new bp how to feed! help

hay guys i know this has probebly been asked hundreds of time but ive just got my ball python babie and was told in shop was a good feeder but after getting her home n letting her sette in after a week i cant get her to eat dose any 1 have any ideas or tips thanks also she dosent seem nervouse shes out of her hide and active a lot .

What are you trying to feed?

What are the temperatures in your enclosure, what do you use to monitor/check them? Do you have a hot side and a cool side?

What are you using to heat the enclosure? What do you have for hides and enclosure furniture?

she has a plastic rock a hole in and i brought the whole set up as a kit she has a heat mat just under half the lengh on one side and a cool area with water bowl on the other im feeding her small mice babys that ive left to defrost for a day then warmed up in water . ive takenher out her cage n dangled the food in front of her se defently seems intrested but ive had no result yet sould i keep trying or leave it till next sun ? thanks

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Originally Posted by lewis irvine

she has a plastic rock a hole in and i brought the whole set up as a kit she has a heat mat just under half the lengh on one side and a cool area with water bowl on the other im feeding her small mice babys that ive left to defrost for a day then warmed up in water . ive takenher out her cage n dangled the food in front of her se defently seems intrested but ive had no result yet sould i keep trying or leave it till next sun ? thanks

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you didn't answer the question. What are your hot and cool side surface temperatures, and ambient air temperature. and how are you measuring them?

k il get the temp guages outa the chamelion cages n check let u know soon .

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Originally Posted by lewis irvine

k il get the temp guages outa the chamelion cages n check let u know soon .

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you must have some sort of metering ability for your snake as well as regulation for that UTH. its probably scorching hot in there and thus why she refuses to eat.

you need a probe digital thermometer to measer humidity and hot and cool side temps, also get 2 identical hides and a thermostat, at least a rheostat to control the temp or the heat pad they can get very hot.

hot is reading bout 80 just checkin cold area

hot side should be 88-92 and cool side should be 78-82. read up on this. http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59

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Originally Posted by lewis irvine

hot is reading bout 80 just checkin cold area

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your hot side is to cold. it should be 90-94 and cool side 80-85

ive checked hot area with a infared gun now and the surface temp of the hot area is 89.8 how do heat this up to ur specified heat i currently have a heat mat with about 1 cm of wood chips on top.

89*F is good for the hot side. make sure the coldside is no lower then 80*F surface temp. and ambient air temp in the enclosurei s 80*F.

can you snap a photo of the setup? if she feels unsafe in it she wouldnt refuse food as well.

ive just checked the hot area again with a infared gun and the serface temp is 89.8 how do i rase the temp im currently using a heat mat with just under an inch of chips.

ill try to get a pic the set up is exactly as the shop sold her she seems calm shes out and about and is happy to come on to my hands n crawl about nice n slow no ball .

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Originally Posted by lewis irvine

ill try to get a pic the set up is exactly as the shop sold her she seems calm shes out and about and is happy to come on to my hands n crawl about nice n slow no ball .

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the starter kits most shops sell have allot un-recommended stuff in them like those half log hides that are the bane of our existence here on BP.net

ive got a pic how do put it on the fourm? also her hide is a plastic rock with a hole in it.

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Originally Posted by lewis irvine

ive got a pic how do put it on the fourm? also her hide is a plastic rock with a hole in it.

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host the image at http://tinypic.com first

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2ik8k5z&s=5

[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/2ik8k5z.jpg[/IMG]

What type of mouse babies? Pinkies? Fuzzys? Hoppers?

Baby ball pythons generally can eat small adult mice right out of the egg. Try a small adult mouse ( Something that moves, with fur) and i bet your snake will eat.

Not all ball pythons take frozen thawed prey right off the bat, and pinkies are far too small of a meal.

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Originally Posted by lewis irvine

[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/2ik8k5z.jpg[/IMG]

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that snake should be eating adult mice or small rats, if that is a 20gallon long tank. Feed a prey item as big as the WIDEST part of your snakes body.

how do i get live feed if thats the case thought it was illegal in uk? feedin her fuzzies think there called

there only slightly longer then the widest point of her body

that cage needs some more cover. get some fake plans and cover the sides and rear with either black poster board or some sort of vivarium background to help her feel safe.

if feeding live is illegal then i wouldnt suggest you break the klaw. but if not live is usually easier to get a picky eater to take.

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Originally Posted by lewis irvine

how do i get live feed if thats the case thought it was illegal in uk? feedin her fuzzies think there called

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Live is illegal over there? Dang....

Try a larger prey item fuzzies are too small. As large as the snakes widest part of the body will be fine.

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Originally Posted by lewis irvine

there only slightly longer then the widest point of her body

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As big AROUND. Not as long.

http://pics.livejournal.com/mooingtricycle/pic/0012cbsa

in that case there bout half as wide. is this to small? ive got sm slightly bigger ones in the freezer.

1. Cover 3 sides (except the front) with dark paper or foam board. This will help her feel secure. The constant roaming means she is stressed, it doesn't mean she is happy. A hiding BP is a happy BP.
2. Get a thermostat to control that UTH pronto! You can buy one online at reptile supply or reptile basics. They can get a little pricey, but if you don't have one, there is an extremely high risk that UTH can burn your snake.
3. Get DIGITAL thermometers with PROBES. So you can accurately measure your temps. Also, get something DIGITAL to measure humidity.
4. Get her another hide (preferably identical to the one she has) and place it on the other side of the tank with the water in the middle.

As for getting her to eat. Do you know how much she weighs? If she is around or heavier than 800 grams, I suspect that she might have gone off feed for the winter.
Wait one week, offer again. Wait one week, offer again. Eventually she will eat.

A few things you can try: Heat up the head of the mouse and then present it to her. Leave the mouse to thaw in the same room the snake is in. Leave the thawed mouse in the cage over night.

Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by lewis irvine

in that case there bout half as wide. is this to small? ive got sm slightly bigger ones in the freezer.

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Slightly bigger wont cut it, you want to feed apropriately sized prey items, or the energy wasted digesting the prey (snakes digestive systems are not always "On" like ours ) will not be productive in helping the snake grow. Get Adult mice and try them. If that means another trip to the pet store, that means another trip to the pet store.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake#Internal_organs

cheers guys il give all these a try n leu know how goes!