Feeding problem

Hello all, I recently bought a ball python and had a few questions. I brought him home a couple of weeks ago and fed him twice, the first time was a small f/t mouse that weighed around 7.5g and he took it without a problem last sunday 2/21/16, he then pooped the 23rd and i weighed him on the 24th @ 78g. I tried feeding him today(saturday 2/27/16) and he bite the mouse and released it without eating it. I was going to feed him a small mouse and fuzzy both f/t. He ended up eating the fuzzy but after didnt want anything to do with the small mouse. Is there a reason? I thought maybe he determined it to be too big but I dont think thats the case seeing as he ate that size meal before. Im trying to stick to the 10-15% for feeding but today he only ate about 6% of his weight will this be a problem? Also im just curoius on how often everyone feeds their BP's, i've read alot of different things and right now im going to do something between every 4-6 days. Thanks for all the info.

Well, the 10/15% is a good guideline for hatchlings, but it is just a guideline that usually work for MOST BPs. Undoubtedly a mouse fuzzy is too small a meal for you snake. However, if he won’t take hoppers, I’d try rat pinks. Bigger than a fuzzy mouse and smaller than a hopper.

I’d offer food to a hatchling about every 5 days. So once every 4-6 days is fine, it doesn’t need to be exactly every x days . the important thing is to find what he’ll eat and offer him that.

Try not to worry too much, sometimes these guys start slow or take a while to adjust to their new surroundings. As long as he eats somewhat regularly it’ll be OK. A few years ago I had a male hatchling Orange Ghost Fire who took it to extremes. He ate only 4 times in his first 6 months. I was astonished that he survived. I tried everything, f/t, live, mice and rats of different sizes. Every meal he took was a f/t rat fuzzy. He ate 8 times in the next 6 months, rat fuzzies then pups. Then when he was about a year and a half old he decided he would eat like any other well-adjusted BP. He’s never been a problem feeder again.

But like I said, that snake took it to an extreme. If you continue to have feeding issues, continue to post here and the BP.net community will help you get that guy feeding

limit your handling of the snake until he feeds regularly. he's only been with you for a couple of weeks. he'll settle in quickly if he is undisturbed.

useful links for BP newcomers.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?30763-BP-Husbandry-FAQs
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...thon-CARESHEET

Alright, thanks for the info, and help. I've been handling him everyday besides for the next day after he ate. Maybe ill only handle him a every other day or 3 days or so. If I leave the f/t small mouse in his enclouser overnite do you think he will take it? or is this something i shouldn't do?

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Originally Posted by Hruke

Alright, thanks for the info, and help. I've been handling him everyday besides for the next day after he ate. Maybe ill only handle him a every other day or 3 days or so. If I leave the f/t small mouse in his enclouser overnite do you think he will take it? or is this something i shouldn't do?

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if the feeder is live , then no. never leave live prey in the snake’s enclosure for more than about 10-15 minutes. And be sure to supervise live feedings. A live mouse/rat can do damage. If feeding pk/ft then yes, leave it over night.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hruke

Alright, thanks for the info, and help. I've been handling him everyday besides for the next day after he ate. Maybe ill only handle him a every other day or 3 days or so. If I leave the f/t small mouse in his enclouser overnite do you think he will take it? or is this something i shouldn't do?

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don't handle him at all until he is feeding well. I know, it's hard to do, but the snake must be comfortable for it to thrive and feed. until he's feeding regularly, your only interaction should be necessary husbandry.

Thanks again for all the help, and I have some good news i kept the f/t mouse in overnite and he took it, and yeah ill try not to handle him until his next feeding to see how he does with that.

One of mine will only eat if I leave the f/t rat in overnight. If I move it around he totally freaks out and hides. My other boy wants his meal to do a little dance :D. So you have to figure out how your individual snake likes his meals. It can take a while to figure out his favorite presentation.

But, yeah, don't handle him much yet. Not until you have him eating well and settled in.

Thanks again for all the help guys, I've had my ball for almost a couple months and ive found that he will take his food f/t when i throw it into his enclosure, and he wont eat if i take him out and put him into another tank. On monday I put his mouse in the enclosure and within 2 mins he came to take it. also feeding him closer to the 5-6 days then 4-5 days hes been taking the food better(haven't had any problems yet). Hes also grown from that 78g to 136g!!!

Yep, always feed him in his enclosure. You can toss it in like you have been if that's working. If not, you can get some hemostats. They are just like really big, long tweezers. Get a 10" pair. Then you can hold the prey by it's spine and make it "dance" so your snake will think it's alive. Sometimes you need to do this, others times no. It's safer than having your hand too close to a hungry snake mouth though. :)