Help???

[kcox]

Hi-I am new here and also new to owning a ball python- I purchased mine nearly a wk. and a half ago I love him -very sweet- I was told he was approx. 2 months old-He sholud be feed one week after purchase...I have the habitat set up nicely and have given my snake time to adjust-tried to feed him and the mouse started to "attack" him so I removed the mouse and haven't tried since can anyone give ANY advice for me I am worried-I love Mr.T and want to give him the best care possible....

[JLC]

Hi and welcome to BP.net! : I'm glad you found your way to us!

It's actually quite uncommon for a mouse to "attack" a snake. However, if left in the enclosure for an extended period of time, they mouse may decide to see if the snake would make a good food source.

My recommendations would be:

--Try pre-killed. If you can bring yourself to euthanize the mouse yourself, you won't have to worry about your snake getting hurt by it, but it will still be warm and "fresh" to attract the snake's predator instincts.

--Try frozen/thawed. You can buy mice already dead and frozen. Very easy to buy and stock several meals this way. You thaw out and warm up the rodent you need for your meal and usually the snake will learn to eat it.

--You can try live again, but make sure to never leave it in the enclosure for more than 15-20 minutes at the very most. If the snake doesn't show interest right away, it usually won't bother to eat it at all and can become stressed by having some other critter invading its home.

Some tips to getting your snake to eat regardless of which method you use:

--Choose a day of the week to feed and stick with it. Always feed every seven days on the same day. The routine helps both the keeper and the snake. If the snake misses a meal on its regular day for whatever reason, just wait until the next scheduled feeding day and try again.

--Pre-scent the room about 30 minutes before offering the rodent. If it's alive, place it in a little escape-proof, ventilated cage near the snake's enclosure. Same with pre-killed. Keep it alive until just before you're ready to offer it. If you're trying frozen/thawed....it helps to thaw somewhere that the snake can smell what's going on, or blow a warm hair-dryer over the thawed mouse near the snake's enclosure. The yummy smells will help wake the snake up and rev up its appetite.

Good luck!

[kcox]

I send my warmest thanks-I hAven't had my snake long but I love him very much and any advice is good advice!!!!

[dr del]

Hi there


Just to check for other ideas why don't you have a look at our caresheet and see if you can tick off all the boxes.

ball python caresheet


If you have any questions just ask and we'll try and asswer as quickly as we can.



dr del

[kcox]

Like Before-Thank you guys for being so helpful-I am begining to think I may be overly worried-kinda like a new mommy! THANKS!!!