Beans is being stubborn, or just picky.

sooooo I need some help. for almost 3 weeks now Beans will not eat, we tried frozen thawed, then live. and he refused both, we even soaked the rat overnight to make sure it's thawed all the way, we also made sure it was at the right temperature, we also tried feeding him when he was active at night so that he would be trying to hunt! but he didn't eat. I'm getting worried and need some help with techniques to get him to start eating? I really appreciate any help as long as it's not negative. if I need correction feel free to do so but please don't be discouraging about it or negative. thank you for your time and efforts to help me! Beans I'm sure will also thank you.

Stop any handling/interaction/etc until it has eaten three times consecutively without issues at minimum. Like, leave the animal entirely alone. Period. Ensure that it’s temps, enclosure, hiding areas are dialed in: 90° warm spot, 80° cool spot, 50-60% humidity, little if any disturbance... I know you’re excited about having a new pet, but the interaction has to stop until it’s feeding regularly. Basic BP 101.


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First, 3 weeks is no big deal as long as he is in good condition, so try not to stress a bunch.

In one of your other threads I had mentioned a few suggestions. Not sure if you saw them or not or what the thread was called but it was:

1. Don't keep trying to feed him every few days. Wait at least a week, maybe two before you try again. The key here is keeping stress low as he adjusts to his new home.
2. Don't handle him till he is consistently eating. Same reason, keeping the stress low on him.
3. The temps you had mentioned seemed a touch on the hot side. If you haven't corrected them yet and need more help understanding how to get a temperature gradient let me know and I can go into more detail. You want the coolest part of his enclosure in the high 70s so he has a place to cool down if he needs to.

Other than that the big thing is patience. Some times they refuse food for a while, especially boys. He did accept at least one meal with you if I remember correctly? That one was frozen/thawed right? Was it just the one and then he went off of food?

yes, I think the temperature right now is (on the hot side) 87 degrees right now, the cold side is at 71 and his water is 69 degrees. I'm forcing myself not to handle him as much to lower stress level and so far I think I'm doing well. thank you for your help.

Okay great. I know it's super hard not to stress, but once you got all husbandry correct he will eat when he is ready :)

the skin near the neck is a bit droopy and you can kinda see and feel his vertebrae, I hear that when it's like that then they are starving? or that they are sick or something? he is still like round, but not completely round. if you get what I mean, I'm horrible at explaining things.

Cool side is low by like 10° which is incredibly significant and is likely contributing to the feeding strike. You also mentioned reduction of handling, it needs to cease entirely until the animal is feeding reliably without exception.


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First, I agree with all of the above answers. Second (in addition), Are you feeding the same kind of rodent that he was raised on? Mice & rats smell & taste different, & many BPs will only accept the one they like best. (This is not true of many other kinds of snakes, but it's fairly typical for BPs to show a preference.) Also: when your snake is fairly new to you, it's best to feed the same way as what was previously successful; that is to say, if he was raised on live, he's likely to want live, & if he was raised on f/t, then only offer f/t. BPs are pretty "opinionated" about their prey.

I agree with JM here.

You need to get the cool side temps up.

Hot side 87-89F

Cool side 77-80F.

Nowhere in a BP tank should it ever be below 75F. Also humidity should be around 50% when not in shed. Make sure you can maintain that with proper substrate, bigger water bowl, etc. if your heating elements are drying out your tank. Keep on eye on this as you raise temps.

Gradient is important too. In other words, if the hot side is 88F, the middle can be 82-84F or so, and the cool side 77-80F. You BP needs to be able to choose what temp is best for them at any given time.

If not gone over, make sure there are hides on the hot and the cool side. They should be identical.

Further, for the people on the forum our number one priority is your animal's well being, not your feelings. People will sometimes be blunt, especially if we think you are doing something wrong. It's not because we hate you or are angry with you, it's because we want what's best for your animal. In this case, people are being blunt because, I think, they are worried about some of the things you are doing and that your BP hasn't eaten. It appears you are doing things to make the situation worse. If your BP is a young animal, time is critical.

My advice:

1. Correct temps and make sure their are hides on both side and matching.

2. DO NOT HANDLE - AT ALL! Don't reduce handling. Stop handling until your BP has eaten 3 meals in a row. If you have to clean the tank, remove your BP and put him/her into a holding container while you clean. Then put him/her back. NO exceptions. His/her life is now dependent on you, and on you being disciplined now and NOT Handling. A healthy BP will live a long, long, time - 20+ years. You'll have a long time to enjoy Beans.

