Hunger or stress?

[Traceur]

My ball python is going on 6 months now. He was 119 grams the last time I weighed him (the end of last month). I finally got him his appropriate food size, so this Friday was the first time I fed him a rat fuzzy. He took it quite well. Fast forward to today, I just got home from work and I noticed the same skid marks in his bedding where I know he tried escaping. I also forgot to take the paper out of his terarrium that indicated feeding time- so he was in striking position (a tight s shape) when I saw him.
I took out the paper and he stayed in the same position. But I also noticed that the humidity dropped down harshly low, which I might have not dampened the moss well enough before I left. So I fixed his humidity and I've been keeping an eye on him. He's been alert like he's going to be fed.

Is he still hungry? Or was he just stressed from low humidity? I can't tell which one. Maybe he was confused because he thought it was still feeding time?
Every time he's finished eating, he's always hiding away, even after the few days of digestion. Sometimes I don't see him for two days or so straight during the week. So I hope somethings not bothering him

Thank you. Anything helps.

P.S- I have a small hand full of hoppers left. Should I toss those or keep them in case he denies a rat fuzzy his second time feeding?

[Phillydubs]

6 months and barely over 100g. You sure ?

[Traceur]

6 months and barely over 100g. You sure ?

That's what the scale said- he's had on and off periods of not eating here and there. It was mainly before I fixed everything and eliminated his stress sources (blacking out terrarium walls, getting two identical hides, etc). I had a thread about his weight and his "unexplained stress" (which I later discovered it was him being hungry).
So I weighed him, updated the thread, and got his correct feeding size from forum users. I found out that their age doesn't really match up with their weight- two snakes could be the same age and weigh differently based on how often they eat. I've been feeding him every 5 days because he didn't have the correct food size, till now

[redshepherd]

6 months and barely over 100g. You sure ?

It's possible if the snake was maintenance-fed or underfed for that period of time, then they don't grow or grow very slowly. I believe missterdog on the forum got her first ball python at 1 year old at only 200g or so.

[Traceur]

Update: He still keeps acting like he's going to strike. He's been stuck in that same S position

[ryknoll3]

6 months and barely over 100g. You sure ?

I was curious about this too. My 6 month old male banana is just short of 300 grams, but he's never missed a meal.

[Dianne]

My lemonblast, Belle, was 107 grams as of 12/29/18 which was up from 71 grams on 10/29/18. She is a July 2018 hatchling and was difficult to start, even on live prey. Even though she is noticeably smaller than the other 2018 hatchlings I purchased this year, she is healthy and growing. As long as yours is eating regularly and husbandry is on point, he will grow. And yes, it is possible that he could still be hungry, especially if the paper still had rodent scent on it. Some will eat more than one prey item, so you could try thawing two hoppers for one meal rather than throw them out.

[Traceur]

My lemonblast, Belle, was 107 grams as of 12/29/18 which was up from 71 grams on 10/29/18. She is a July 2018 hatchling and was difficult to start, even on live prey. Even though she is noticeably smaller than the other 2018 hatchlings I purchased this year, she is healthy and growing. As long as yours is eating regularly and husbandry is on point, he will grow. And yes, it is possible that he could still be hungry, especially if the paper still had rodent scent on it. Some will eat more than one prey item, so you could try thawing two hoppers for one meal rather than throw them out.

Glad we can relate- mine is a July 2018 hatchling as well. Thank you for the tips, they are much appreciated!
And I probably will use the rest of those hoppers. He's been eating two for some time- it's better than wasting them. That also makes sense considering that the paper I had him on has a few streaks of mouse blood here and thereAbout time I tossed that one; it's paid its dues

[Dianne]

Glad we can relate- mine is a July 2018 hatchling as well. Thank you for the tips, they are much appreciated!
And I probably will use the rest of those hoppers. He's been eating two for some time- it's better than wasting them. That also makes sense considering that the paper I had him on has a few streaks of mouse blood here and thereAbout time I tossed that one; it's paid its dues

Definitely can relate....she drove me crazy for a while trying to get her feeding. Then I could only get largish fuzzies as live feeders, instead of the hoppers she should have been on from the start. She was very resistent to f/t to start with, but has finally switched over. With that I was able to increase her prey size, and she’ll occasionally take a second prey item. I, too, have hopes that she’ll catch up with her ‘siblings’.

And yes, the streaks of mouse blood would do it...he was probably thinking, I can smell it, where is it?!

[Bogertophis]

Many snakes stay in "feed mode" for a while anyway (wanting more even if they're full), and with the mouse scent still in his cage, no wonder he was still acting
hungry. And without seeing both him & his prey, it's possible he really IS still hungry & has been unintentionally underfed. I would keep those hoppers & do as
Diane suggested in post #7 too.