Husbandry and feeding of new ball python

[cltp10]

Hi everyone! I'll try to make this long story short.
I have an aquatic turtle and a rosy boa. I've wanted a ball python for the longest time, but the thing that worried me most is the fact that they could be 'picky eaters.' (One of the reasons I ended up with a rosy boa, known for always eating)
I did a lot of research on bps for months but never got one. So a friend of mine decided he wanted one and couldn't be talked into going to a reputable breeder and went for the quick fix at petsmart. Knowing this guy I had a feeling that he would be trying to get rid of the bp within a month, and bam, he was looking to get rid of him.
I decided I would take him. My friend couldn't get him to eat for the 4 weeks he had him. So I brought him home, got his tub set up with hides on the hot and cool side (hot side 89-92, cool side 80-83). Humidity has stayed around 45-60 %. I left him along for a week, then attempted to feed. Without any issue he fed on a f/t fuzzy mouse. 10 days later I tried to feed again and nothing. It was like he was repulsed at the fact I even thought about offering him another (I feed in a seperate container). I'm worried as small as he is about going off feed (plus the fact that he came from a place like petsmart). I know people have rehashed on a million different threads, all of which I have read and combed through thoroughly, but how can I make sure he becomes a good eater. I've been told he's skinny but I have no idea of the different between a skinny and healthy looking ball. Please help with any and all suggestions. He does have a water bowl in with him too.

[Nodnarb3do]

How are you heating and offering the mouse?

[Eric Alan]

It was like he was repulsed at the fact I even thought about offering him another (I feed in a seperate container).

Don't do that and see how it works for you.

[KMG]

Feed in its cage and offer the prey near live body temp(100F).

[cltp10]

I'm heating the mouse in warm water, dry it off the use tongs and kind of walk it 2-6 inches around my bp. The temp gun had the mouse at around 80 degrees or so.

[cltp10]

Should I still offer the fuzzy? Or maybe a different size. He's on bark bedding right now, so is it ok to feed with loose substrate in the enclosure?

[Eric Alan]

I'm heating the mouse in warm water, dry it off the use tongs and kind of walk it 2-6 inches around my bp. The temp gun had the mouse at around 80 degrees or so.

Not nearly warm enough. That's basically room temperature. If you've offered food recently, don't offer again for 3-4 days. Then, offer it in the enclosure at the right temp.

[Eric Alan]

He's on bark bedding right now, so is it ok to feed with loose substrate in the enclosure?

He'll be fine. Substrate ingestion issues are way overblown compared to the extremely slim chance of them actually doing any harm what-so-ever.

[Nodnarb3do]

Don't worry about drying off either. I also heat mine in hot water, and sometimes the bag has a hole and he gets soaked. My BP has never rejected a wet mouse as long as he was still hot.

[KMG]

Like I said a mouse has a living body temp of around 100F so the mouse needs to be the same for best results.

I used to thaw and warm in bags but the bags would usually always leak and they would get soaked. Now I just thaw and warm my rats in straight hot water and served them soaking wet. None of my snakes seem to care.