Baby ball won't eat! What am I doing wrong?

I got a baby ball when it was 3 weeks old. The breeder said it ate a pinkie rat 5 days ago. I left it alone for one week then tried to feed it a pinkie rat. He was not interested at all. Left him alone for 5 days then tried agian. Same reaction. Waited 5 more days and still nothing. He is now 5 and half weeks old. He seem to just want to escape all the time. I have him in a 20 gallon tank with a half log hide on cool side with temp at 82 and another little rock cave hide on the hot side with temps at 94. I heat it with a under tank heater and infred lamp both on hot side. I also have a big log with silk leaves hanging all around it in the middle back on tank and a water dish in front middle of tank. He sleeps in the cool side in the half log. What am I doing wrong? How do I get him to eat?

not doing nothing wrong id lower the temp to 92 though and as for not eating ball pythons are picky eaters and it could be from stress hes not eating hes in a new place and new surroundings give it another week and try again or if u want get a mice hopper and i will bet it will take it

throw that half log away, you want two identical hides, they will favor saftey over comfort anyday.
lower the hot side temps.

try live?

what kind of substrate is he on?

yea like kris said give it a mouse hopper or mouse pinkie i had the same problem and that did it. some are just picky sobs

try a smaller hide.....also try putting dark construction paper around the sides and back....are you feeding pinkie mice or rats...try switching it from mice to rat vice versa......bp's are known to be picky eaters the challenge is finding your animals quirk.
I have some that will eat live some eat FT some eat FK..some eat asf,rats,etc....some wont eat certain colors i dont understand why but i like trying to try different things,
I had a rescue 50% het pied that as given to me as a 6 month non eater......i tried ft mice..nope.......ft rats.....nope,but gave him a live rat pupand he took it right away had him after 1 month and he ate......now eats anything i out infront of him
also have a baby ball that wot eat that i had for a month wont eat either....he gets assist fed and now i just touch the nose with the ft and he takes.......

just be creative and try different things and try reading other peoples post on non eaters and try wat they did also......dont panic and be patient!

identical hides on the hot and cold side are better so your ball can regulate without having to part with a favorite hide. also they should be small enough so your snake can fit snugly inside they want to feel enclosed and safe. the half logs dont really do it for balls because tehres 2 openings that are huge. try cutting some round tupperware for an easy hide make sure its not see through so light stays out. 20 gallons is awful big for a baby i would suggest blocking off 1/3 or 1/4 of it with a piece of cardboard to make em feel more enclosed, if you do this make sure you adjust your under tank heater (UTH). using a lamp and a UTH isnt really necessary and can make it really hot in the tank especially if its glass so make sure you check your thermometer often. personally i use only a uth in my 20 gallon and it works fine so dont be afraid to ditch the lamp. also make sure your humidity is comfortable for the snake. im notsure of the percentage but you can find it somewhere around here.

What kind of thermometers are you using to measure temps?

Get rid of the half log and replace it with a tight fitting hide identical to the rock cave hide.

I think a 20g is a little big for such a small snake. You could try covering the back and sides with some dark paper to help with security.

Sounds like your snake is still a little stressed out.

oh yeah i forgot the most important part, your ball is probably not eating cause its under stress. it could be many other reasons but juding by your entire post thats what id say

I have him on a coconut fibre substrate. The humidity is about 60%. The pinkie rats I did try were live because thats what the breeder said he uses. I also forgot to mention that I put a background on the sides and back of tank for extra security. Maybe I should try a hopper mouse. How do I cut down the stress? I did everything I could think of!

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Originally Posted by seeya205

He seem to just want to escape all the time. I have him in a 20 gallon tank

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I'm zeroing in on that "escape" part as I've just been through that with our new BP. After a month of eating fine, he refused food and went on major daytime roaming, more vertical than anything else, constantly poking around the screen cover. When he started avoiding both hides, draped instead on the AcuRite, and was cold for days along with not eating, Rabernet here came to the rescue.

Her advice of covering the bottom of the tank with crumpled newspaper worked like a charm. Our BP stopped roaming, went back into and stayed inside the warm hide, and yesterday gobbled his first meal since the newspaper was added.

