My baby wont eat someone help

I got a new baby ball 2 or 3 weeks ago. It doesnt seem to be stressed out but she will not eat. I have tried twice,one live pinky and one frozen. I have never had one this small and I wondered if that had something to do with it. I take her hide and water out then put the mouse in but she will act like its not there. She isnt showing any sign of a respiratory infection.

What are you cage temps? Humidity level?

You'll need stuff to measure that. Target sells a great indoor/outdoor thermometer that measures 2 temps (one in the unit and one uses a probe) and humidity %. Perfectly enough, you can place the unit on the cool side and the probe on the warm spot, and know exactly what your cool side and warm side temps are.

Check your temps. 82-84 on cool, 92-94 on the hot. Make sure she has a bunch of hides for security. Try the crumpled up newspaper trick (pretty self explanatory). As I have been corrected before, leave the hide and water in there since they are ambush hunters. Put the live pinky in there, turn off the lights and leave the room. She will eat soon enough! Good luck!

You might want to offer something larger than a pinky. Aside from just being a half meal in and of itself, sometimes pinkies just aren't big enough to be noticed by them. I would recommend a large fuzzy to hopper size being the minimum sized prey for any baby ball python. They grow so fast as babies and need the food to do it, and pinkies just don't cut it.

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

You might want to offer something larger than a pinky. Aside from just being a half meal in and of itself, sometimes pinkies just aren't big enough to be noticed by them. I would recommend a large fuzzy to hopper size being the minimum sized prey for any baby ball python. They grow so fast as babies and need the food to do it, and pinkies just don't cut it.

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Unless the person was talking about a rat pinky

The temp and humity are right. But I am going to make a trip to target. I am scared to leave a bigger mouse in she might not eat it and get hurt. Maybe I should not worry so much. How many can u have in one 10 gallon tank?

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Originally Posted by snakedon

The temp and humity are right. But I am going to make a trip to target. I am scared to leave a bigger mouse in she might not eat it and get hurt. Maybe I should not worry so much. How many can u have in one 10 gallon tank?

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How many what?

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Originally Posted by snakedon

The temp and humity are right. But I am going to make a trip to target. I am scared to leave a bigger mouse in she might not eat it and get hurt. Maybe I should not worry so much. How many can u have in one 10 gallon tank?

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Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding, but how do you know your temps are right if you have yet to purchase a thermometer?

If you leave a fuzzy or a hopper in with your snake for an hour or so, the chances of them being hurt are very slim. I leave live small rats in for an hour or so with mine and never had any issues with bites. When people talk about rodent bites, its usually from rodents being left in overnight or longer.

Did you ask how many ball pythons can be kept in a ten gallon? One. As with ANY size enclosure. One snake, one cage. They should not be housed together. Either both stress out and suffer from it or one takes dominance over the other and the submissive snake suffers.

how many snakes? I have 2 snakes in seperate tanks but i am supposed to be getting a jungle pastel soon. My friend gave me a huge 50 gallon fish tank yesterday but i am afraid i will have problems with keeping the temp right in there

I wouldn't put a baby in a 50 gallon....too hard to heat and even if you do get it set up properly, that baby isn't going to feel safe enough to roam and find the right temps. It will probably just end up shacking up on the cool end and going downhill from there.

Ever look at any of the sterilite or rubbermaid tub setups some people on here have?

thanx i am glad i didnt do it.yeah i have seen them. i am going to look into that. but would it be ok to put 2 snakes in a 10 gallon with seperate hides?

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Originally Posted by snakedon

thanx i am glad i didnt do it.yeah i have seen them. i am going to look into that. but would it be ok to put 2 snakes in a 10 gallon with seperate hides?

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Still not ok to put two snakes in a single tank. Doesnt matter how many hides...

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but would it be ok to put 2 snakes in a 10 gallon with seperate hides?

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Absolutely not. They are not social and will compete for hiding places, time at the water bowl, etc etc. Some people even say "oh but they like being together, see, they cuddle in the same hide"...just shows their ignorance... That's actually one snake's way of giving the middle finger to the other.

