My Ball won't eat

I have had my baby Ball Python for about 1 1/2 weeks now. It is about 1 1/2 months old. I got it from a reputed reptile specialty shop. I have it's enclosure set up just right and everything like that. Right temps on both sides, right humidity, 2 hiding places, good bedding.

I tried feeding it a live pinky/fuzzy about 4 days ago. I tried feeding it in it's enclosure...didn't work. So i tried feeding it in a smaller tank....didn't work. I tried for hours. So I waited about 4 days and bought a frozen pre-killed pinky. I thawed it out at home and put it under a heat lamp to heat it up for awhile, tried feeding the snake for awhile....didn't work. So the next day I tried buying another live pinky/fuzzy...left it in the snakes enclosure for a good 4 - 5 hours and nothing.

The snake shows absolutely no interest in the food at all. What is the problem? What can I do? I'm starting to think about just taking it back to where I got it.

Try waiting a week or so and retry him. If you offer him food every day or two it is going to reinforce what he's already doing. He may not have settled in to his new home yet.

Can you explain his setup? What type of cage? what are his temps and humidity? Substrate? It really helps to explain your setup in it's entirety.

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I have had my baby Ball Python for about 1 1/2 weeks now. It is about 1 1/2 months old. I got it from a reputed reptile specialty shop. I have it's enclosure set up just right and everything like that. Right temps on both sides, right humidity, 2 hiding places, good bedding.

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Can you be more specific, I know you bought him from a "Reputable Pet Shop" and I would assume you set him up also according to their recommendation so I will ask

How big is your BP, how big is your enclosure?
What are your temps and humidity, what type of device do you use to measure them?
Can you describe your hides?

There are many reasons why a BP can refuse food however since you have a young BP the problem is likely husbandry related.

He is about 1 1/2 months old and I haven't officially measured him but he looked to be about 18 inches long or so.

He is in a 10 gallon glass enclosure...using Reptile Bark natural reptile bedding. Hot side right now is 91 degrees and cool side is 82 degrees. Humidity is 50%

And I'm using an under tank heater pad and a ceramic heating bulb on top...they level the hot side temperature out throughout the day to 90-94 degrees

I think you should leave him alone for a week or two with no handling, no attempted feedings, only interaction being to change water, etc before you try again. Once he's comfy he'll eat.

Is it possible its a captive hatched baby? The "reputable shop" you bought it from did they guarentee it to eat? Please remember this time of the year alot of the pet stores have these captive hatched babies that never eat.This more then likely includes the "reputable" shops also.

How are you measuring the temperatures? What type of hides does he have? Where in the house is the tank located? Do you have the screen top covered with foil/tape(or plastic wrap) and the sides covered with dark paper to keep humidity and to provide security?

Was the snake eating before you purchased it? Are you offering mice pinkies/fuzzies or rats? Is the enclosure in a high traffic area? Is anyone handling the snake right now? How are you measuring temps/humidity?

The more info you can give us, the better we can access the needs of your snake and give you the correct advice to get him feeding regularly.


-Evan

A few more Q's.... what was the shop feeding it before: F/T or live Rats or mice? Find out and only attempt to feed what it has been eating until he starts to eat regularly for you, then you can try to switch if you like.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

Is it possible its a captive hatched baby? The "reputable shop" you bought it from did they guarentee it to eat? Please remember this time of the year alot of the pet stores have these captive hatched babies that never eat.This more then likely includes the "reputable" shops also.

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CH babies are not bad snakes, and selling CH doesn't make a shop unreputable. Selling non-feeding WC adults does, but not CH. In my experience, most CH eat readily, and once established are no different than CB.

-Evan

Okay, to answer the questions as best as I can:

I have been handling him everyday. My thought process on that is that I want to tame him as a young guy so when he's older and bigger he is just as tame and not hard to handle. Is it a good idea to leave him alone for a week with no interaction only to change his water dish?

The pet store I went to is called "Reptile Depot" in Chatsworth. I'm sure it was a Captive Bred baby, definitely not wild caught and I doubt captive hatched. The guy said that "the snakes have been eating fine" thought they had quite a few of them there so I doubt they could have kept track of each and every individual snake to monitor if they were all eating right. Thought my girlfriend got a ball python on the same day that I did from the same litter and it has already eaten....days ago. The very first time she tried feeding it...it ate just fine.

I am measuring the temperatures of hot side and humidity with those small circular analog dials that stick to the inside of the enclosure. I have them mounted on opposite sides about 1 inch above the bedding. Then I have a digital thermometer that has a probe placed on the cool side to monitor that temp. The hides I'm using are a natural looking squarish rock "cave" with 2 entrances/exits and it's small enough to where he can fit snugly in it. That is on the hot side. On the cool side I have one of those rocks with the hole on the top lid. The snake goes through the hole and the rock on the inside is hollowed out so its nice and safe in there. He likes it in there.

The tank is in my room all the time. Not a lot of foot traffic goes there at all. And it gets enough natural sunlight during the day. I do not have the screen lid covered with foil or anything. It is not in a high traffic area and I have offered him 2 fuzzies and one pinkie. Fuzzies are the real tiny ones with real short white hair right? And pinkies are basically bald? The shop was feeding the snakes live pinkies or fuzzies I forgot which one he said.

