Baby ball not eating but looks hungry?

This is my first ball, and we got her Saturday and it is now Tuesday. We went to feed her (a juvenile) for the first time and my dad said I should move her out of the corner where she was hiding. She obviously did not want to be picked up and kept tensing up and shying away so that alone may have stessed her out and I accidentally dropped the pinky (the petstore only had pinkies) on her head :O. Then my dad got frustrated and said let me do it (he used to have WC calubrids when he was younger) he started wiggling it around and bumping her head and she kept hiding it under her body. Then he walked away and she raised her head out of her ball and started sniffing around. We tried again only to have her hide again. Then we gave up and now shes slithering around the tank and yawned once (I read it can sometimes be a hunting behavior) and is frequently sniffing the air. I'm so confused... I've only seen people feed in rack systems, where the snake is right there and not hiding... I feel really stupid... Any help:confusd: It's really stressing me out, and I know balls tend to be picky, especially when they are stressed, but she doesn't show any signs of stress. The cold side is 79 and the warm spot (where she is constantly) is 89. The humidity is 53%. This is all so frustrating. I'm going to wait a week (next Tuesday). It hurts my heart to not see her eat :tears: I feel like I'm stressing her out... I know they are picky, but the baby's need to eat. Help!

They can go long periods without feeding . If she is new to the environment she is probably stressed . Give her some time to adapt to her surroundings and try again . If they are hungry they will eat , don't worry !


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Given the size here is what you need to do.

Get a 6 quarts or 12 quarts tub.

Use aspen bedding

have 1 or 2 (6 inches) plastic flower post saucer to use as hide

Hot side temp no higher than 88

NO HANDLING until she eats 2 to 3 meals for you

Offer a live mice that is equal the girth size of your BP (Pinkies are WAY TOO SMALL, out of the eggs they take hoppers) - Right now feeding is the priority not switching and at a month it is not a animal that is consistent on F/T)

Keep the mouse nearby the enclosure for 30 min prior to feed (this is call scenting)

Offer the food in the enclosure

Remove if not eaten after 15 min

At this age they are not picky they are ravenous and 99% of feeding issue with new animals/new owners is husbandry/stress related.

I just feel really stupid... Everyone says something different and I'm just lost I was so hyped to finally get a ball but maybe I'm just not good enough... I don't have enough money for all the fancy equipment and stuff. I'm just a dumb teenager who wanted a fun pet.:tears:

all of the above. plus hitting the snake on the head (or anywhere else) with it's intended meal will get you nothing but a defensive snake that believes it's being attacked.

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Originally Posted by DennisM

all of the above. plus hitting the snake on the head (or anywhere else) with it's intended meal will get you nothing but a defensive snake that believes it's being attacked.

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i know that's what got me really frustrated, now my dad feels bad because he thinks he screwed the feeding up... I feel like a lost cause :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sp0rk

I just feel really stupid... Everyone says something different and I'm just lost I was so hyped to finally get a ball but maybe I'm just not good enough... I don't have enough money for all the fancy equipment and stuff. I'm just a dumb teenager who wanted a fun pet.:tears:

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I think you'll find there is a pretty solid consensus here on BP.net on what you need to do; Deborah has already stated it.
inexperienced does not equal stupid. time to learn. check out these links.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ll-Python-FAQs

Don't beat yourself up about it. As long as you're making sure it's needs are provided for you can be a good snake keeper. Just make sure you're providing for those needs in the right way and with the animal's best interests in mind. Owning a BP is just as cheap or cheaper than owning a dog, you can afford it if you want to.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Given the size here is what you need to do.

Get a 6 quarts or 12 quarts tub.

Use aspen bedding

have 1 or 2 (6 inches) plastic flower post saucer to use as hide

Hot side temp no higher than 88

NO HANDLING until she eats 2 to 3 meals for you

Offer a live mice that is equal the girth size of your BP (Pinkies are WAY TOO SMALL, out of the eggs they take hoppers) - Right now feeding is the priority not switching and at a month it is not a animal that is consistent on F/T)

Keep the mouse nearby the enclosure for 30 min prior to feed (this is call scenting)

Offer the food in the enclosure

Remove if not eaten after 15 min

At this age they are not picky they are ravenous and 99% of feeding issue with new animals/new owners is husbandry/stress related.

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I know it's really frowned upon, but I bought her at petsmart, it was the only way I could get my parents to agree. They said she was a good eater and the lady who usually takes care of her was not there the day we bought her, so I don't exactly know when the last time she ate was, but I do know she was eating F/T. The lady we were with however told us she was in the "winter stage" (obviously didn't know much about pythons) and that she was on fuzzies but told us we needed to feed her pinkies. The first day she showed signs of stress but since then has seemed really happy in her invironment, maybe she just wasn't hungry :P

Feeling bad and or stressing about a situation does not make it better. There is tons of good information on this forum. Take some time, read it, and share it with your father. Ball pythons are not hard or expensive to take care of, but their behaviors are way different than the snakes you said your father kept.

BTW you are not stupid. You are looking for an answer. Not knowing is not stupid. Generally the people that think they know everything are the stupid ones. Smart people know when they don't know.

Don't stress it! If the husbandry is spot on the snake will eat when it wants to eat. I know it's easier said than done :rofl:Mine hardly ever refuses meals and she did today and it got me stressed a little bit but temps and everything check out... I'll try again next week and I'm highly doubting there will be any issues. I'd leave her alone (no handling, going in and out of the enclosure, etc. unless necessary such as for water) for 5 days or so and try offering an appropriately sized food item then.

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Originally Posted by Sp0rk

now my dad feels bad because he thinks he screwed the feeding up...

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Your dad was doing what works for colubrids (and a few other snakes), it just doesn't work for shy ball pythons. He shouldn't feel bad, he didn't know any better. You too! Don't feel bad. Just read and learn and ask questions (like you are). We were all new once and we've all (okay, most of us) have made mistakes at one point or another. You're on the right track and this is a great site for help. :)
Good luck with your new little one

Yes, don't feel bad! You'll be fine, and so will your new baby.

Anyway, lots of BP babies don't eat the first time they're offered when they've just moved into a new home. Unless s/he's really, really underfed, your snake will be find if s/he misses a meal. Ball pythons like to hide in their cozy little hides, and ambush whatever rodent comes nearby. So if your snake is in the hide at mealtime, don't move the hide and don't move the snake. Just let the prey "accidentally wander too close" to the entrance.

If it's a pinky, it can't do any real harm to anything. So you can just leave it in there with the snake overnight, keep the lights off and keep the commotion to a minimum, and it might just be gone in the morning. If not, don't sweat it and try again next week.

Even if you can't easily weigh the snake, you could post a photo of the snake sitting in your hand for scale, and maybe the forum folks can better advise as to what size food it needs. Baby BP's are bigger than baby colubrids (obviously), and they can eat adult mice sooner than you might think if a baby corn snake is your point of reference.

Just a note - looking at that skinny little Ball Python throat, you wouldn't think that they could eat a prey item as big around as their belly - but believe me, give them a chance and that little throat gets as big around as the rest of their body, when they have something they want to get down it! I had my California Kingsnake before I ever got a BP, so that's what I was used to feeding. There's not a huge difference in circumference from neck to belly - some, but not like there is for ball pythons. Not only can they eat a larger prey item than a kingsnake, while they're actually smaller than the king, but they'll also grow a LOT faster. My year-old+ king just hit 150g, while my six-or-so-month old BP girl, who I got when she weighed less than him, is already over 500g and ready for small rats. The king is still eating large hoppers and small weaned mice.