Especially since your BP is younger than mine while your tank is double the size, it could be simply feeling too exposed. Try filling the space with crumpled up newspaper. 2 identical hides might help too. Cheapie bowls (3 for $1) with a doorway cut out work perfectly well and are easy to clean.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for you advice! This is my first time owning a snake! I will get him a better hide and try no lamp. Also I will feed him a hopper in a couple of days! This is my first time on here and it was very helpful and informative! Thanks again guys!

I am still curious as to how you are measuring your temps. Especially the hot side.

You said the snake was using the half log hide on the cool side and not the rock cave hide (a more suitable hide) on the hot side. This leads me to believe that the hot side is hotter than you think it is.

that tank is way big for a baby

I have a digital thermometer/hydgrometer with one probe on the hot and the other on the cool side.

Where is the probe located? Is it right on the glass where the UTH is?

Try a 12 qt tub. My bp is about 5 weeks old, I switched her to a tub from a 20g tank and she started eating. And yes, get rid of that half log.

The probe is under the hide on top of the substrate and UTH is under that! I got rid of the log and got another rock cave like the one on the warm side so they match.

The part about him wanting to escape all the time to me suggest you have been handling him. If so, stop. Do not handle him at all until he eats.

I have not handled in over 2 weeks. I handled him the first day I got him but not since and it is driving me nuts because I do want to handle him so badly!

What do the numbers mean that are in front of the snakes people have? ex: 1.0.1 ball python

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Originally Posted by seeya205

What do the numbers mean that are in front of the snakes people have? ex: 1.0.1 ball python

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male.female.unknown

Thanks for the info!

After removing the bulb, the temps went down to 86 with just the UTH so I put the bulb back and bought a thermostat and adjusted the temp to 90!

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Originally Posted by seeya205

I have him on a coconut fibre substrate. The humidity is about 60%. The pinkie rats I did try were live because thats what the breeder said he uses. I also forgot to mention that I put a background on the sides and back of tank for extra security. Maybe I should try a hopper mouse. How do I cut down the stress? I did everything I could think of!

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Try fuzzie rats sometimes they need a bit of hair on them. To de-stress, don't handle your snake AT all for 5 days... then offer food.

Did you try cluttering up his tank yet? Or switching him to a small tub? Let us know how the next feeding goes!

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

The part about him wanting to escape all the time to me suggest you have been handling him. If so, stop. Do not handle him at all until he eats.

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It actually suggests to me that he is overwhelmed by such a large enclosure, as he was likely housed in a six quart tub at the breeder's.

I would suggest that you move him to a smaller tub until he is eating consistently for you - then if you must use a tank, a 10 gallon for now. A 20 gallon is much too large for a wee baby - and he's telling you so by his behavior and refusal to feed.

Should I kill the hopper mouse or feed it live?

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Originally Posted by rabernet

It actually suggests to me that he is overwhelmed by such a large enclosure, as he was likely housed in a six quart tub at the breeder's.

I would suggest that you move him to a smaller tub until he is eating consistently for you - then if you must use a tank, a 10 gallon for now. A 20 gallon is much too large for a wee baby - and he's telling you so by his behavior and refusal to feed.

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I think Robin is right on:gj:

hopper dead or alive when feeding?

try alive

Feed him a hopper that I prekilled last night because I was afraid of him getting bite. He was very interested and went back into a "s" shape a couple of times but did not strike. I left it in the tank all night! That is more interest than he has shown before. Any other time he completely ignored it. It was a grey hopper so maybe I will try a white one next time. Maybe he is still settling in!

Sometimes they can be put off by you standing there.
Nice tight hides.(Half logs, no good). No traffic area. Pre-scent for at least half hr.Feed in the enclosure. Try at night(real dark) with live rat fuzzy or pinky . You can leave it in overnite. 20 gal is big. Use cardboard or something to divide the tank off so the prey item doesnt hide on the other side and leave the the fuzzy in overnite.
When pre-scenting, put the prey in a small tupperware with holes and place it right on top of the tank.

When I had to try frozen, Snickets wasn't interested at all. I think at one point she went into as s shape. Ever since I started doing live she comes out instantly (I dangle the mouse over her hide where she can see it so she knows it's coming) this last time I wasn't even able to get the lid back on and she was already coming out. I think she likes being able to stalk the mouse a little bit. Try live next time, and see what his stalking response is.

