Feeding help and what I have tried so far???

[Stewart_Reptiles]

To answer the questions.

My aquarium stile tank is 20 gallon size. I do keep a towel over the entire tank.

The cooler side fluctuates between 75 and 83 degrees. Under tank heating pad for the warmer side.

The hide is a little larger on the warmer side than the cooler side. The cooler side hide is snug. He does fit but barely.

Temp and humidity is measured digitally.

I think he is stressed.

I don't have a way to weigh him. I will get a gram scale.

I think someone said that feeding (2 and 3) in his cage is bad. Everyone said not to handle him. How am I supposed to put him in the feeding box then?

Here are some of your problem for now until you give more details, in a glass cage you want both hides to be identical and snug so the animal does not chose security over thermo-regulation potential issue.

Your temps on the cool side should fluctuate 2 degrees at the most not 8, that is another potential reason for the animal not to eat.

Now for the other questions.

Please post a picture of snake by dollar bill for comparison or in your hand.

Where do you take your reading and what is your temp on the warm side?

How many attemtps total did you make and how many days apart?

DO NOT FEED unless you have answer all question and addressed all problem that have been pointed out so far, and giving it a least a week before offering again from adjusting issues.

[Skyrivers]

when was the last time you offered? offering too much can cause a cycle of stress and more refusals. best give him 7 days of privacy before offering again.

I offered last night. Was 5 days the last time I offered.

[Kira]

Please be aware that a thermostat is NOT optional. Without one, your UTH can easily reach over 100 degrees and burn your snake! As mentioned, please unplug it until you have it connected to a thermostat. So that may be one of the several reasons that your snake is stressed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000N...art+thermostat

Here's a link to an affordable thermostat. I'm confident that once you fix your husbandry issues your snake will eat!

[SDA]

He was feeding on live rodents. Are you offering that or trying to switch to frozen thawed during this time. You have had him less than a month and are already trying to feed while trying to acclimate. Not the best idea.

First I would hold off feeding until you meet the husbandry conditions needed to help this snake reduce moving stress and feel safe in their enclosure.

After meeting the requirements you need to for a ball python, I would then offer only once per week a live or preferably pre killed (as in you buy it live and kill it right before offering) until this snake starts eating. After getting it on a reliable feeding schedule where it does not refuse and where its husbandry needs are met you can then try and switch to frozen thawed.

For now I would reply to Deborah in this thread. She has the experience you need to get your snake feeding and as such do exactly what she says. Do nothing else until you fix husbandry to what your snake needs. Stop trying to feed so much and give it a week at least to acclimate before offering again.

[Skyrivers]

Here are some of your problem for now until you give more details, in a glass cage you want both hides to be identical and snug so the animal does not chose security over thermo-regulation potential issue.

Your temps on the cool side should fluctuate 2 degrees at the most not 8, that is another potential reason for the animal not to eat.

Now for the other questions.

Please post a picture of snake by dollar bill for comparison or in your hand.

Where do you take your reading and what is your temp on the warm side?

How many attemtps total did you make and how many days apart?

DO NOT FEED unless you have answer all question and addressed all problem that have been pointed out so far, and giving it a least a week before offering again from adjusting issues.

My avatar is the snake in question. Much larger than a dollar bill. You can see me holding him.

I am investing in a temperature regulating system for him but will not arrive till tomorrow. Could not find locally. Getting one that regulates both temp and humidity. Also my only heating method at this moment is the under tank heating pad. Is this enough? Do I need to get a heat lamp for ambient temp and then use the heating pad for the hot spot only? 4 attempts in 3 weeks. One was with regular white rat. The rest with African rat (was suggested by the pet store). I will get another hide the same shape and size as the one on the cooler side tonight.

[Skyrivers]

He was feeding on live rodents. Are you offering that or trying to switch to frozen thawed during this time. You have had him less than a month and are already trying to feed while trying to acclimate. Not the best idea.

First I would hold off feeding until you meet the husbandry conditions needed to help this snake reduce moving stress and feel safe in their enclosure.

After meeting the requirements you need to for a ball python, I would then offer only once per week a live or preferably pre killed (as in you buy it live and kill it right before offering) until this snake starts eating. After getting it on a reliable feeding schedule where it does not refuse and where its husbandry needs are met you can then try and switch to frozen thawed.

For now I would reply to Deborah in this thread. She has the experience you need to get your snake feeding and as such do exactly what she says. Do nothing else until you fix husbandry to what your snake needs. Stop trying to feed so much and give it a week at least to acclimate before offering again.

He has always been fed live and so offering live.

[larryd23]

My daughter and I liberated this scale from the kitchen. It works great for our 2017 hatchling (now 340 grams) and it's only $15.99 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KICLN4C...536817853&th=1

I should add that we not only track the weight our boy, we also track the weight of his prey (yes, a little obsessive, but we only have one).

[Sunnieskys]

I would agree that you listen and follow Deborah to a T. She has asked some pretty specific questions. I would answer them all in one post, then she can better help you.

[Craiga 01453]

I should add that we not only track the weight our boy, we also track the weight of his prey (yes, a little obsessive, but we only have one).

I weigh all my prey too. I have 4 snakes now and will be adding more over the next few years. I weigh and sort my prey and pull only what I need on feeding days. Helps keep the prey organized as well as keeps prey fresher longer.

[MissterDog]

My avatar is the snake in question. Much larger than a dollar bill. You can see me holding him.

I am investing in a temperature regulating system for him but will not arrive till tomorrow. Could not find locally. Getting one that regulates both temp and humidity. Also my only heating method at this moment is the under tank heating pad. Is this enough? Do I need to get a heat lamp for ambient temp and then use the heating pad for the hot spot only? 4 attempts in 3 weeks. One was with regular white rat. The rest with African rat (was suggested by the pet store). I will get another hide the same shape and size as the one on the cooler side tonight.

You sure you mean a thermoSTAT and not a thermoMETER right? Kira already linked to a good budget friendly thermostat to get started on if you are tight on money. However if you are willing to spend more for a higher quality thermostat with better longetivity I highly recommend herpstats.

https://www.spyderrobotics.com/index...=index&cPath=1

As for African soft furs you'd be better off fixing your husbandry first and keeping with regular rats before pursuing asf. Unless you have readily available supplier they can be incredibly hard to come by on a regular basis and I've often heard of ball pythons being unable to switch back to any other prey once they've been established on afs. So be careful with afs unless you are ready to commit to only feeding asf and finding back up suppliers and hope they stay in business say 5-10 years from now. Just a possibility you may need to consider depending where you live.

But as others already pointed out your first focus is addressing your husbandry before feeding and answer Deborah's questions.

If you are only using a heat pad, which does nothing for ambient temps, then yes you may want to invest in a CHE lamp (on a thermoSTAT) to raise and maintain a steady ambient instead of dealing with fluctuations. And yes have your heat pad for a hot spot. Just keep in mind you will need BOTH your CHE and heatpad regulated by a thermostat.