First time feeding

[Sharpy6272]

I got my first ball two weeks ago today since then i have tried to feed him twice with no luck. I know this can occur in balls and i have not held him apart from in the first week twice for about 30 mins he didnt seem stressed and just curled around my fore arm and stayed there after a bit of a mooch around with his tongue flicking.

The guy at the shop told me he was a year old but having read threads on this forum i weighed him out of intrest and to start logging his weight i was supprised to find that he only wieghed 100 gms! Am i right in thinking that he is probably a hatchling and may not have even eaten his first meal.

The guy in the shop also said that he had eaten a F/T the sat before i got him but now im not sure to believe a word he said.

My temps are 94 hot 84 cold controlled by two stats one for ambient ceramic heater set to 84 and another stat set to 94 for the UTH humidity 50% 3' wooden viv that he came with from the shop. from what i have read here could this be to big? it seems that the reptile shops in my area tell you the first thing that comes in to there minds so this is a bit of a minefield.

so my main question is how long should he go without food for before i need to get worried and seek a vets help?

[Brimstone111888]

He is definitely NOT a year old ball python at 100g's, unless he has been severly malnurished, but still I would think mouse pinkies would put more weight on than that.

Pet store employees are notorious for BS'ing so to speak, I know because I used to have to do it. Stores don't train employees in all the husbandry aspects of every animal they carry.

Your temps seem good, but how are you measuring? What kind of thermometer?

Your enclosure is too big, but you can make it work. Add extra hides and enclosure furniture and even crumble up some newspaper and put it through the cage. This will size it down for him and help him feel secure.


What are you feeding him with or trying to? The first concern is to get the snake eating, before worrying about convience concerns of F/t. I would size down his enclosure doing the above, or you could even got get a seperate 15 qt tub and do it that way. Give him a week then try a live hopper.

Monitor his weight.

[Texas Dan]

Your enclosure is too big, but you can make it work. Add extra hides and enclosure furniture and even crumble up some newspaper and put it through the cage. This will size it down for him and help him feel secure.

This is true. Also, Get a big branch for him to climb on and rub against during shed. A big water bowl will help fill space, and a bunch of fake plants. Helped my spider eat.

[Sharpy6272]

Thats good advice thank you I have a big branch in there and a nice rock so there is definitly a lack of open space im measuring the temperatures with a dial thermom and hygro however i have ordered an all singing all dancing digital one that should be here in a couple of days untill then im trusting mainly on the temps on the habistat thermostats.

On saturday after the failed feeding i changed over from having a incandecent light bulb to a ceramic heat lamp. Untill then i hadnt seen him com out of his hide at night once, i think because it was on all night to keep the temps up. (The guy in the shop said that snakes dont see incandecent light so not to worry?) but last night i woke up and noticed him out and about curled up on his rock so im taking that as a sign that he might be settling in.

I was also told by the guy in the shop that it was illegal in the UK to feed live and there is no need to do it because all snakes would take F/T having read up on some UK forums I think i have discovered that its not actually illegal but im not sure you can get live feeder mice readly at diferent stages of growth.

I have been trying to feed him F/T Mice just under the thickness of his widest point by precenting with a tupperware with holes in in his tank (thankyou ball-pythons.net) then doing the dead mouse zombie dance then leaving it near the entrance of his hide overnight to no avail.

Thankyou for the breadth of knowlege i have allready found on this fourm it has so far proved invaluble.

PS. i dont want this to get in to a F/T vs Live debate i can see the advantages of both types of feeding.

[dr del]

I was also told by the guy in the shop that it was illegal in the UK to feed live and there is no need to do it because all snakes would take F/T having read up on some UK forums I think i have discovered that its not actually illegal but im not sure you can get live feeder mice readly at diferent stages of growth.

Hi,

Not illegal but definately not encouraged.

The main problem is a lot of the animal enforcement agencies are far more concerned with the mammals well being than the reptiles.

This becomes very important if, for any reason, they question you about your feeding regime - saying you "stun" the rodent for example could get you prosecuted for animal cruelty and being banned from keeping any animals whatsoever.

And, as you say, getting appropriate sized prey can be troublesome as it is illegal to sell any mammals at under 6 weeks of age (brought in to protect cats and dogs but somehow no exceptions were added and it seems no one cares enough to do it now).

You can of course breed your own but there needs to be some serious thought about whether that is worth doing or not.

Have you got a good gaurd around the CHE ? Those things can get scarily hot.

Oh and to the site


dr del

[Sharpy6272]

Thanks Derek

Yes dont worry i have a good sized guard over the CHE!

Having read up a bit i might try braining the mouse next time as i guess its a thing i can do that might help without stressing the snake any more?

I contacted the shop i got him from and they suggested i take him back to them for a few weeks while they assist/force feed him?

Im kind of dubious about them doing that and stressing him more when he was aparently eating well when i got him.

So i said i would wait till sat when i will try again and then take stock?

Thanks for the welcome