3. Don't offer food too often. 1X a week max.

4. What was he/she eating before? Stick with it. If it was F/T, fine. Feed that. If it was live, feed that. Also same size and prey. In other words, if he/she was eating adult mice, feed adult mice, don't try to switch to rats until he/she is eating regularly.

You should not thaw a rat overnight. It takes a few hours tops in room temp water. Then you blast with a hairdryer or hot water quickly to warm up and entice the BP.

See below for proper technique on defrosting and offering f/t food.

Any questions, just ask, we are here to help.




This is my step by step list on defrosting F/T rodents.

Others may do it differently and that's fine. This how I do it and it works for me.


STEPS FOR DEFROSTING F/T RODENTS/PREY

1. Put prey item(s) into appropriate size plastic bag. I use Quart size ziplock bags up to a medium rat. NOTE: Bags are optional. Some people just throw the prey in the water. I like the bags, but you have to squeeze the air out of them.

2. Fill the container/storage box 3/4 of the way with room temp to slightly warm water. If you have a temp gun (which you should, so if you don't, get one), make sure the water is not hotter than 85-90F, or there about.

3. Put F/T prey item(s) in water. Cover (optional) and leave for an hour +/-.

4. After an hour, rotate/flip prey. If in plastic bags, they often will stay on whatever side you put them in on. So if mouse is on left side, turn to right side, etc.

5. Leave for another hour +/- for a TOTAL of about 2 hours (up to medium sized rat - longer if bigger prey).

6. Check that prey is defrosted totally through. Squeeze at different sections of the preys body. Should be cool/room temp to touch, but be soft with no cold spots. If hard (except for bone), in abdomen, for example, or cold, put back in water until room temp and soft.

7. Take prey out of the container/storage box and put aside. THEN FOLLOW STEPS 8-11 OR STEP 12

8. Fill container with hot water from tap. If using temp gun, water temp should be 110-130F, not more.

9. Drop prey item into water for 30 seconds +/-. If multiple prey items, do one at a time. You want each item hot when you offer.

10. Remove (if hot water, with tongs).

11. Dry as best as you can, and is quickly as you can, with paper towels. I dry with paper towels while I am walking from the bathroom where I defrost to the snake tanks. I kind of wrap the prey item up in them. It's ten feet, so by the time I get to the tanks, the prey is drier, but still warm.

12. If not using hot water, use a hairdryer to heat rat so it entices snake

13. Open tank and offer ASAP - with tongs - not your hand.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BoopsTheBallPython

yes, I think the temperature right now is (on the hot side) 87 degrees right now, the cold side is at 71 and his water is 69 degrees. I'm forcing myself not to handle him as much to lower stress level and so far I think I'm doing well. thank you for your help.

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The cool side at 71* is nearly 10* too cold- you want about 78*-80* on the "cool side" for a BP. If the water bowl is actually 69*, that suggests his "cool side" is probably 69* too, & really IS 10* too low, btw. (The 2* difference in temps. might be just how you're taking the temps.- which makes me wonder if you've really got 87* on the warmest side, or if it's actually 85* & too cool as well???)

Proper heat is super-important for BPs- cool temperatures tells a snake NOT to eat. And if your room is cool & you handle him, that can also make him refuse food, not just the stress of handling, but being subjected to a chilly room.

And don't handle him at all (!) when you're having trouble feeding him. Sorry, "no fun" I know, but it matters. Eating is "job #1" for a snake. No handling until he has eaten 3 consecutive meals at normal intervals & without refusals (unless in shed, that doesn't count, it's a "normal" time for most snakes to refuse food).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BoopsTheBallPython

sooooo I need some help. for almost 3 weeks now Beans will not eat, we tried frozen thawed, then live. and he refused both, we even soaked the rat overnight to make sure it's thawed all the way, we also made sure it was at the right temperature, we also tried feeding him when he was active at night so that he would be trying to hunt! but he didn't eat. I'm getting worried and need some help with techniques to get him to start eating? I really appreciate any help as long as it's not negative. if I need correction feel free to do so but please don't be discouraging about it or negative. thank you for your time and efforts to help me! Beans I'm sure will also thank you.

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A few things, after re-reading this:

"soaked the rat overnight"- in the refrigerator, I hope? If at room temperature that long, it was likely spoiled when you offered it. Bleah.

