juvenile ball python WILL NOT EAT!!

[dextersmom]

Disclaimer: I've included a LOT of details in this post, I figure the more info I provide the better. Sorry in advance for the wordiness!

We (my daughter and I) are brand-new ball-python parents. Our BP is young, only about a foot long. His name is Dexter. Lately, we haven't been able to get him to eat, and we have no idea why. Any help is appreciated! We are so frustrated and scared that he is going to starve!

His eyes aren't cloudy, so I don't think he's shedding.

Here is a timeline of events:

4/26 Brought him home. We have a 20-gallon enclosure. At the time, he had cedar bedding and a 40-watt red heat bulb.
4/30 Fed him 4 days later (according to the feeding schedule of the store where we got him), small mouse. He ate it, but regurgitated a few hours later.
5/12 Fed him a pinkie mouse, he ate it.
5/16 Put new type of mulch ("forest floor") and a log into enclosure.
5/17 Tried to feed him 2 pinkies, he didn't eat them.
5/18 Realized temp in his enclosure was too low (high 70s) due to local weather change--changed to 100-watt bulb with white light. Also put 2 more pinkie mice in enclosure which he didn't eat.
5/20 Tried to feed him 2 pinkies again, in the middle of the night. Turned off light, to see if that was the problem. He still refused to eat. (Only left the light off for a little while because I didn't want him to get cold.)
5/21 Talked to guy at pet store, he told use to not use heat lights and just use a heat mat. Mat didn’t work--glass got very hot, mulch didn’t heat at all
5/23 Got new 100-watt bulb, red this time, enclosure is now at around 90 degrees.
5/24 Put another pinkie in. He poked his head out and sniffed it for a few minutes, opened his mouth at one point, but still didn’t eat.
5/25 He was out of his hide drinking water and poking around the enclosure, so we put another pinkie mouse in. Still didn’t eat it.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

There are so many mistakes here first NO MORE cedar it is TOXIC.

Pinkies are also not adequate for a Ball Python those are colubrid food, a BP out of the egg will get a hopper as a minimum for his first meal.

NO HANDLING until the animal has at least 3 consecutive successful meals.

Do this to a T https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101 and I mean to a T until the animals gains weight and is a strong feeder than put him in a 10 gallons tank than at 500 grams 20 gallons tank.

Also worth to go over this https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ips-and-Tricks because the last person you should listen to is a pet store employee.

[Craiga 01453]

You've got LOTS of homework to do. This is why we research animals BEFORE we bring them home.

Do your snake a favor and read all you can. Your snake isn't eating for many reasons. But first get your husbandry right.

1) not doing research was your first mistake.
2) listening to pet store employees was your second.

We're happy to help you out, but you've got a lot to learn so studying care sheets and doing your own independent research is your best bet.
You're going to come across lots of varying info, because there's no one "right" way. But learn from reliable, experienced snake keepers and you'll be able to get on track in no time.

Once you've done your research please ask questions about what you're unsure of and we'll help you out.

[dextersmom]

So I actually did a lot of reading BEFORE I brought him home. I've read several care sheets, and have followed advice from the ones that seem the most legit. Also, the pet store employee has a BP and has owned it for several years...he's not just some rando that works in a pet store.

My BP's enclosure is warm and humid, with dual climates. He has two hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool. He ate on his first feeding day after we brought him home and we did NOT handle him for the first 48 hours after feeding. I don't know why he regurgitated the larger mouse, but when we fed him the first pinkie he ate that too, and kept it down. We haven't handled him since he stopped eating. When we realized his temp was too low we fixed it. We also changed the color of the light back to what he seemed more comfortable with. I'm really nervous about the heat pad because the glass got REALLY hot, but the mulch did not get warm at all, in spite of it being only about half and inch thick in that area. We've fed him at night since he is a nocturnal animal.

I have followed literally ALL of the rules I've read on multiple sites, and he is still not eating.

I really have read all I can from the internet about how to care for this animal, and most of it came from this site. That's why I decided to post here. I thought you all would be able to help me.

Please stop condescending me, and just offer me whatever advice you have at this point.

[dextersmom]

First, I was mistaken about his original mulch, it wasn't cedar, it was aspen. We changed to the forest floor stuff because I read that it retains moisture better, and therefore provides better humidity in the habitat.

Also, out of all the info I read, nothing said not to handle him until he had had 3 consecutive meals. Is this why he's not eating? We haven't handled him since the last time he ate, 2 weeks ago.

As for the forum you directed me to about the stressed hatchling, do we do that now, even though he has been in his habitat for almost a month? He is hiding in his hide most of the time, and everything I've read says that "a hiding ball python is a happy ball python." I'm worried that changing his habitat now will stress him out more, is that not the case?

Finally, the pet store employee I spoke with is a ball python owner and has been for several years, not just some dude working in a pet store, which is why I thought it safe to take his advice.

[Sunnieskys]

Follow debs advice to a T. Follow it exactly.

Second...some of us "pet store employees" know what we are talking about so knock it off! (Not directed at the op).

[Craiga 01453]

Follow debs advice to a T. Follow it exactly.

Second...some of us "pet store employees" know what we are talking about so knock it off! (Not directed at the op).

There are exceptions to the rule. But most are clueless.

