Hard time switching to frozen, strange day time behavior

[Danya]

Hello everyone. My new male ball python was fed live before I got him and I'm having a really hard time switching him over to frozen. I've been trying to feed him some fuzzies every 3 days, but no luck. I have a few theories on why hes's not eating. First, he ate hoppers before, or I may be stressing him too much. Now, yesterday, he didn't want to eat again. I really wanted him to have a meal, so I decided to try and assist feed him. Yes, stupid me. It's only been two weeks since he got to my house, and I already tried to assist feed him. He's the calmest snake ever, but is insanely head shy. Touching his head is a big nono for now. When I was finally able to get the mouse in his mouth, he just spat it out and tried to hide. This day, after I took him out to inspect him, he was a little bit shy coming out but after 20 mins, I decided to put him back into his tank. He crawled right back out and went straight to exploring. I tried to put him back, but every time he would try to come back out. Mind this, it's in the middle of the day. I'm very confused with this behavior. Is it because he's really hungry? What should I do next in feeding? Thanks for reading.

[Team Slytherin]

Ok. First, you need to leave this snake alone to acclimate. He’s only been with you for two weeks and you’ve attempted to feed every 3 days and tried to assist feed? Second, do NOT assist feed this animal. He’s not eating because he’s stressed out. If he has not taken a meal with you, wait a full 7 days before offering again, offer the same type of prey he was last eating , and do not handle for those 7 days. Two weeks is NOTHING for a snake. There is no need to think twice about it, much less try to force feed him.

[redshepherd]

The most likely reason common with new owners is you don't have correct husbandry for the species. Ball pythons won't thrive in just any old tank with a water bowl and some decor, you need to set it up according to the species needs.

You should post a picture of your setup, what equipment you're using, your temps and what you're using to measure temps.

No handling him whatsoever until he eats at least two meals, unless absolutely necessary

They can eat mouse hoppers right out of the egg, so you could offer hoppers instead... but fix the husbandry first.

No need to assist feed or force feed at all. Once you fix your husbandry, he will fall into place.

Follow this for the easiest way! You can always fix up his tank later after he's started to thrive and eat consistently.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101

[Danya]

Yeah, I shouldn't have handled him much at all. I'm very new to the snake hobby so I have a hard time telling if my snake is stressed or not. My bad on the feeding too, I just don't want him starving even though I know he's probably fine. I can't offer him a live hopper because I don't really know where I could get just one. My parents would also be very unhappy with me if I had to keep mice, and finally, if I did somehow just get one, what would I do with it if my snake wouldn't want it(and just feeding a frozen mouse makes me feel a little bit sad)? I don't think anyone really told me what his strange longing to come out in the daytime means. On the topic of caging. I'll post some pictures later but for now I'll list what I have.
A 20 gallon tank, ZooMed 8 Watt 10-20 gl. heat pad, a ZooMed 4 Watt 5-10 gl heat pad, An IPOWER Heat Mat Thermostat, Zilla Jungle Mix substrate, a realistic looking cave hide(just the perfect size for him, I will also be getting a smaller little hide for him tomorrow, as well as the frozen hoppers), a water bowl just big enough for his body, a ZooMed Dual Analog Thermometer and Humidity Gauge, a $10 digital thermometer and humidity tracker, Infrared thermometer heat gun(that I use once a day). My temps: Hot side(88-93F), Cool side(77F), Ambitient temp: 80F. Humdity: I spray the tank fully twice a day. My humidity is usually around 55-58%.

[MD_Pythons]

MO, it's best to give the snake eating what it's used to a couple times before trying to switch it over to f/t. Your snake won't starve if you give it a week or two to settle in.

You have two UTHs but only one thermostat? You know that an unregulated UTH can get hot enough to burn your snake? You need to unplug it until you can get another thermostat.

I would also swap out that analogue thermometer for a digital one, they aren't the most accurate and your snake could pull them down and get the adhesive stuck to them.

[Danya]

Yeah, I'm currently getting another same exact thermostat in a few days, for now I'll unplug it. I would feed it live but I really don't know where I could get one or two. Ok, I'll but a better thermometer in a bit. Thanks for the feedback.

[Craiga 01453]

Yeah, I shouldn't have handled him much at all. I'm very new to the snake hobby so I have a hard time telling if my snake is stressed or not. My bad on the feeding too, I just don't want him starving even though I know he's probably fine. I can't offer him a live hopper because I don't really know where I could get just one. My parents would also be very unhappy with me if I had to keep mice, and finally, if I did somehow just get one, what would I do with it if my snake wouldn't want it(and just feeding a frozen mouse makes me feel a little bit sad)? I don't think anyone really told me what his strange longing to come out in the daytime means.]

All stuff that should have been figured out BEFORE bringing an animal home.

PLEASE DO NOT try assist feeding this poor snake again. You are causing WAY more damage than good. Leave the snake COMPLETELY alone for a week and try offering again. If the snake doesn't eat try again in a week. Repeat...
NO HANDLING during this time. Wait til the snake is eating consistently before handling. You'll have this snake 20+ years, plenty of time for handling.

