No movement

It's looking pretty good for safety now. She doesn't have to cross much barren space to get to the other hides so I think things are certainly good enough that she should feel comfortable eating after she gets used to the new surroundings.

Definitely try feeding later, about 6-8 pm should be a great time. With your prior experience with snakes I'm sure you have a good technique for feeding frozen/thawed to your snakes. Are you trying the blow dryer to the head trick? Perhaps you can leave the rat in the cage over night under the heat lamp? I have on occasion found one of my ball pythons to be somewhat shy about eating and would wait until the room was dark and quite before taking her meal. If too much time passes between meals you could always try feeding live. I personally switched to live and have rarely if ever had one of my snakes refuse a meal. :P

As far as the movement is concerned ball pythons will be much more active at night. I personally like to handle my snake and set her back into her tank opposite where I know she likes to go so I can at least witness her slither trough her tank on her way to her favorite spot lol

Thank yall so much! Your help is really really appreciated
! I will follow the advice and see how things work out!

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Originally Posted by BlueOrleans1290

Oh and, I put the frozen fuzzy rat in water that's about 92 degrees for 30 mins or untill it's completely floppy on the tongs. Then once it is, I put it in another cup with 92 degree water to warm it up again.

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FYI, it's actually preferable to thaw rodents in COOL water (& changing the water when it gets too cold) or thawing in the refrigerator (yucky for you & takes longer- water is fastest!) to minimize spoilage that our snakes can SMELL long before we can. Bear in mind that some snakes (like king snakes) may not reject prey that's a bit "ripe" (they sometimes consume road-kill) but for snakes that are picky, like a BP, you don't want to give them ANY reason to reject a meal...especially when the snake is dangerously thin to begin with. ;) BPs are snakes that prefer live & fresh, so that's what you want to imitate.

On this & other forums you'll find many different suggestions for thawing & offering prey to snakes. I cannot prevent that confusion, but if you consider the food safety guidelines that apply to our own meat (with reminders often seen around Thanksgiving time to minimize the number of "food-poisoning" from holiday meals), that should settle the matter for you. Thawing a turkey is either done by thawing in the refrigerator, OR by thawing (faster) in cold water. Bacteria doesn't proliferate in cold water...but it loves warm. Consider that we also COOK our meat, which destroys dangerous bacteria, so even if you thaw your food on the countertop, you won't be eating it raw....but your :snake: will be.

Back to preparing prey to feed a snake:
Once the prey item is thawed in cool water (check thickest part by feeling with your hand- make sure it's soft throughout), then immerse in very warm (not boiling!) water for several minutes, long enough to warm it up. The time it takes will depend upon the size of the rodent. Many here also have great success using a blow-dryer on the rodent, immediately prior to feeding. (especially the head area where you want the snake to strike)

For a thin snake that hasn't eaten in a while, offer food that's on the small side: you want to make sure she can digest it, & won't barf it back up. A small meal is far more likely to be tolerated than something larger- you need for her to keep this meal down, okay?

It would increase your odds of success if you offer exactly what she was supposedly eating for the prior owner- I believe you said live baby rats? Mice smell different from rats, & it matters greatly to some snakes, but either way, I hope she eats for you.

Thank you very much for the useful information! She was eating live fuzzy rats, and I'm trying to feed her dead fuzzy rats lol. She just broke her shed and is shedding right now though. The prey Item I think could be small enough because it doesn't really fill the palm of my hand. Its about the same size as the live, I will follow those instructions on preparing the rodent. And if she refuses this next meal, I will be trying something else. She didn't seem too terribly thin to me.. but she is on the small side a bit. I will be feeding her soon. Hopefully she will take 🙏

Do I need to offer smaller than a fuzzy rat?.. I feel that if I did it wouldn't be near as filling or anything. I really want her to keep this meal down too. Hopefully, I pray she will take this next meal. Her temps are fine and so is her humidity now, her body temp is about 86 right now. So I hope she will eat.

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Originally Posted by BlueOrleans1290

She didn't seem too terribly thin to me.. but she is on the small side a bit. I will be feeding her soon. Hopefully she will take ��

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You've only posted that one photo of her tail-end, but I'll be honest, I've never seen a BP in such poor condition. I want you to be aware of how important it is to get her to eat. Even if it's a live fuzzy mouse. And again, don't try to feed too much right now...if it leaves a "bump" in her mid-section, she will likely have trouble digesting it.

It's not about "filling her up"...it's all about not overwhelming her digestive system at this time. When a snake is starving, they may not have adequate digestive enzymes available for larger prey. I'm telling you this with about 35 years of keeping & rescuing snakes...I've been very concerned ever since you posted that one photo of her.

She needs "slow & steady" regular small meals to regain her body weight. She's way too skinny- her body resembles a colubrid more than a BP. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but I hope you can get her healthy.

Remember, wait until evening to offer food.

Ah.. alright. I know she needs to eat really soon. I promise I'm doing the best that I can. I've not had her yet for a month. I can buy a size smaller rat.. ill post more pictures of her

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...19_gallery.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...20_gallery.jpg