Beans is being stubborn, or just picky.

[BeansTheDerp]

oh yes he is a BIG baby! he's like 98 pounds and thinks he's a lap dog. he also snores while he is awake and it's really loud when he does. he's our little weird baby! he's a Neapolitan mastiff mix, mixed with Pitbull and something else. he's turning 9 this year! I'm surprised he got along with Beans because he loves wild animals and he once accidentally killed a rabbit when he was just a puppy and you should've seen his face it was so sad! the rest of the day he was all droopy because he just wanted to play with it. he learned his lesson to be less rough though.

[BeansTheDerp]

he's also a couch potato but usually a floor potato because he isn't aloud on the couch anymore. he sneaks onto it when we're gone and we've caught him a couple times and kicked him off and he just slowly gets off and lays on the floor and looks up at us with puppy eyes. he has really big puppy eyes.

[BlueOrleans1290]

he's also a couch potato but usually a floor potato because he isn't aloud on the couch anymore. he sneaks onto it when we're gone and we've caught him a couple times and kicked him off and he just slowly gets off and lays on the floor and looks up at us with puppy eyes. he has really big puppy eyes.

Aww our old great dane was just like that!

[BeansTheDerp]

so this is odd..... we just noticed that, Beans wasn't eating again last week on the day he was scheduled to feed, he wasn't even showing interest in food. so we waited a week! and he ate. he's around 212 grams and already eating once every 2 weeks or else he won't even show interest in eating or the food we give him. very odd little noodle

[nikkubus]

Probably still trying to settle in. The curiosity and fear with a new environment could have him spending time places he otherwise wouldn't, slowing digestion.

[dakski]

so this is odd..... we just noticed that, Beans wasn't eating again last week on the day he was scheduled to feed, he wasn't even showing interest in food. so we waited a week! and he ate. he's around 212 grams and already eating once every 2 weeks or else he won't even show interest in eating or the food we give him. very odd little noodle

Although not as common for young snakes to skip meals, it can happen. They seem to know what they are doing, assuming they are healthy otherwise, and husbandry is good.

Beans didn't eat for a while if I recall, and might take some time, even if husbandry is good and he is healthy, for him to get a regular eating schedule.

Are you still offering live and the same prey that worked the first time? Or are you trying to switch to F/T and/or a different prey item? Also, are you handling at all? Personally, I would be leaving Beans alone until he's taken 3 meals in a row, not total.

Keep a close eye on Beans and keep us posted. If he continues to skip meals that are the same as he's been taking (prey and prey size and live vs. F/T), you might want to look closer.

Good luck!

[Bogertophis]

so this is odd..... we just noticed that, Beans wasn't eating again last week on the day he was scheduled to feed, he wasn't even showing interest in food. so we waited a week! and he ate. he's around 212 grams and already eating once every 2 weeks or else he won't even show interest in eating or the food we give him. very odd little noodle

I wouldn't worry about it- eating every other week won't hurt him at all. I suspect that you've fed him larger rodents than you thought so he hasn't been hungry. That's why people weigh their snakes AND their rodents, & use the chart for reference. Personally though, I'm just glad he's eating for you- it's been a while since you posted about him & I was wondering how it was going.

[BeansTheDerp]

we're still doing live so that we can transit to F/T. he seems to want to get out and explore more than eat, but then once we get him to realize we have food he's looking to eat. he's already eaten 3 times and I handle him or 30-45 minutes a day as that's what the breeder told us would be appropriate for him. but he keeps begging for more but I won't spoil him. he has a certain time of day where he tries to push the top of the enclosure off and he acts desperate to get out, then end up reaching so high that he falls over. o course I've been keeping an eye on the temps when he does this which they are the appropriate temps he just really likes to explore. my dad usually wants to watch me feed him but he wasn't eating when he was in the room, so he had to go do something and I continued to try and feed him and he ate almost right away so I think that's because he's used to my presence more than my dads. (he does really like my dad though) we're going to ask the breeder for the OK to start feeding every 2 weeks.

[Hugsplox]

we're still doing live so that we can transit to F/T. he seems to want to get out and explore more than eat, but then once we get him to realize we have food he's looking to eat. he's already eaten 3 times and I handle him or 30-45 minutes a day as that's what the breeder told us would be appropriate for him. but he keeps begging for more but I won't spoil him. he has a certain time of day where he tries to push the top of the enclosure off and he acts desperate to get out, then end up reaching so high that he falls over. o course I've been keeping an eye on the temps when he does this which they are the appropriate temps he just really likes to explore. my dad usually wants to watch me feed him but he wasn't eating when he was in the room, so he had to go do something and I continued to try and feed him and he ate almost right away so I think that's because he's used to my presence more than my dads. (he does really like my dad though) we're going to ask the breeder for the OK to start feeding every 2 weeks.

I'm really glad that he's doing better, but I'm not sure you're following us when we say "eaten three times consecutively." You told us he ate on the 19th, then didn't eat last week, and then he ate this week, unless I'm not following your timeline which is possible so correct me if I'm wrong that's not three consecutive feedings.

Regardless, and I really don't want you to feel like we're being abrasive with you, but personally I think you may be handling too much this early in the process, especially considering the issues you've had up to this point. Based on the photo you showed us Beans is underweight, and if I were you I wouldn't be touching him at all until I had him eating steady and bulking up. Beans is, technically, a special needs snake right now, and you don't want to cause any undue stress that might get him off food again.

[Bogertophis]

...he has a certain time of day where he tries to push the top of the enclosure off and he acts desperate to get out, then end up reaching so high that he falls over. o course I've been keeping an eye on the temps when he does this which they are the appropriate temps he just really likes to explore....

This sounds like a bit of a "red flag" to me. Ball pythons whose needs are being met by their home enclosure do not normally want to come out & explore. Their instincts tell them that staying put & hidden means staying safe & alive.

If the temperatures being provided are adequate, then I suspect that his "hides" are not. Since Beans cannot go shopping for his own (& that's not why he wants out) it's up to you to make sure his hides meet the standards we've already discussed. That might help him to relax & feel safe.

Also, since you mentioned handling him, are you at least waiting until evening to do this? Because he should be sleeping during the day, so if you're handling him by day, that may also be upsetting to him, & making it hard for him to feel safe enough to sleep.

As already mentioned above, any snake that's underweight & in a new home, would NOT be handled by me yet either- he should be resting-eating-& getting stronger before any unnecessary handling. Otherwise you risk his immune system not being able to protect & keep him healthy. You're also risking that he will refuse food, something he doesn't have the body weight yet to withstand.