Issues with three month old BP settling in.

[OntarioSnakes&Smoke]

Hi everyone, I only just recently made an account here, but i'm glad to be a part of such an informative and supportive community, and look forward to hopefully being a longterm member . Anyways, the issue I have is that I have a ball python that hatched on July 19th, bought from a reputable breeder at a reptile expo in Mississauga on October 14th, who did not eat the rat pup I gave last night. She struck and coiled, but this morning it was still there. It was a freshly killed live one, so I cant see it being a temp issue.

I contacted the breeder and she said that while she mainly feeds live, my girl HAD accepted f/t before, at least once, as she didn't say if it was a multiple occurrence. She said my warm/cold side temps are perfect and suggested to wait five days and try again with another live pup, and to leave it in overnight. I don't think I would do the last part though as I've seen snakes scarred by rodent bites before and have heard some horror stories about infection.

Anyways, I just wanted some opinions on what MAY be wrong. The breeder said she last ate on Oct.3, so she SHOULD be at least a little hungry i'd imagine. I'm guessing she just needs more time to settle into her new home, but i'm also a TAD nervous it may lead into some bigger issues down the line if it keeps up. Thank you for any input on my situation and I hope you all have a good day

[Stewart_Reptiles]

If she only accepted once this is not what I call a F/T feeder, I when I sell animals that feed on F/T they need to feed at least 5 consecutive F/T meals before I claim that they feed on F/T.

Two important thing

Make sure your husbandry is on point which mean tight environment 6 quart tub or 5 gallons tank for a 3 months old animal.

When offering the prey if F/T thaw at room temp near the enclosure, than warm up with a hair dryer.

If P/K warm up with a hair dryer.

The most important is to make sure that it is warm enough and that you hold the prey with your feeding tongs from behind the neck (not the tail) and move it around as if it was alive.

[OntarioSnakes&Smoke]

Yeah I'm not sure on how many times she may have eaten f/t because all the breeder said in the message was that she had accepted it, didn't specify how many times. I'll have to give the hair dryer trick a try when I try to feed her again. Would next Monday be too soon?

Also, thanks for the little tip about where to hold the rat. I remember reading a thread somewhere were someone mentioned having a consistently picky BP, so he had to resort to moving the rat around like it was crawling EVERY TIME for the snake to strike, hopefully I don't have to go THAT far to get my girl to eat

Thank you for the speedy reply btw.

[Bogertophis]

And one other thing: you mentioned the danger of feeding live, with which most of us here heartily agree, but just to put you at ease, a "rat pup"
will NOT bite back IF the eyes are still closed. Same goes for mice...I mention this since their labels sometimes vary, but if the eyes aren't open yet, they do NOT
bite back. Hopefully you can get your BP on f/t prey (or freshly killed by you) before she needs larger prey where the eyes are open, as that IS a risk to your
snake.

[WhompingWillow]

It's a good sign that she struck and coiled. Some folks give a little tug on the F/T rodent once the snake has coiled to mimic a struggle and further entice them.

You could also try covering the cage with a towel or something to darken it while the snake is eating. We do this for most of our new snakes until they've had at least a few meals or until we get more familiar with their temperament.

What's the weight on your BP compared to the rat pup you offered? I imagine that a rat pup is fine at 3 months, but different companies/people can have different size definitions.

As has been mentioned, the hair dryer trick is also invaluable.

Good luck!