"we also tried feeding him when he was active at night so that he would be trying to hunt! but he didn't eat."- No surprise. BPs are "ambush hunters"- they do NOT hunt actively, they hide & wait to pounce on prey going by (to "get the drop on their prey"- aka by a "sneak attack"). Best to wait & offer meal when he's peeking out of his hide in evening/night hours, but never when he's roaming the cage actively.

:snake:

I disagree about what the ideal cool side temps should be, but I at least agree that 71F is a little too cold. If the hot side is already 87F though (not the hot spot under substrate) I probably wouldn't mess with it with current equipment and I'd leave it how it is and get a slightly bigger heating pad. How much % of the floor under the enclosure does it cover right now?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

The cool side at 71* is nearly 10* too cold- you want about 78*-80* on the "cool side" for a BP. If the water bowl is actually 69*, that suggests his "cool side" is probably 69* too, & really IS 10* too low, btw. (The 2* difference in temps. might be just how you're taking the temps.- which makes me wonder if you've really got 87* on the warmest side, or if it's actually 85* & too cool as well???)

Proper heat is super-important for BPs- cool temperatures tells a snake NOT to eat. And if your room is cool & you handle him, that can also make him refuse food, not just the stress of handling, but being subjected to a chilly room.

And don't handle him at all (!) when you're having trouble feeding him. Sorry, "no fun" I know, but it matters. Eating is "job #1" for a snake. No handling until he has eaten 3 consecutive meals at normal intervals & without refusals (unless in shed, that doesn't count, it's a "normal" time for most snakes to refuse food).

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I use a temp gun to check temps, I raised the heat in the terrarium and checked the water which has now raised to the same temp as the rest of the cold side which is 76 and still raising!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by nikkubus

I disagree about what the ideal cool side temps should be, but I at least agree that 71F is a little too cold. If the hot side is already 87F though (not the hot spot under substrate) I probably wouldn't mess with it with current equipment and I'd leave it how it is and get a slightly bigger heating pad. How much % of the floor under the enclosure does it cover right now?

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We have to small heat mats on the hot side, one underneath where the hide is and one underneath where the humidity box is! So it cover almost 70% of the hot side.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

First, I agree with all of the above answers. Second (in addition), Are you feeding the same kind of rodent that he was raised on? Mice & rats smell & taste different, & many BPs will only accept the one they like best. (This is not true of many other kinds of snakes, but it's fairly typical for BPs to show a preference.) Also: when your snake is fairly new to you, it's best to feed the same way as what was previously successful; that is to say, if he was raised on live, he's likely to want live, & if he was raised on f/t, then only offer f/t. BPs are pretty "opinionated" about their prey.

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He was raised with rat pups so we are trying f/t rat pups

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by dakski

Further, for the people on the forum our number one priority is your animal's well being, not your feelings. People will sometimes be blunt, especially if we think you are doing something wrong. It's not because we hate you or are angry with you, it's because we want what's best for your animal. In this case, people are being blunt because, I think, they are worried about some of the things you are doing and that your BP hasn't eaten. It appears you are doing things to make the situation worse. If your BP is a young animal, time is critical.

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This^

No one is coming in here with the intention of being mean to you, but every post you make we give you the same advice and to be honest, you kinda don't listen to/follow any of it. It's just discouraging to people trying to help when you put in all your posts that you appreciate the help but not if it's negative, and then you don't use any of the tools you're given.

You HAVE to leave him alone. Like JM said, don't reduce handling, eliminate it until he's eating for you. You cannot expect a snake that you've not allowed time to settle in to a new environment to eat.

I agree with what everyone has said. Those temperatures definitely need to be raised. And handling needs to cease, but from my experiences, after they settle in. And the food is done right, about 4 weeks after not eating I would go and have them checked by a vet [might just be me] just to make sure there isn't anything else wrong. Especially if they were eating before. I've also seen that some snakes prefer the hopper mice over rat fuzzies, so it could just be that Beans is being picky. Have you noticed any signs of shed? Our old BP used to stop eating about a week before he'd go into shed. Maybe its similar? I'm no expert, but these are just some of my experiences and I hope they help. Good luck! :)

he shed over 10 days ago, I told my dad that he could be sick and he wanted to try some things the breeder suggested first.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BoopsTheBallPython

he shed over 10 days ago, I told my dad that he could be sick and he wanted to try some things the breeder suggested first.

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My kenyan sand boa does something similar. She refuses to eat untill about a week and a half after her shed cycle finished. Definitely not the same animal. But it happens sometimes. Good luck :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BlueOrleans1290

My kenyan sand boa does something similar. She refuses to eat untill about a week and a half after her shed cycle finished. Definitely not the same animal. But it happens sometimes. Good luck :)

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Thank you!

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ANNOUNCEMENT! today Beans was showing since of wanting food so we picked up some smaller food items because we found out the rat we were using was to big and we offered him the food AND HE IS EATING RIGHT NOW!!!!! I want to thank all of you for helping me with how to get him to eat I thank you so so much because I no longer have to worry! and don't you worry because I will not be touching him and handling him yet!

:sweeet::carrot::dance:Sweet Happy Dance!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

:sweeet::carrot::dance:Sweet Happy Dance!

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the funny thing is, as he was swallowing it he was doing a little wiggle and it looked like a happy dance!!!! he looked so happy after eating, he grabbed the first one (we had gotten two live baby mice because he didn't have the correct sized one, and he said it was fine to feed both one after the other, giving pauses so he could reset his jaw, but he said he did it all the time so it was fine to do it) the first baby mouse was bitten in the butt (literally) and swallowed butt first, but the second one he got by the head and swallowed it like that! I'm so proud of my silly boy!

Yes, a "two-fer" is fine, as long as they total up to the correct size of what they'd eat as a single item, so not to worry. And always feed soon after one another- if you wait too long, you risk a regurge.

hey random question is there a way to change my username? I want to change it to "Beans the derp" because I was going to name him Boop but instead chose Beans. and now I want to change the name to Beans the derp.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BoopsTheBallPython

hey random question is there a way to change my username? I want to change it to "Beans the derp" because I was going to name him Boop but instead chose Beans. and now I want to change the name to Beans the derp.

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Not sure, I'll get back to ya.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Not sure, I'll get back to ya.

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Last I recall a username can only be changed by a mod and you only get one change ever.


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Yay!! Glad he finally ate for you.

my dad recorded it and I was so proud of my derpy scale child! I was before to but sense I had been so worried about him it was even more special

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BoopsTheBallPython

my dad recorded it and I was so proud of my derpy scale child! I was before to but sense I had been so worried about him it was even more special

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Better put it on your calendar so you remember his "anniversary"! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BoopsTheBallPython

ANNOUNCEMENT! today Beans was showing since of wanting food so we picked up some smaller food items because we found out the rat we were using was to big and we offered him the food AND HE IS EATING RIGHT NOW!!!!! I want to thank all of you for helping me with how to get him to eat I thank you so so much because I no longer have to worry! and don't you worry because I will not be touching him and handling him yet!

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What size were you trying to feed with originally? Just curious, lots of people say different things lol. Also congrats! So happy for you and your Mr.Beans! I hope it stays this way!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BlueOrleans1290

What size were you trying to feed with originally? Just curious, lots of people say different things lol. Also congrats! So happy for you and your Mr.Beans! I hope it stays this way!

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It might also have been the change from rat to mice that got him to eat- many BPs have preferences. But...it's done now, water under the bridge. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

It might also have been the change from rat to mice that got him to eat- many BPs have preferences. But...it's done now, water under the bridge. ;)

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Oh yes! That is oh so true, I was just wondering for my own references too, I enjoy collecting information. Especially if I can use it eventually to help anyone else ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

It might also have been the change from rat to mice that got him to eat- many BPs have preferences. But...it's done now, water under the bridge. ;)

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we think that he wouldn't eat because the rat we had was way bigger than the mice we had, we also now have to remember to get him black mice because some BP's will only like a certain colored piece of food which is REALLY weird!

yeah, the first one was a "rat pup"" but it defiantly was not a baby, it was bigger than an adult mouse, or I'm being stupid and that's how the babies are sized, but it didn't look like a baby. we went and got him 2 baby fancy mice and that filled him up! he really likes fancy mice now, the first one it took him like 10 minutes to finally strike at but the second one took like 1 minute!
and I never really thought of Mr.Beans, I call him Beans because when we first got him he was really curious and I would always call things that are curious a "Curious Bean" so I was like OH MY GOSH HIS NAME IS BEANS!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BeansTheDerp

yeah, the first one was a "rat pup"" but it defiantly was not a baby, it was bigger than an adult mouse, or I'm being stupid and that's how the babies are sized, but it didn't look like a baby. we went and got him 2 baby fancy mice and that filled him up! he really likes fancy mice now, the first one it took him like 10 minutes to finally strike at but the second one took like 1 minute!
and I never really thought of Mr.Beans, I call him Beans because when we first got him he was really curious and I would always call things that are curious a "Curious Bean" so I was like OH MY GOSH HIS NAME IS BEANS!

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Haha! Thats so cute. I'm so happy for you and your snake. It tickles me to hear of someone having such passion for their animal. I love it :P

my dog is jealous, he's usually the one who gets the love and attention. he even gives me the stink eye if he sees me cooing over Beans. he has this look on his face like, "why have you betrayed me, why....." but when he got to sniff Beans his tail was just-a-wagging and Beans was trying to crawl on him. my cat once snuck in my room and tried to kill Beans though so he got a light bonk in the head and got kicked out of my room. lol Beans was ok though! didn't even leave a scratch!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BeansTheDerp

my dog is jealous, he's usually the one who gets the love and attention. he even gives me the stink eye if he sees me cooing over Beans. he has this look on his face like, "why have you betrayed me, why....." but when he got to sniff Beans his tail was just-a-wagging and Beans was trying to crawl on him. my cat once snuck in my room and tried to kill Beans though so he got a light bonk in the head and got kicked out of my room. lol Beans was ok though! didn't even leave a scratch!

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Kitty was just like "um.. but isn't that food?" :gj:
When my reptiles refuse meals I give it to our outdoor cat so it isn't wasted lol. Sometimes she's like "ew gros mom why?" And other times she takes it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BeansTheDerp

my dog is jealous, he's usually the one who gets the love and attention. he even gives me the stink eye if he sees me cooing over Beans. he has this look on his face like, "why have you betrayed me, why....." but when he got to sniff Beans his tail was just-a-wagging and Beans was trying to crawl on him. my cat once snuck in my room and tried to kill Beans though so he got a light bonk in the head and got kicked out of my room. lol Beans was ok though! didn't even leave a scratch!

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My dog, his name is Asherhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0a0a71c698.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...7fa27e16db.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2b25a87e07.jpg

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by BeansTheDerp

My dog, his name is Asherhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0a0a71c698.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...7fa27e16db.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2b25a87e07.jpg

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Aww he's so cute! He looks similar to my dog lol. Such a big happy fam over there. Gotta love the fur babies and the scaled ones

oh yes he is a BIG baby! he's like 98 pounds and thinks he's a lap dog. he also snores while he is awake and it's really loud when he does. he's our little weird baby! he's a Neapolitan mastiff mix, mixed with Pitbull and something else. he's turning 9 this year! I'm surprised he got along with Beans because he loves wild animals and he once accidentally killed a rabbit when he was just a puppy and you should've seen his face it was so sad! the rest of the day he was all droopy because he just wanted to play with it. he learned his lesson to be less rough though.

he's also a couch potato but usually a floor potato because he isn't aloud on the couch anymore. he sneaks onto it when we're gone and we've caught him a couple times and kicked him off and he just slowly gets off and lays on the floor and looks up at us with puppy eyes. he has really big puppy eyes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BeansTheDerp

he's also a couch potato but usually a floor potato because he isn't aloud on the couch anymore. he sneaks onto it when we're gone and we've caught him a couple times and kicked him off and he just slowly gets off and lays on the floor and looks up at us with puppy eyes. he has really big puppy eyes.

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Aww our old great dane was just like that!

so this is odd..... we just noticed that, Beans wasn't eating again last week on the day he was scheduled to feed, he wasn't even showing interest in food. so we waited a week! and he ate. he's around 212 grams and already eating once every 2 weeks or else he won't even show interest in eating or the food we give him. very odd little noodle

Probably still trying to settle in. The curiosity and fear with a new environment could have him spending time places he otherwise wouldn't, slowing digestion.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BeansTheDerp

so this is odd..... we just noticed that, Beans wasn't eating again last week on the day he was scheduled to feed, he wasn't even showing interest in food. so we waited a week! and he ate. he's around 212 grams and already eating once every 2 weeks or else he won't even show interest in eating or the food we give him. very odd little noodle

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Although not as common for young snakes to skip meals, it can happen. They seem to know what they are doing, assuming they are healthy otherwise, and husbandry is good.

Beans didn't eat for a while if I recall, and might take some time, even if husbandry is good and he is healthy, for him to get a regular eating schedule.

