Acclimating a new snake

I purchased a 2013 male pinstripe from BHB and he arrived Monday morning. I was a bit apprehensive about having a live animal shipped, but I was happy to find him healthy and alert when I opened up his box. I introduced him to his new tank, after about 20 minutes he un-balled himself and began feeling the cage out looking for an escape, flicking his tongue and occasionally coming up to the glass to get a better look at me. Since then he has been very relaxed in his hide on the warm side of his tank. From what I know, that's a great start. I know I shouldn't handle him for awhile so he can get acclimated, but do you think doing things like changing the water and once a day lifting up his hide a bit to check up on him are going to stress him out? I'm worried I might be bothering him too much. On the other hand, I want to make sure he's familiar with my scent and used to me opening up the cage so that when I try my first feeding he's a little more comfortable and hopefully will eat on the first try. Any thoughts from some more experienced ball owners? And maybe anyone who has had experience with snakes from BHB?

I don't start to handle mine for enjoyment until the snake has had three successful feedings: if you need to change water or substrate clean those minimal handling sessions should be fine and shouldn't overly stress him out (unless you're messing with him every day/consistently but just checking in on him should be fine, some animals are more tolerant and not prone to getting overly stressed out over others).

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Originally Posted by vanlaz0r

I purchased a 2013 male pinstripe from BHB and he arrived Monday morning. I was a bit apprehensive about having a live animal shipped, but I was happy to find him healthy and alert when I opened up his box. I introduced him to his new tank, after about 20 minutes he un-balled himself and began feeling the cage out looking for an escape, flicking his tongue and occasionally coming up to the glass to get a better look at me. Since then he has been very relaxed in his hide on the warm side of his tank. From what I know, that's a great start. I know I shouldn't handle him for awhile so he can get acclimated, but do you think doing things like changing the water and once a day lifting up his hide a bit to check up on him are going to stress him out? I'm worried I might be bothering him too much. On the other hand, I want to make sure he's familiar with my scent and used to me opening up the cage so that when I try my first feeding he's a little more comfortable and hopefully will eat on the first try. Any thoughts from some more experienced ball owners? And maybe anyone who has had experience with snakes from BHB?

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Just let him be for a week. Changing his water should be fine just dont mess with him if hes in his hide let him be. After a week and his first feeding(2 days after) you can start handling him. A hiding bp is a happy bp

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Leave him be for at least a week.
You can still do water changes or quick check up. But I wouldn't recommend handling until he feeds at least 1-3 times for you. This is just a way to ensure he becomes an established feeder without the added stress.
This is a 'just in case' type of thing.

And don't worry about him getting to know your scent. He can smell you from just being in the same room or general area.They have an excellent sense of smell.

Thanks everyone! It's so hard to leave him alone, he's just such a cute little guy.
https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/...10601528_n.jpg

He definitely is a cute little pinstripe 🙌 congrats.

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Originally Posted by vanlaz0r

Thanks everyone! It's so hard to leave him alone, he's just such a cute little guy.
https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/...10601528_n.jpg

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Aww, look at that face.

Just a bit of an update.

He seems to have adjusted very well. He spends most of his time in his hide sleeping but every once in a while he'll wake up when i open his tank and come out and poke around for a bit, usually just to get a drink and then go back to sleep. I thought for sure he was going to eat on Saturday but when i lifted up his hide i noticed he was in blue. I gave it a try but he didn't seem even the slightest bit interested so I let him be. I've also bumped up the humidity to about 65%-70%, so I hope we have a good shed. I noticed his belly was a bit pink when I first got him on Tuesday, so from what I've read on the forums, he should probably shed sometime this week. I figure once he sheds, give it a day or two and try feeding him again. Does that sound right?

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Originally Posted by vanlaz0r

Just a bit of an update.

He seems to have adjusted very well. He spends most of his time in his hide sleeping but every once in a while he'll wake up when i open his tank and come out and poke around for a bit, usually just to get a drink and then go back to sleep. I thought for sure he was going to eat on Saturday but when i lifted up his hide i noticed he was in blue. I gave it a try but he didn't seem even the slightest bit interested so I let him be. I've also bumped up the humidity to about 65%-70%, so I hope we have a good shed. I noticed his belly was a bit pink when I first got him on Tuesday, so from what I've read on the forums, he should probably shed sometime this week. I figure once he sheds, give it a day or two and try feeding him again. Does that sound right?

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Yup, try feeding a day or two after his shed. Pink belly is a sign of a upcoming shed. They go blue, then clear up again, then shed soon after. So don't be alarmed when he turns clear and you don't see a shed.


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Hey guys, sorry to keep resurrecting an old thread, just looking for a bit more advice here.

He's been doing great. He had a pretty good shed. He did retain some on his head, but that's probably because I caught it late, and he did manage to get the rest off in a day or two. He's starting to come out of his hide at night. It doesn't look like he's trying to escape or anything, just cruises around for a bit, grabs a drink, chills on top of hides, and eventually goes back to bed. I was really hoping this would mean he would eat, so I've tried feeding him twice now since he's shed. He'll approach the mouse and flick his tongue at it a bit, but then he ignores it and goes about his business. I figure he's probably just not hungry yet, but i just want to make sure I'm going about it right.

I try feeding him at night, when he's already out and looking around. I even keep the lights in the room off. I'm feeding him f/t fuzzy mice. I turn the hot water on in the tap and let it run until it's as hot as it will get and that's what i thaw the mice in. I tend to leave it in there to warm up and to pre-scent the room for him. I remove it once the water is a little warmer then room temperature and dry the mouse off as best i can. Using feeder tweezers I grab it by the tail or by the scruff of the neck and wiggle it in front of him for a bit. Each time i've tried for about five minutes and then given up, not wanting to stress him out too much. He's my only snake so I usually stick them back in the freezer afterwards, though both times I've fed him i've tried a different mouse, just to be sure.

Am I doing it right? How long should I wait before I start worrying? If he doesn't eat in a month or so should I switch to live? I know ball pythons are notoriously picky eaters, I just want to make sure he's being picky and I'm not doing something wrong.

Bp can go off feed for 6months + and still be fine just monitor their weight and as long as it doesnt drop drastically its ok. Also what is the weight on him a fuzzy seems small. A hopper would probably be more suitable unless he is super small. You can try live anytime. I have a bp that at f/t for it previous owner and ate f/t twice for me then stopped eating he now eats a live adult mouse every week and has never refused

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I believe BHB feeds rats exclusively to their BPs. I would offer a rat about the width of your snake and try that. You want to make sure, when you push your finger up under the prey item's rib cage that you feel neither any hardness, or any coldness. Both are bad and can make your snake sick or worse, and can also cause refusal.

What is your husbandry like? How are you providing temps, how are you monitoring and controlling those temps? What are the temps? How many hides, what size, and where? I see you're using a glass tank, what kind of a room is he in - lots of traffic, low traffic? Are the sides except for the front blacked out to provide more privacy? All can influence a baby snake's actions. The most common reason for a baby to not eat is stress caused by an improper habitat.

Another thing you can maybe try and do is just leave the prey item by the opening of the hide he's in and walk away. A lot of times, even if it's dark a snake will refuse a prey item if they're still unsure about you. Remember, they might not be able to see you with their eyes, but they have very keen heat pits and you're a huge hot predator in front of them. Hard to blame them for not wanting to eat.

Thank you so much everyone. I offered him the right sized food and he took it right away.


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