BigDan,

A few months ago I was in your shoes, I knew very little. After reading here hours a day I feel like a pro, although i'm far from it. People here are experts in every sense of the word.

I think the biggest mistake your making is that your handling him every day, that's a huge no no. Your snake needs acouple weeks to adapt to his new home, it's just a baby and look at the change it just went through. You need to give a new snake atleast a week or two to relax in his new home. This frequent handling is most likely causing your snake a ton of stress and a stressed snake is not going to eat very well. After he's on a routine take him out a few times a week but for now let him get settled in. This goes for an adult BP never mind a little tike like yours.

Also, get a good digital thermometer such as the accurite which is sold at Walmart for like $11. It will tell you your hot/cool and humidity levels. Those dial thermometers are not very accurate at all. The Accurite has a temp probe that you can place right in the hot hide for an accurate reading where the snake will actually be.

Last but not least, get two identical hides, all your snake should think about is if he wants to heat up or cool off, not which hide he likes better. Two identical hides are pretty much the standard.

Are you using a thermostat with your UTH?

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Originally Posted by Evan Jamison

CH babies are not bad snakes, and selling CH doesn't make a shop unreputable. Selling non-feeding WC adults does, but not CH. In my experience, most CH eat readily, and once established are no different than CB.

-Evan

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Evan i did not mean my comments as to say that CH are bad snakes nor it makes the shops unreputable.I was just mentioning it as a possibility that this snake might need some extra time to start eating.That is if it is infact a CH.Sorry if anyone misunderstood me:) .

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Originally Posted by BigDan35

Okay, to answer the questions as best as I can:

I have been handling him everyday. My thought process on that is that I want to tame him as a young guy so when he's older and bigger he is just as tame and not hard to handle. Is it a good idea to leave him alone for a week with no interaction only to change his water dish?.

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Well here is the problem more then likely.Its best to leave them totaly alone until they have eaten a couple times or so on thier own.You have plenty of time to "tame" him ;) .Only disturb him to change the water or remove poo:D

Yea I guess I could leave him alone for awhile. I thought babies had to eat about once a week or so? If he DID eat at the shop I got him at....lets just say it was a few days before I got him....I've had him for about 10 days no. So conceivably it's been about 2 weeks since he has eaten....then if I let him alone with no handling for a week...it'll be 3 weeks since he has eaten.

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Originally Posted by BigDan35

I have been handling him everyday. My thought process on that is that I want to tame him as a young guy so when he's older and bigger he is just as tame and not hard to handle. Is it a good idea to leave him alone for a week with no interaction only to change his water dish?

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Stop handling him until after you've had a successful feed. Even when any of mine miss a week, I stop all handling except what's required (cleaning, etc) until they are feeding again. Overhandling will stress out a baby that's already having to acclimate to a new home.

By and large, ball pythons are pretty "tame" in relation to other species of snakes and you have close to 30 years with him to handle him.

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Originally Posted by BigDan35

The tank is in my room all the time. Not a lot of foot traffic goes there at all. And it gets enough natural sunlight during the day. I do not have the screen lid covered with foil or anything. It is not in a high traffic area and I have offered him 2 fuzzies and one pinkie. Fuzzies are the real tiny ones with real short white hair right? And pinkies are basically bald? The shop was feeding the snakes live pinkies or fuzzies I forgot which one he said.

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Wait an entire week without handling him - I'd even suggest that you fill his enclosure with loosely crumpled newspaper to give him extra cover and security. After the week, pick a day of the week you plan to feed each week and buy a mouse hopper (fully furred, eyes open, still nursing) and drop it in the enclosure with the newspaper still in there and walk away. Check back in 1/2 an hour and there should be no more hopper.

There will be many more feeds to watch in the future. For now, you want to get him started on a good weekly feed response.

After he feeds, no handling for 48 hours to reduce the risk of a regurgitation.

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by BigDan35

Yea I guess I could leave him alone for awhile. I thought babies had to eat about once a week or so? If he DID eat at the shop I got him at....lets just say it was a few days before I got him....I've had him for about 10 days no. So conceivably it's been about 2 weeks since he has eaten....then if I let him alone with no handling for a week...it'll be 3 weeks since he has eaten.

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He'll be fine :)

you DEFIANTLY need to get a digital thermometer. those dial ones can be up to 10 degrees off. and if you say its reading 90-94 an inch above the substrate, just think how hot it much be where the snakes belly is? hot enough to burn the poor guy. thats #1 thing.

#2, a thermostat is a very good idea to control your UTH, they can spike up to 110 degrees if run unprotected. at least get a rheostat (lamp dimmer) to control the heat.

reptilebasics.com reptilesupply.com are just some places to try and find a thermostat or rheostat. the thermometer can be found at walmart, lowes, home depot, ect.

good luck

can you run a rheostat and thermostat at the same time?

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Originally Posted by jeffjr464

can you run a rheostat and thermostat at the same time?

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Yes, but the rheostat needs to be downcurrent from the thermostat.