Are you still offering live and the same prey that worked the first time? Or are you trying to switch to F/T and/or a different prey item? Also, are you handling at all? Personally, I would be leaving Beans alone until he's taken 3 meals in a row, not total.

Keep a close eye on Beans and keep us posted. If he continues to skip meals that are the same as he's been taking (prey and prey size and live vs. F/T), you might want to look closer.

Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BeansTheDerp

so this is odd..... we just noticed that, Beans wasn't eating again last week on the day he was scheduled to feed, he wasn't even showing interest in food. so we waited a week! and he ate. he's around 212 grams and already eating once every 2 weeks or else he won't even show interest in eating or the food we give him. very odd little noodle

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I wouldn't worry about it- eating every other week won't hurt him at all. I suspect that you've fed him larger rodents than you thought so he hasn't been hungry. That's why people weigh their snakes AND their rodents, & use the chart for reference. Personally though, I'm just glad he's eating for you- it's been a while since you posted about him & I was wondering how it was going.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2F98qfzDH.png

we're still doing live so that we can transit to F/T. he seems to want to get out and explore more than eat, but then once we get him to realize we have food he's looking to eat. he's already eaten 3 times and I handle him or 30-45 minutes a day as that's what the breeder told us would be appropriate for him. but he keeps begging for more but I won't spoil him. he has a certain time of day where he tries to push the top of the enclosure off and he acts desperate to get out, then end up reaching so high that he falls over. o course I've been keeping an eye on the temps when he does this which they are the appropriate temps he just really likes to explore. my dad usually wants to watch me feed him but he wasn't eating when he was in the room, so he had to go do something and I continued to try and feed him and he ate almost right away so I think that's because he's used to my presence more than my dads. (he does really like my dad though) we're going to ask the breeder for the OK to start feeding every 2 weeks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BeansTheDerp

we're still doing live so that we can transit to F/T. he seems to want to get out and explore more than eat, but then once we get him to realize we have food he's looking to eat. he's already eaten 3 times and I handle him or 30-45 minutes a day as that's what the breeder told us would be appropriate for him. but he keeps begging for more but I won't spoil him. he has a certain time of day where he tries to push the top of the enclosure off and he acts desperate to get out, then end up reaching so high that he falls over. o course I've been keeping an eye on the temps when he does this which they are the appropriate temps he just really likes to explore. my dad usually wants to watch me feed him but he wasn't eating when he was in the room, so he had to go do something and I continued to try and feed him and he ate almost right away so I think that's because he's used to my presence more than my dads. (he does really like my dad though) we're going to ask the breeder for the OK to start feeding every 2 weeks.

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I'm really glad that he's doing better, but I'm not sure you're following us when we say "eaten three times consecutively." You told us he ate on the 19th, then didn't eat last week, and then he ate this week, unless I'm not following your timeline which is possible so correct me if I'm wrong that's not three consecutive feedings.

Regardless, and I really don't want you to feel like we're being abrasive with you, but personally I think you may be handling too much this early in the process, especially considering the issues you've had up to this point. Based on the photo you showed us Beans is underweight, and if I were you I wouldn't be touching him at all until I had him eating steady and bulking up. Beans is, technically, a special needs snake right now, and you don't want to cause any undue stress that might get him off food again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BeansTheDerp

...he has a certain time of day where he tries to push the top of the enclosure off and he acts desperate to get out, then end up reaching so high that he falls over. o course I've been keeping an eye on the temps when he does this which they are the appropriate temps he just really likes to explore....

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This sounds like a bit of a "red flag" to me. Ball pythons whose needs are being met by their home enclosure do not normally want to come out & explore. Their instincts tell them that staying put & hidden means staying safe & alive.

If the temperatures being provided are adequate, then I suspect that his "hides" are not. Since Beans cannot go shopping for his own (& that's not why he wants out) it's up to you to make sure his hides meet the standards we've already discussed. That might help him to relax & feel safe.

Also, since you mentioned handling him, are you at least waiting until evening to do this? Because he should be sleeping during the day, so if you're handling him by day, that may also be upsetting to him, & making it hard for him to feel safe enough to sleep.

As already mentioned above, any snake that's underweight & in a new home, would NOT be handled by me yet either- he should be resting-eating-& getting stronger before any unnecessary handling. Otherwise you risk his immune system not being able to protect & keep him healthy. You're also risking that he will refuse food, something he doesn't have the body weight yet to withstand.