First Feeding

[Andrew Larson]

I got my first ball python last weekend and tried feeding him a small live rat which the shop had been feeding him. He didnt eat it. Should I try again today? What should I do with the rat?

[BiggBaddWolf]

Actually I would wait another 5-7 days before trying again, and make sure for the next week that the temps, and humidity are spot on...

[Andrew Larson]

what should i do with the rat?

[Lazarus09]

what should i do with the rat?

Just find something safe to keep it in. It will live for 5 days, just give it a little water. Whenever my snake wouldn't eat, I would just keep the rat alive and feed it a little dog food until time for the next feeding. Usually new snakes can take a couple of weeks to get comfortable in their new environment, so it's not uncommon for them to refuse food at first.

[Prophet]

I keep a 10 gal cage set up if my snakes dont eat the live ones, if they will take frozen i feed them FT mice if they wont they get a live one and if it doesnt take a live one, it goes in the cage till the next feeding time.