Question about feeding

[gen]

Hey guys. I've got a new ball python, he's about a year old, 27 inches, I brought him home from the pet shop 2 weeks ago. I saw him eat at the pet store, but he has not eaten since I got him home. I've been trying to feed him adult sized, pre-killed mice.

My question is, if I offer him the mouse (i dangle it in front of him) and he does not take it, how many more times should I attempt to feed him that mouse? Should I try again a little later, or just give up?

I appreciate any advice.

[Mort]

Balls can be kinda funny when it comes to feeding, so there are a number of things to think about.

He will probably only eat when he feels secure and maybe only when no one is around. It can take weeks for a new ball to settle into his new home and start to feel secure. Whenever a ball won't feed, the first thing to do is leave it completely alone since handling them will stress them out and might make them refuse or regurgitate their meals.

You might want to try leaving the mouse in his cage right outside his hide overnight. Dangling the mouse in front of him might not be the best idea. If he can sense that people are around it may make him nervous. Do you dangle the mouse using forceps? If you're dangling by hand, you may get bit. If he smells the mouse and sees the heat and movement of your hand, it may confuse him and you could end up with a hungry ball and some teeth wrapped around your hand purely by mistake.

It's good that you're feeding pre-killed, but is that what he was getting at the pet store? Was he eating rats and not mice? Was the mouse(?) you saw him eat albino and you're trying to feed a brown one? Balls can get a certain prey item imprinted and refuse anything else without some effort.

Another consideration is the heat/humidity in his cage. Could he be in shed? If so, he may very well refuse any food.

Snakes can go a long time without eating, so don't get frustrated yet (especially since he just ate for you two weeks ago). It could be a few months before he decides to eat again and that would be perfectly healthy. I'm sure there are other reasons why he may not be eating that I'm forgetting about, but someone else will point them out.

By the way, I saw your pics in the other thread. Quite a little stud you have there :wink: Looking really good. Hope you enjoy your new snake.

[JLC]

Just to clarify Mort's well-written post....if your snake refuses a meal, the best thing to do is wait until the next scheduled feeding time to try again. (Usually a week, but everyone is a bit different.) If you keep trying to feed him day after day, he'll just remain stressed and continue to refuse. A week (or 4 or 5) of missing meals won't hurt him one little bit...although I know it's hard on us!

[gen]

Thanks guys. To answer your questions, I did use forceps to dangle the mouse, not my hand. I decided to dangle it because that's the way the guy did it at the pet shop, so I figured that was what he was used to. And I did use an albino mouse, like at the pet shop. I've checked the heat and humidity and it seems fine. He's not in shed because he shed at the pet shop a couple days before I took him home. I think he's just still getting used to his new home. I just didn't know if he refused the mouse at first, if I should keep trying to feed it to him, or if that would just stress him out more. I'll wait another week and next time I'll just leave it in front of his hide and see what happens. I appreciate your help and support!

[JLC]

You're quite welcome! It's what we live to do! :wink:

[beaglegod]

Gen , when you next serve him his meal just make sure its warmed up for him (put it in a zip lock bag, drop the zip lock in some hot water for a little while) that way the prey item gives off what apears to be body heat.
Also my snake was a bit nervous and wouldnt eat for me once until I shut the lights and gave him a few minutes alone.

You probably know all this but just in case......