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

Absolutely not. They are not social and will compete for hiding places, time at the water bowl, etc etc. Some people even say "oh but they like being together, see, they cuddle in the same hide"...just shows their ignorance... That's actually one snake's way of giving the middle finger to the other.

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Oh to go through life without a middle finger. Just so sad...

Especially in Jersey, right Jamie!?

no her tank is properly set up. she has a hide and thrmometers. but i didnt know that one will be dominant so i will have to get another tank for my jungle pastel thanx

No problem....glad we could help. Your welcome to do a search on "two snakes one cage" type topics to confirm. Its a little controversial, but we've set most of the nay-sayers right!

I am glad i asked. the last thing i want unhappy snakes with middle fingers lol

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Originally Posted by snakedon

no her tank is properly set up. she has a hide and thrmometers. but i didnt know that one will be dominant so i will have to get another tank for my jungle pastel thanx

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What type of thermometer and hygrometer are you using to measure temps and humidity?

Are you using the stick on dials/strips that you get in a pet store or an actual digital thermometer/hygrometer combo?

She has "a" hide, or two? She needs one on the warm side and one on the cool side. How are you heating your enclosure? What are your current temps and humidity?

Answers to these questions may help us help you! ;)

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

Especially in Jersey, right Jamie!?

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Its the state bird my friend...

out of control!

the temps are 89 on the warm side and81 on the other.humidity is 52. she only has one hide until friday

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Originally Posted by snakedon

the temps are 89 on the warm side and81 on the other.humidity is 52. she only has one hide until friday

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Get those temps up a bit on the warm side. 92-94. Also, you can use anything for a hide in the interim. Empty cereal box cut down to size, microwave popcorn box with a hold cut in the top, etc. Throw some more hides in there. Good luck!

try to bump up that warm side temp. Are you turning off the heat at night? A night drop will almost always cause them to lose their appetite. If not, check and see what the temps are doing overnight. And adjust your heating setup accordingly. As you are learning, 10 gallon tanks are a pain in the butt to heat!

The nice thing about the Target thermomter I was telling you about is that it stores the high and low temps in memory, so you can see what kind of range you are getting.

The temps usually stay the same at night. I am working on a capn crunch hide right now lol. What is the brand of the thermometer at target?

I can't remember....its gray in color...but theres other brands out there that do the same thing....Accu-rite is one of them. Basically what your looking for is a thermometer/hygrometer with an external probe.

Sorta looks like this except it measures humidity as well:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...ZZZ_SS260_.jpg

ok now that i know what i to look for it wont be hard. You guys helped me a bunch today cant wait till my husband gets home so i can tell him

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Originally Posted by snakedon

I got a new baby ball 2 or 3 weeks ago. It doesnt seem to be stressed out but she will not eat. I have tried twice,one live pinky and one frozen. I have never had one this small and I wondered if that had something to do with it. I take her hide and water out then put the mouse in but she will act like its not there. She isnt showing any sign of a respiratory infection.

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I've been told on this site and also from experience that you do not want to take out the hides from the enclosure when feeding. It makes sense when it is explained... Balls like "safety". They are a prey animal and by taking out the hide you are making him/her feel vulnerable. Well this is what I've found. I feed my little guy in his enclosure too and he comes out of his hide when he wants to and nabs the prey item. But if I remove his hide he curls up and is frightened. Granted we've had him long enough now that he will eat with or without his hide but you may want to give him/her that security for now. Besides a pinky cannot hurt him/her.

Try putting the food item in the cage, put the top back on and walk away. Come back in 20 minutes or so and see if the food item is gone. Also, remember that balls don't really have to eat every week. They will eat when they want to and are fine unless you start seeing noticable weight loss. The breeder I told you about before would be a great source of info for you. Take your ball to his store, tell him Mackenzie sent you. He's a great guy.

One more thing... He has these great setups that have a solid wood top. You can just buy the top to fit your current tank. I have NEVER had any issues with temperature nor humidity because of this solid top with a light/heat source cut out of the top. You should really go and take a look.