There are 2 major reasons snakes don't eat 1) is husbandry and 2) is stress.
Your husbandry sounds pretty good, but did I read that there is only 1 hide?? You need 2.
So, now the obvious answer is STRESS!!! Leave the snake COMPLETELY alone so he can relax and get comfortable. A scared, stressed snake will NOT eat, and you've got yourself a scared, stressed snake.

[Sgt7212]

All stuff that should have been figured out BEFORE bringing an animal home.

PLEASE DO NOT try assist feeding this poor snake again. You are causing WAY more damage than good. Leave the snake COMPLETELY alone for a week and try offering again. If the snake doesn't eat try again in a week. Repeat...
NO HANDLING during this time. Wait til the snake is eating consistently before handling. You'll have this snake 20+ years, plenty of time for handling.

There are 2 major reasons snakes don't eat 1) is husbandry and 2) is stress.
Your husbandry sounds pretty good, but did I read that there is only 1 hide?? You need 2.
So, now the obvious answer is STRESS!!! Leave the snake COMPLETELY alone so he can relax and get comfortable. A scared, stressed snake will NOT eat, and you've got yourself a scared, stressed snake.

What he said...Perfectly stated and spot on!

[CALM Pythons]

All stuff that should have been figured out BEFORE bringing an animal home.

PLEASE DO NOT try assist feeding this poor snake again. You are causing WAY more damage than good. Leave the snake COMPLETELY alone for a week and try offering again. If the snake doesn't eat try again in a week. Repeat...
NO HANDLING during this time. Wait til the snake is eating consistently before handling. You'll have this snake 20+ years, plenty of time for handling.

There are 2 major reasons snakes don't eat 1) is husbandry and 2) is stress.
Your husbandry sounds pretty good, but did I read that there is only 1 hide?? You need 2.
So, now the obvious answer is STRESS!!! Leave the snake COMPLETELY alone so he can relax and get comfortable. A scared, stressed snake will NOT eat, and you've got yourself a scared, stressed snake.

Not going to be mean but this OP's thread is just ridiculous. How can you bring home a Living Thing and not have the first clue on what it needs...
Let me give a quick "wise guy" scenario, don't get upset but this is how silly & uninformed you sound..
.....i'll come pick you up even though you dont know me or expect it, take you back to my place, i'll rub you head and face even though you'll be nervous and flinch trying to get away. Then i'll prepare a nice Steak every couple hours and force feed you even though your scared as hell and in no way need to eat a whole Steak every couple hours....
Hmmm, wonder how many dates i'll get with this story .
Im really not trying to come off like a jerk, i just want you to understand how ridiculous everything youve done is. This is not a dog, they will never "like" or crave attention from us. It does not want you to pet it.
Some snakes will tolerate us better than others, key word tolerate. Ball pythons will go Months & Months without eating at times. Dont ever try and Force Feed a healthy snake unless a Reptile Vet says your snake is starving and that would take a healthy snake over a year.. Of course a sick snake less time. You can rip teeth out, cause a infection or just stress a healthy snake so bad it will associate eating with something bad and go off feed.
Ball Pythons ARE HEAD SHY. This is one of the reasons why i said your post is so ridiculous. Why on earth do people assume Ball Pythons would enjoy their head being touched.....Well because they didn't properly research the animal in the first place.
In no way am i suggesting your a bad person, this isnt a personal attack but these are living things not Toys for our amusement.
Read up & research a animal before giving one a home, it is not fair to think we can do whatever we want at the expense of any other creature on this earth.


(PS) I just found out your 15 years old. This info should have been researched by your Guardian/Parents first before they allowed you to have a snake. I understand your younger and I dont want to upset you but please discuss all this with a adult so you can successfully take care of your snakes needs.


iPhone using Tapatalk

[Godzilla78]

A lot of new python owners have a difficulty grasping how different snakes are from us. Snakes, and pythons especially, have very, very slow metabolisms. An healthy, plump adult python can go for MONTHS without eating. obviously an underweight, young python can’t survive that long, but they can still go for weeks before starving.
Forget about feeding, just focus on getting your new pet as comfortable as possible. Ball python’s like to feel hidden. Give him darkness and cover. Black out all of the walls of the enclosure except for one viewing side. Give good hides where the snake can completely hide himself from view. Make sure the temps are good, check and re-check with a laser thermometer (temp gun), adjust your thermostats, and do lots of research.
The snake has a DO NOT DISTURB sign up whenever it is hidden, and any time it is in a new environment. So DO NOT DISTURB the little guy. Just change his water, check the temps and leave him alone in darkness to hide and calm down.
After the snake is comfortable for at least 4-5 days, then try to feed. The snake is scared of you, but now is not the time to try to tame it. Now, let it be scared if you, do not remove his hide or go near him with your hand when you feed. Just drop a live feeder in the enclosure and let him ambush it and watch.

Good luck


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk