only going to stress him by moving him anyway.
I'm sorry but instead of getting him to learn your way I'd do what's best for the snake I chose to bring into my care

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

Hey, congrats on your new baby :) When I got my first baby BP on Saturday I asked the breeder when she was due for her next feed and she told me in 2 days. I tried (with the 6g pinky rat she gave me), and she didn't take it. I think part of the problem was that I dangled it by the tail instead of grabbing it by the scruff and zombie walking it. I asked the breeder when I should try again and she said in 2 days. I tried again today with a 12g fuzzy and zombie walked it and she took it right away, only 4 days after I got her.

I agree with you that snakes can learn to an extent. Like simple learning cause and effect if repeated enough. I also believe that feeding in the viv isn't a problem. They have a very acute sense of smell that is far more honed than their ability to learn and even if you feed in a separate enclosure, if you stick a hand into the viv with rat smell all over it, then it's basically a rat to them. They hunt where they can find food, they don't go to a specific place to find it, if it walks by their home, they eat it. At the same time, I believe that they do learn to recognize your smell (as they learn the recognize that of their prey's), and they do know if it is you and not food. Honestly, you should go with your gut, but I know that if I took Mara out of her enclosure today and plopped her in a box, there is no way she would have eaten. I scented the enclosure by warming the rat under the lamp and in 10min she was out and hunting, and I very quietly opened the door and danced the rat and she took it. Good luck with your baby, however you decide to do things. I think it's best we go with our gut for the most part in these matters, and if that doesn't work, then reevaluate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NH93

Speak of the devil...

We literally just found a shed in his tank.
I think I will wait to feed him until Sunday though! If he can go without the food, I'd rather he be comfortable in his new home first. :)

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Awesome! Glad his first shed in your care went well :)

offer food 24hrs after shed, and after he feeds wait to handle him in 2-3 days, you want the food to start digesting. there insides are so soft and weak you dont want to hurt them.

I see a lot of rules people have on when and how you should do things but to be honest with you I have ten ball pythons movies and adults I have received them as adults and hatchlings, and I have never let any snake sit for two weeks before handling them. When I get a snake in I check it out being gentle and letting them move around in my hands and put them up in the tub the little ones and the skittish ones get a hide. The next day I might take them out for just a few minutes letting them do what they want to learn that I'm not a threat. I ask the person I got them from when they ate last and feed them when the next feeding time comes small snakes get fed about every four or five days older snakes seven days. If they are restless crawling the front if the tub I take them out and let them crawl around in my arms and I gently rub them. I have never let a snake sit for weeks and all of my snakes eat and mine even allow me to rub their heads. Despite what people say if you don't handle them then they won't become comfortable with you. None of my snakes bite and if they come in as nippy they very quickly calm down. To each his own but one thing I learned with these animals is they don't read books so you do what that particular snake let's you do, they are all different but you have to show them you aren't going to hurt them and they will trust you. Keep them in a clean tub or tank with the proper temp ranges and increase humidity when they are about to shed and handle them regularly. After you have them for awhile you learn what they like. I have some that love to be held and some just tolerate it.

1.1 pastels, 1.0 lesser, 0.1 spider, 1.3 norm. 1.0 fire 0.1 RTB 0.0 sav. Mon.

Hey, thanks everyone.
Shera, that was a very good point about the opportunist feeding... I had totally forgotten about that. Snakes aren't as "domesticated" as some other pets; I should have kept that in mind. I will offer food tomorrow night!
I still am unsure how I'd like to do it. When I went to pull out the shed - evidently right near Beau's face - he curled up into an "S". I was expecting a strike, but he didn't. He is definitely in hunting mode though, and has been the last few nights. Tongue flickering like crazy, scoping the place back and forth, up and down.
Maybe I will offer the food to him in a cup. I also don't want him ingesting aspen shavings, as the kind I have is the larger, flakey stuff.

Crazymonkee, "what's best" for anyone or anything is completely subjective, and so what you think may be common sense and what is best may not be what I think is common sense and what is best. I do take every opinion into consideration, especially as I don't have much experience. Most importantly, I take the care of "my" animals to heart. Not every method works for every person, and the reasons behind those are not without concern. However, I, like everyone else, have no need to explain myself and my beliefs to anyone - unless, of course, I do so in a post because I am in need of assistance, such as today.
But thank you for taking interest in my post, and for having Beau's welbeing in mind.

You know you have to post a pic of him eating right? :rolleyes:.
And one of him just doing his thing...
And one of him reading my post....
And one of him ... ... ...
:P.
Oh and i held my ball the first day i got her and fed her in a tub never had any problems. And i know they can vary just my two cents on the whole thing.

Man these things are worse then human babies, they don't come with a manual, and they all respond different to everything.

So here are his post shed pictures (without and with flash). Much more vibrant than before :)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...48122085_n.jpghttps://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/...63809975_n.jpg

And the shed (which came off nicely, until Beau started to ball up, so this happened):

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/...55255624_n.jpg



And finally... as predicted... the non-eating picture. He was just so excited.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...91245420_n.jpg

I tried to leave the mice in the tank with him afterwards, buy no go. He just cruised around instead.
I will attempt another (in tank) feeding in a few days. I'm not discouraged at this point; it's only been one trail.

:)

He's used to eating rats. You may want to try rat pup instead.

Oh - and he looks awesome :)

He's very nice! :) I agree ^^^^^

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Thanks! Those are rats... but pinkies :/
Unfortunately I did not know what size he was eating, and so bought these at the show where I also bought him. The breeder did not say a specific size, and I asked someone who sold the rats, and they looked at my python and said "pinkies".

There is another show coming at the beginning of October, and so I will purchase some rat pups there!

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Originally Posted by NH93

Thanks! Those are rats... but pinkies :/
Unfortunately I did not know what size he was eating, and so bought these at the show where I also bought him. The breeder did not say a specific size, and I asked someone who sold the rats, and they looked at my python and said "pinkies".

There is another show coming at the beginning of October, and so I will purchase some rat pups there!

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oh. you said mice by mistake in your post.

Yeah, those are for sure too small for him. Good luck with the feeding!

Not sure how you're feeding him, or if this will help... but here is a little info-gif I made once upon a time :)

http://www.rickysreptiles.com/wp-con...honFeeding.gif

Beau ate today :) It was my second attempt at feeding. It was a frozen thawed pinky rat (I had two plus a fuzzie mouse thawed, just incase he was picky).
I let it thaw in the fridge all day, then at about 9pm put in a warm cup of water beside his vive for 15 mins or so.
I used the tongs to put the rat in, kinda dangled it near him. He didn't show interest right away, and not until I accidentally dropped it and walked away did he eat it. He ate it backwards... :P and kind of did a funny thing. He swung the rat around in the air a bit (I have seen my corn snake do this too), but he kind of quivered and shook while trying to swallow it. Not sure if this is ok? I've never seen a BP eat before. Unfortunately I could not get any pictures of him eating.
He didn't show interest in the other pinky, but at least he ate something!