Having trouble feeding. I think my BP is scared of f/t rats.

[blaze]

Hello everyone! I'm new and this is my first post. I'm sorry if it's in the wrong place.

Anyways, I've had my ball python (names Mikhail) for almost a month now. He is my first ball python and is a male albino. I feed him rat pups. I've had 2 successful feedings with him so far. Things have been going smoothly with him until I tried feeding him these past couple of days. He recently shed on the 21st-22nd. I think it was a pretty good shed. No old skin left on him and it came off in one piece. I didn't attempt to feed him during shed because I didn't want to risk wasting a rat pup. I noticed that night he was hungry because I saw him moving around his enclosure looking for food. So I quickly got a frozen rat pup and waited for it to thaw. I usually thaw for 2-3 hours at room temperature. I either warm it up by using a blow dryer on low or putting the rat pup in a plastic baggie and submerging it into warm water for around 3-4 minutes. By the time I was ready he had his head sticking out of his hide. I dangled the thawed rat in front of him and he seemed interested. He then went straight up to it, smelling it and then poke it with his head. After that he would just stare at it. I try doing the good ol' zombie dance and he still just stares at it. This goes on for about 40 minutes. He then later retreats back into his hide not interested in it. I then decided to just feed him the upcoming Sunday (the 24th).

So Sunday night arrives and I'm ready to feed Mikhail. It would be exactly 2 weeks since his last feeding on the 10th. He is sticking his head out of his hide again. I dangle the frozen rat pup in front of him and he comes out halfway. Then he does the same thing as last time again. Goes up close flicking his tongue smelling it and pokes it with his head. I noticed that the rat was losing heat so I slowly lifted it up and all of a sudden my tongs lose grip on the rat pup and it fell a good 2 inches with a slight thump. He flinches but still stares. I proceed to the zombie dance and he get's in an S shape. Now at this point I'm thinking "Yay it's going to happen soon!", since it has been 30-ish minutes of zombie dancing. He then slowly retracts back into his hide. I then decide to just poke the rat pups head in the hides entrance just to see how he will react and hopefully strike. I hear him hiss as soon as I put the head in the entrance. Pretty much gave up that night after that.

Now fast forward to about 2 and a half hours ago. I tried feeding again. This time he was out exploring looking for food. Same thing as the last 2 feedings. This time he slowly puts his body into his hide while still staring the thawed rat pup down. By now his head is sticking out of the hide. I keep doing the zombie dance for about 20 more minutes 2-3 inches in front of him. He continues to stare. I then decide to try braining the rat pup. Once I did that I noticed he seemed more interested. He then pokes the rat pup with his head and then turns around and goes back into his hide. At this point it has been around 45-50 minutes and I gave up.

I would also like to point out that his temperatures and humidity are where it should be. I also haven't been handling him since the 22nd to hopefully reduce stress if there is any.

Sorry if this is a long read. I tried to give as much detail to my predicament as I can. I will be heading to bed now because I'm literally losing a lot of sleep because I'm so stressed right now from this, looking for a new job and I'm exhausted. I will check back here in the morning when I wake up. Thanks a bunch for reading and hope to hear what any of you think.

[The Serpent Merchant]

How warm are the rodents? And what is your cool side temperature? I've found that mine eat better when I have a hot side of 90 degrees and a cool side of 82 degrees.

[KMG]

Was the breeder feeding rat pups? If you dont know, I would ask. It maybe as simple as offering what it is used to. If couldnt hurt to offer a mouse to see what happens.

On the two successful feeds they were f/t?

Wait a few days before attempting to feed again.

Also you can re-freeze a feeder ONCE. If one of mine refuse I will wait 3 to 5 days depending on how long its been since the last feed.

[blaze]

How warm are the rodents? And what is your cool side temperature? I've found that mine eat better when I have a hot side of 90 degrees and a cool side of 82 degrees.

I'm not sure how warm they are but when I touch them they feel warm enough. I've been thawing and warming them up the same way ever since I got him. My cool side temps are on average 80-81 degrees. My hot side is always 89-91 degrees. More of a constant 90.

[DooLittle]

My first thought is they aren't thawed all the way or hot enough for him. Have you tried the hair dryer to the head? Second thought, how big is prey, how big is snake? Maybe they are too small, or too large and that's why he isn't interested. I have found, that with most of mine, they each have their own little quirks about eating, you will figure it out eventually. Lastly, they are bp's and not eating for no good reason is a special talent they have.

