First Feeding for new BP

[Savage420Siege]

Hey everyone!

I'm new to this site and to Ball Pythons. I have purchased my first BP and have some questions regarding the first feeding. My BP is a 2010, pet store thinks it might be about 3 months old. It is a CH. I have not yet measured, weighed, or sexed. I have had it for 4 days and plan to offer food later this week. It was very stressed when I received it and striked at my hand the first night when I was positioning a probe in the terrarium. Handled couple times last night for very short periods and it has calmed down a lot! I am breeding mice currently however the babies are only a day old so I will have to get some frozen ones to start off with. Any tips for the first feeding? How should I offer the thawed rodent? Does it need to be warmed up at all? Should I offer it to it with tongs or just leave it in his enclosure? Snake is always in it's hide, should I remove it, or take him out of it? Is it important to have a separate container for feeding? What do I do if he does not eat it? Finally, I have seen/read that prescenting the room is a good method, however I have a small apt. and my mice are in the same room all the time (I don't really have anywhere else for them), is this going to be a problem?

Thanks,

[Paysons Bps]

When you first get a snake you should always leave it alone for the first week.
If you think he's stressed you may want to check your husbandry.

Feeding steps...
-Get a small cup big enough to hold a F/T mouse/rat, fill it with warm tap water, and let it sit.
-Blow dry the mouse to warm up. (Optional)
-Prescent the room to get your snake into feeding mode. (Optional)
-Hold your mouse with a pair of tongs by the tail or the scruff of the neck and offer it three to four inches away from its face, and wait.

Feeding live steps...
-Hold the live mouse/rat by the scruff of the neck by tongs and offer three to four inches away from his/her face, after your snake strikes, MAKE SURE you monitor it untel you know the mouse/rat is completely dead.

If he doesnt eat the first time dont stress these snakes can go a while without eating as long as you dont see any weight loss you should be in the green.=D

Good luck!

-Payson!!!!

[Savage420Siege]

I think the environment should be good to go.

Exo Terra 50 gallon Terrarium (36" x 18" x 18")
Cypris Bedding
Plenty of artificial "Jungle plants" covering side/end glass
Climbing/Decorative Log - central
Hot Side: UTH, Hide. Temps around 90-95 F
Cold Side: Infrared Lamp 75w, water dish. Temps 80-85 F
Humidity: I spray regularly, try to keep around 60% (Heat lamp makes it hard)
For the time being I'm having trouble keeping consistant temp due to fluctuations in room temp, however I have a Spyder Robotics thermostat on its way to control this. I also plan to add another hide on the cool side next trip to the pet store.
Tarrarium is in my room which is the lowest traffic area in the apt.

[stevepoppers]

Read the caresheet. Link is on the front page.

[Savage420Siege]

What do people generally do with a thawed mouse that was not eaten? Leave it in terrarium overnight? Is it garbage? Refreeze it?
Does anyone who feeds live put the rodent into the enclosure and monitor it, or does everyone use tongs?

[Vypyrz]

What do people generally do with a thawed mouse that was not eaten? Leave it in terrarium overnight? Is it garbage? Refreeze it?
Does anyone who feeds live put the rodent into the enclosure and monitor it, or does everyone use tongs?

Usually, if they don't take a F/T right away, I leave it in the enclosure over night near the entrance of the hide, if it is still there in the morning, I put it in a ziploc bag and dispose of it. I usually feed on Tuesday nights since my trash collection is on Wednesday morning. I don't recommend re-freezing it, since it technically begins the decomposition process once it is thawed...

When I was feeding live, I would basically remove whichever hide the snake wasn't in and placed the prey on that end of the tank. If your snake will take F/T right away, that is great, but sometimes you may need to feed live for a month or so to get them established. Also if you have alot of places in the tank for the prey to hide, it may be best to use tongs, even for the live ones, because suddenly removing everything may stress out the snake and cause them to refuse feeding. And you should always supervise a live feeding. Never leave a live rodent in with your snake unattended or it can chew up your snake...

It's also best not to handle the snake for the first week before feeding. This will give the snake time to adjust to it's new surroundings and increase your chances of a successful first feeding...

[sorakitty]

I feed my snake live. I personally place her in a shoe box, and then drop in the rat. I'll cover the box (with it right next to me, literally) turn off the tv and just listen. I hear when she strikes. And when I hear her strike, I take a look in and just make sure has a good hold on it. After about 10 minutes or so, I look back in and see that she's started to eat. After that I don't bug her. When I fed her, her first rat (which was a tad bit big, so I was a little worried) I kept checking in every once in a while to make sure she was getting it down okay. But I won't watch her eat. I know some snakes don't like that, so I don't want to risk her possible getting stressed out and regurgitating her meal. That's how live feedings go for me personally. At the young age of the rats, I'm not worried about then getting a hold of her right now. Not only because of their age, but also she's a quick striker. She'll strike just about the moment I put the lid on the top of the box. I have already decided that when it's time to feed her larger pray that the moment I see the rat go after her, I'll be switched her to f/t. But as of right now, I'm not worried about it. Especially if she keeps striking that way she does right now.

[RichsBallPythons]

For one being its a 2010 baby ditch the 50 gallon tank and go to a 10gallon for a while. That will be your main feeding issue right there.

[BigBlue56]

50 gallon!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

WAYYYYY to big. Keep in mind Ball Pythons are one of the few pet animals out there that like smaller enclosures better then bigger ones.

In the wild they prefer tight and small areas for security.

Your tank is WAY to big.

EDIT::

I also feed right in my enclosure F/T. Taking the snake out seems completely counter productive to me.

I put my frozen mouse in a plastic container for about 5-6 hours at room temperature (next to the cage so the snake smells the mouse and gets anxious to eat). Then make sure its fully defrosted, then I place it under a heat lamp for 5 minutes without it touching the bulb obviously. Then tong on the neck and do the mouse dance 4 inches from his hide or face. Do a little jiggle then try not to get startled when he actually decides to strike.

If he doesnt eat the frozen THROW IT AWAY. You dont wanna re freeze it as when its defrosted it will smell a bit and be too mushy which causes a mess.

Good luck.

[Savage420Siege]

You are not the first to tell me the tank is too big. Before purchasing I did a lot of research on the species and found that the commen standard was to have a floor space of 36" x 12" for an adult BP. Mine is 36 x 18. Sources such as "The Ball Python Manual" written by Advanced Vivarium Systems, and also care information found on two reputable breeders websites. I decided to go with it right away to avoid having to buy three different enclosures over the course of three years. I guess If it becomes a problem I will have to downsize. I will be offering first meal tomorrow night...I guess I'll have to see how it goes. As for the rest of his behaviour, it seams great (from a beginners perspective). He is in hide for most of the time, but he does come out and explore, thermoregulates on cool side outside of his hide, climbs up to the top of the tank on the side walls covered in "jungle plants", and i have even seen him drinking from his water dish. I have has two Bearded Dragons for 2 1/2 years and haven't seen either one drink once!? He has become a lot more comfortable since he arrived here last fiday night. Every day when I come home I notice he is more active/curious and spends more and more time out of his hide. Certainly somebody here must have had great success with a larger enclosure?