[pretends2bnormal]

I'll be honest here and say that it does not sound to me like you've done very much reading on this site due to the key points we reiterate over and over being completely missed by you somehow. You say you're surprised to hear if the 3 meals rule for handling and yet it is one of the most repeated pieces of advice...

We are very avid at telling people to use thermostats for ALL heat sources (glass getting too hot on UTH is NOT possible with a thermostat unless you as the owner set it improperly)

Also, we ALWAYS tell new owners to handle only after 3 consecutive meals at a normal interval. Before this, they're still settling and handling could add just enough stress to give refusals that early on.

There are threads from just about every week where one of us has posted one or both of those things for the entire time I've been on the forum. Sometimes several instances in a single day.

Deb is among the most experienced on here and has had to tell hundreds of new keepers over and over this same information. It is not intended to be condescending, but it is brisk and to the point (after repeating yourself so many times, I'm sure you'd also be rather blunt about it). The threads she linked were created for the purpose of giving new owners good resources to follow, particularly for trouble feeders.

I advise you take a step back and consider the advice above to be given in a blunt but helpful tone before responding. Tone is often lost in text, so it is easy to read something as more harsh than it was intended. Being defensive of criticism or suggestions does not help anyone and we truly do want to help your snake.

Everyone here has made mistakes at one point or another, but the key is to learn from them and be open to learning what does work when you find you've made a mistake.

Keep in mind, there are plenty of bad pet owners of any type. Just because someone managed to keep a snake alive doesn't mean that they necessarily have ideal husbandry or techniques. Not saying your pet store employee IS a bad keeper, but some advice is outdated now (i.e. red lights on 24/7 is stressful since snakes do see red light. This was not previously known and was commonly advised and is now less than ideal husbandry to use constantly. Isntead CHEs are advised as they emit no light.) There exist poor owners with seemingly healthy snakes who think they're doing everything perfectly.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Craiga 01453]

So I actually did a lot of reading BEFORE I brought him home. I've read several care sheets, and have followed advice from the ones that seem the most legit. Also, the pet store employee has a BP and has owned it for several years...he's not just some rando that works in a pet store.

My BP's enclosure is warm and humid, with dual climates. He has two hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool. He ate on his first feeding day after we brought him home and we did NOT handle him for the first 48 hours after feeding. I don't know why he regurgitated the larger mouse, but when we fed him the first pinkie he ate that too, and kept it down. We haven't handled him since he stopped eating. When we realized his temp was too low we fixed it. We also changed the color of the light back to what he seemed more comfortable with. I'm really nervous about the heat pad because the glass got REALLY hot, but the mulch did not get warm at all, in spite of it being only about half and inch thick in that area. We've fed him at night since he is a nocturnal animal.

I have followed literally ALL of the rules I've read on multiple sites, and he is still not eating.

I really have read all I can from the internet about how to care for this animal, and most of it came from this site. That's why I decided to post here. I thought you all would be able to help me.

Please stop condescending me, and just offer me whatever advice you have at this point.

Nobody is condescending you. We're trying to help.

But if you did enough research you'd know you MUST REGULATE ALL HEAT SOURCES with a thermostat.

Your temps wouldn't have been too low

You don't measure the temp of substrate, but the glass surface itself.

Pinkies aren't even recognized by BPs as food because they're WWWWAAAAAYYYYY too small.

Just because someone has a pet doesn't mean it's properly cared for. If this employee has a snake and didn't tell you that a thermostat is A MUST, he doesn't know what he's talking about. If he told you to feed a pinkie he doesn't know what he's talking about.

This forum mentions the "3 meals before handling" almost every day. It's in countless threads.

[Craiga 01453]

I'll be honest here and say that it does not sound to me like you've done very much reading on this site due to the key points we reiterate over and over being completely missed by you somehow. You say you're surprised to hear if the 3 meals rule for handling and yet it is one of the most repeated pieces of advice...

We are very avid at telling people to use thermostats for ALL heat sources (glass getting too hot on UTH is NOT possible with a thermostat unless you as the owner set it improperly)

Also, we ALWAYS tell new owners to handle only after 3 consecutive meals at a normal interval. Before this, they're still settling and handling could add just enough stress to give refusals that early on.

There are threads from just about every week where one of us has posted one or both of those things for the entire time I've been on the forum. Sometimes several instances in a single day.

Deb is among the most experienced on here and has had to tell hundreds of new keepers over and over this same information. It is not intended to be condescending, but it is brisk and to the point (after repeating yourself so many times, I'm sure you'd also be rather blunt about it). The threads she linked were created for the purpose of giving new owners good resources to follow, particularly for trouble feeders.

I advise you take a step back and consider the advice above to be given in a blunt but helpful tone before responding. Tone is often lost in text, so it is easy to read something as more harsh than it was intended. Being defensive of criticism or suggestions does not help anyone and we truly do want to help your snake.

Everyone here has made mistakes at one point or another, but the key is to learn from them and be open to learning what does work when you find you've made a mistake.

Keep in mind, there are plenty of bad pet owners of any type. Just because someone managed to keep a snake alive doesn't mean that they necessarily have ideal husbandry or techniques. Not saying your pet store employee IS a bad keeper, but some advice is outdated now (i.e. red lights on 24/7 is stressful since snakes do see red light. This was not previously known and was commonly advised and is now less than ideal husbandry to use constantly. Isntead CHEs are advised as they emit no light.) There exist poor owners with seemingly healthy snakes who think they're doing everything perfectly.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Very well said