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[Punkymom]

The rat may not have been warm enough. I submerge mine in hot water for 10-15 min depending on the size of the rodent. For rat pups I do 10 min. You want it to be the same temp as a live rat. Sometimes mine refuse if the rat isn't warm enough. And then sometimes snakes refuse feeds. If your temps are right, the rat is warm enough and everything else is fine you can chalk it up to typical ball python feeding behavior. I have one that will refuse 3 out of 4 meals. I refreeze a thawed rat once. If it's refused again I throw it away. Give him a week and then try again.

[blaze]

Was the breeder feeding rat pups? If you dont know, I would ask. It maybe as simple as offering what it is used to. If couldnt hurt to offer a mouse to see what happens.

On the two successful feeds they were f/t?

Wait a few days before attempting to feed again.

Also you can re-freeze a feeder ONCE. If one of mine refuse I will wait 3 to 5 days depending on how long its been since the last feed.

I got him from a reptile pet store and they told me he was eating rat pups. The first two successful feeds were f/t rat pups. I've tried re-freezing once but the next day after thawing it out it smelled rotten. So I don't refreeze anymore. I last fed him on June 10. I noticed he was starting to enter shed by then so I waited until he finished shed to feed him again. Ever since his shed he has changed.

I'll try feeding him again this Friday. I just get really worried because he normally hides all day and at night he will just poke his head out of his hide. When I see him moving out at night I know he is usually looking for food. I just don't understand why he wont eat now.

Part of me feels like it was due to shed because when I first got him he looked like he had a not so good previous shed. I also noticed some skin covering his eyes. I figured he couldn't see well because the first two times I fed him, his strikes missed a couple of times before he finally got them. Since he had a pretty good shed I noticed his more brighter contrast and he can see better. No skin on his eyes. Could him seeing me trying to feed him is what makes him stressed and not eat?

- - - Updated - - -

My first thought is they aren't thawed all the way or hot enough for him. Have you tried the hair dryer to the head? Second thought, how big is prey, how big is snake? Maybe they are too small, or too large and that's why he isn't interested. I have found, that with most of mine, they each have their own little quirks about eating, you will figure it out eventually. Lastly, they are bp's and not eating for no good reason is a special talent they have.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Yea I tried hair drying the head also.
He is almost 2 feet long. The rat pups are just about the size of his largest part on his body. The same size as when I had the successful feedings. I hope he eats soon. My main reason why I'm so worried when it comes to feeding is because he seems underweight to me because I can kind of see his spine a bit.

[blaze]

The rat may not have been warm enough. I submerge mine in hot water for 10-15 min depending on the size of the rodent. For rat pups I do 10 min. You want it to be the same temp as a live rat. Sometimes mine refuse if the rat isn't warm enough. And then sometimes snakes refuse feeds. If your temps are right, the rat is warm enough and everything else is fine you can chalk it up to typical ball python feeding behavior. I have one that will refuse 3 out of 4 meals. I refreeze a thawed rat once. If it's refused again I throw it away. Give him a week and then try again.

I'll try warming it in hot water next time. I usually use a hair dryer to warm them up.

Also thanks to everyone for taking the time in replying!

[KMG]

Do you use tongs? I would recommend them, if not.

I stand off to the side of my tank as I feed and try to only present the feeder hanging from its tail by the tongs and as little of my arm as possible. If i stand to close it makes my BP standoffish and slow to react.

Like the others are saying. They may not be warm enough. I use warm water to warm the feeder in a ziploc like stated above.

[Punkymom]

I have one that is VERY shy and I can't have any bright lights on or anyone else in the room when I feed him. He's the same one that will refuse 3 out of 4 feeds. If one of my kids is dancing around behind me, or if the ceiling fan is on or the light is on, forget it. He won't feed. Do you have the sides and back of his tank covered with black paper or some other background? You can also place the rat on a plate and let it thaw on top of his cage. I've also placed a rat on top of the mesh and placed the heat lamp over it for a couple of minutes to get the scent to permeate the cage. Low lights, minimal movement, hot rat, pre-scent, and feed late at night. I 2nd the tongs! There's also the possibility that you're stressing him out and a stressed snake won't eat. I would try feeding him until he retreats into his hide. If he does that, leave him alone! 40 mins just seems like a LONG time to harass a ball python with a rat. I have a new spider girl that has fed twice for me by me leaving her rat in her hide on the hot side. You could try that, as well. Offer it to him, if he seems interested but doesn't strike, place it in his hide. Come back an hour later and see if anything is happening.