Feeding at night

I got my bp on the 31 of december and he still hasn't ate he is in a 20g long and it has good temps i have offred many times but he still hasnt ate . When they leave there hide at night are they going out to hunt? would this be a good time to pre scent for like 15 minutes and then drop it in Thanks for all the help

You could downsize to a ten gallon... Untill he eats also. They are nocturnal so they hunt at night. Pre-sent thentry it!! Leave the lights on and leave the room.

Ball pythons are nocturnal.. I always feed mine at night. prekilled rodents can even be left overnight in the cage with the snake.. sometimes that's all a shy snake needs before it will eat.

i have tried leaving it in over night but i think the noise i made opening up his cage(he has clips and such) bothered him so much he didn't come out the rest of the night.

How big is the snake? One thing most of my guys need is security. They need to feel safe without any stress. I would suggest trying at night with lights out.

he is 168 grams when i got him i havn't gotten a digital scale yet its on the list...but he hasnt lost any noticble weight.

I always start hatchlings in 6qt tubs, A large tank can stress them and cause them not to eat. Theres alot of tricks , Leaving the snake with a prey item in a rolled up paperbag works well sometimes. Night is the best time to feed! First of all I would get the animal set up in a smaller enclosure with proper temps and leave him alone for a week or two before offering a meal. Good luck and keep us posted! Bryan

WestCoast is right. 168g in a 20gal long, he may never eat. Get him in a much smaller enclosure, leave him alone then try again.

i have a 6qt tub stitting right here in front of me i bought it for a feeding tub what should i do to make it bp worthy

so here is what i did i got my 6 qt and i put some aspen and a hide in there and he is just searching around in there im gonna put the mouse that i have pre scenting in there in about 30 minutes and im gonna put some encycopedias on top of it for the night.

If you just moved him to a new enclosure you'd probably want to wait at least a couple of days before you offer food.. he'll be a bit stressed from moving to a different cage and won't be likely to eat.

You need to wait atleast a week. Does he have water and heat in his new enclosure? Is the mouse live you plan on leaving in overnight? Out of my 40 ball pythons I only have 4 or 5 that will eat pre killed. The rest of them have to be fed live. Never leave them unattended when feeding live.

I would really recommend you leave him alone at least a week to get that secure feeling. Be very careful about leaving prey in overnight! Sometimes I will leave a rat pinky or a mouse hopper but nothing bigger than that. Mice can be worse than rats for chewing on a non eating snake. Give him a week break and then try a hopper for 15 min and see what happens.:gj:

Incase any body reads this i put him in a 10 gallon with abunch of hides so he feels safer and in 1 week i am gonna put a small mouse in his viv and hopefully he bites.

Its my theory that many new owners have problems feeding their snakes not only because of less than optimal husbandry requirements but also because they fail to notice the signs of "eating mode". If all your husbandry (heat, enclosure size, humidity, etc.) is optimal and your still not getting a strike then maybe its because you are making movements that throw you snake out of hunting mode and into defensive mode.

A curios snake with constant tongue flicking is a good sign. When my snake tastes around with short jerky movements than I know its in eating mode. If I slowly lower a prey item into the enclosure and wiggle it, he will strike. Now if I open the lid fastly and show that I'm not feeding but lets say cleaning he will retreat into his hide.

Have you tried wiggling the mouse to intice the snake? If it retreats or balls up you know its not in feeding mode, but if it gets closer and starts to investigate thats a good sign. Just keep wiggling it until he gets closer and closer and then BAM! You need a change of pants. (Feeding tongs are highly recommended for this approach).

Hope I didn't confuse you.

Austin

My snake has only demenstarated this behavior once with a live mouse but the slightest movement will put him on the edge witch makes my snake particulary hard to deal with so i belive my new setup will help.

In my new set up everything is really close togeather theres not alot of floor room with nothin on it but i still have the right temps on each hide and a water bowl. is this gonna be a problem.

also he chooses not to hide in his hides but behind a half long decorated with plants he uses the plants as cover i recon he did this when he was in the 20 gallon aswell

Its good that you recognized this behavior. Once you really get familiar with your snake you will know how to move and such around it without throwing it out of feeding mode. Slow, smooth motions usually work with mine. Overtime my snake has become less sensative to movement. I'm sure yours will too.

Austin

I have one snake that seems to be easily frightened of her prey, yet she won't eat the frozen thawed. I just give her a tight and secure hide where she can observe the prey item and strike when she is comfortable. It may also pay to leave her alone COMPLETELY for two weeks before attempting feeding again. I also feed my snakes at night.

well i moved him into his new enclosure wensdaty and i was planning on trying to feed him again next wensday should i wait a 2 weeks or just one i will try to get pics of the new enclosure here soon so you guys can crtique it.

Here is my setup

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...tank_thumb.jpg


the lamp on top is only a 7.5w light i found at my work it dosnt suck humity and it provides a photocycle and i can view him during the day.

The thermometer you have there says it's 76 degrees.. that's too cool, and may be your problem. They're less likely to want to eat if they're kept too cool. Temps should be low 80s on the cool side, and low 90s on the warm side.

Yeah i have been toying with the idea of geting a nother undertank heater but my temps vary alot i took this picture after all of the other heating in my room turned off ( i have turtles with huge lights that heat up my whole room) and during the day it is 80-82 but it dose drop at night.

Is there a warm spot that reaches 90-92?

yeah its between 91-95 generaly right now its 93.5