I just got my first BP about a month ago. And im new to the forums but still just want to put my 2 cents in. :D

When i got my BP from the breeder he said he should switch over to F/T easy since he was such an aggressive feeder with the live. I got mine and about a week or two later i offered him a F/T weanling mouse. This one was white. He wasnt interested at all. Was doing the same thing as yours, just trying to get out of the tub. I was a little worried that he wasnt feeding ( i know their fincky, but i just worry a little more than normal with my animals :) ) So i covered the sides of his tub, turned up his heatpad and left him alone for about five days. Then. 5 days later, I grabbed a black mouse, Thawed if for a few hours adn then i put it on his heat pad for about 20-30 minutes to get it to body temperature. Then i put him in his feeding tub with paper towels for a subtrate. I grabbed the mouse between its shoulder blades and started to parade it around. In about 3 seconds he struck, but didnt bite and grab it. Then i paraded it for about 5 more seconds and he eagerly grabbed it.

My BP tends to take the black mice a little more readily than the white. Granted ive only fed him four times, its just what ive noticed. The last time i fed him i uncovered just the front of his living tub. Hes doing great now and i get to feed him again this weekend. :D The last time i put him in his tub, he knew it was feeding time right away. Started to get in the feeding postion and i didnt even have to parade the mouse. He just grabbed it.

Oh and i covered the sides of his feeding tub with paper towels and put his heating pad underneath half of his feeding tub. Once hes eaten i give him a hide in the feeding tub and leave him for about an hour to make sure hes got it down nice and good. I know im no expert and by no means do i claim to be. More of an loudmouth, as you can see.:D But i hope he eats soon.

Connor

Thanks Redstorm for the advice! You can relate because of being in the same boat as me! I had covered a the sides 2 weeks ago! Also thanks Elise for all your help and time! I will try leaving it in there but I just don't want it to hide on him because I crowded up the tank! I also bought 2 new Exo-Terra reptile caves for hides(medium size). I will try again monday night and let you know how it went! Thanks again guys!

Well tonight I threw a white hopper in his tank. He curled up in the corner like he was afraid of it. About every 15 minutes I checked on him because I am a little nervous with live prey but after about an hour, I went in there to see a tail hanging from his mouth! I am so relieved! As a first time snake owner, he made me nervous! I am one happy snake owner! Thanks guys for all your help!

Glad he ate for you!

Congrats. Hopefully you wont have any more trouble. :D

Sometimes it isn't easy to get a Ball to eat that first time. It just takes some patience. Glad to hear that you got yours feeding.

Awesome. Try to figure what works for your guy and take notes if you have too. Ate at night, real dark, type of prey , prescenting etc. Because a week later you don't want to have to figure it out all over again.Once you get his routine down you could tweak from there.

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Originally Posted by trott

Awesome. Try to figure what works for your guy and take notes if you have too. Ate at night, real dark, type of prey , prescenting etc. Because a week later you don't want to have to figure it out all over again.Once you get his routine down you could tweak from there.

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Great advise/tip!!

How often should I feed? 5 day schedule or 7 day schedule?

I fed him again tonight and he took it right away! I would like to try him on rats since he hit the mouse so well! The mouse was a hopper! What size rat should I use? I don't want him to get hooked on mice!

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Originally Posted by seeya205

I fed him again tonight and he took it right away! I would like to try him on rats since he hit the mouse so well! The mouse was a hopper! What size rat should I use? I don't want him to get hooked on mice!

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A rat fuzzy would be fine. It may be difficult to find them from a pet store though, unless you have a local mom/pop that specializes in reptiles and has their own breeding colonies in the back.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

A rat fuzzy would be fine. It may be difficult to find them from a pet store though, unless you have a local mom/pop that specializes in reptiles and has their own breeding colonies in the back.

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I live in a major city and we have several reptile stores. They have everything you can possibly want and then some. Getting any size mouse/rat is not a problem. Do you think he will give me a problem trying to switch! He is 6 weeks old! Thanks for the info and your time!