Not eating. Can you look over my husbandry?

[Tiamat43]

She is my first ball python so I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I have had her for a bit over 3 weeks.

She is in a 20 gallon long tank with a screen top. Her hot side fluctuates between 85 and 90, while her cold side is 75 to 78. The tank is heated by a ceramic heat bulb.

The humidity is in the mid to high 50's.

Just want to make sure that it all sounds good, or if I should be making some adjustments.

[The Golem]

A photo or two would be helpful.

[C2tcardin]

Pics and more info on your set up would be best.
Questions I would have:
1: Do you have belly heat in the form of a thermostat regulated Under Tank Heater (UTH)?
2: How are you measuring your temps? Cheap dial gauge from Petco/Petsmart? Best to get a IR temp gun ($30)
3: Do you have hide boxes, preferably 2, one hot side one cool side.
4: What are you feeding? Live vs. Frozen Thawed (F/T)?

Hope this helps get things started for you.

[Tiamat43]

I won't be able to get pics for a while as I just left the house for a very long day but I will get some and post them when I get back.

I just got a thermostat for a UTH, I plan on setting that up this weekend

Temps are measured on one side by a digital Zoo Med themomitor, and on the other by an All Living Things themomitor and humidity gauge. I'm on a budget, so a temp gun is on my list of things I need to get

I have 2 different hides for her, one on each side, and I also have a large enough water bowl for her to soak if she wants.

I feed F/T rat pinkies

[Tiamat43]

I got the pictures after the long weekend, hope this helps. I want to get this sorted out so I know if it is something g else I should be worries about.

http://imgur.com/a/dnhuD

[PassionFruitReptiles]

Just a suggestion but you can get a lot of reptile necessities on Ebay for a lot less than you would at a store. I just bought an IR temp gun on Ebay for $15 shipped, there were some a few dollars cheaper than that as well, you don't need the best temp gun but do make sure to do your research on different brands before purchase so you don't get stuck with junk - just like with all things you are looking to buy. I bought indoor/outdoor digital thermometers/hygrometers on Ebay for $7 each shipped, again there were some that were cheaper than that. There is no reason you can't afford these things and accurate, quality thermometers/hygrometers are definitely needed when you own reptiles, i wouldn't trust the ones you have honestly, they are known to be very inaccurate in most cases.

[Tiamat43]

I have seen many people on the forum with the ZooMed's so I figured that one would be at least somewhat reliable, but I knew the Hydrometer and thermometer combo would need a replacement Do you have any suggestions on what brands to use?
I plan to upgrade some things slowly once I have the temp gun. As I said before I'm on a tight budget.

Also does anyone think this is a husbandry issue, or should I be looking into other possibilities?

[C2tcardin]

Tank set up actually looks pretty good, the better gauges will just make things easier for you to measure and more accurate too. It may come down to your food choice and when & where you're feeding. Rat pinkies are really tiny and from the looks of your snake, probably too small for him. I don't suppose you know the weight of you BP? It tends to be the best way to determine food size. As an example my HRA Super Pastel Lesser girl was taking f/t rat pups when she was 177 grams.
A couple of other suggestions on feeding, you may want to try feeding a small live mouse to him in a separate tub. I only say separate tub not because of the whole feeding aggression debate but for simplicity and so your snake knows right where the prey is. I have one BP that hates hunting them down in his tub so I take him out and feed him in a separate tub and he's perfectly happy. If I don't take him out and just drop a mouse in his tub I can come back a half hour later and the mouse is still running around! The other things to try could just be your timing, wait till night time to feed, or wait till you see him in his hide with just his head sticking out (he's in hunting mode). Also if you're panicking that he's not eating are you trying again every night? If so you're likely stressing him out. I was guilty of this mistake and learned the hard way to just trust the boards here and if they skip a meal don't present food again till the next time they are scheduled to eat.
Hope one of these ideas helps.

[Tiamat43]

I generally do feed at night as that is when my schedule works out best for both of us (the snake and I) The pinkies were just a little small for her girth but not too much, and her weight is at 101 Grams.

As for feeding every night I have followed all the suggestions online as to trying again at about weekly intervals. I'm not too keen on feeding live, not a moral thing or anything, just more a convince as nobody in my area sells live and my parents don't really want the live animals in the house. It is on the list of things to try though.

[Trogdorpheus]

Tank set up actually looks pretty good, the better gauges will just make things easier for you to measure and more accurate too. It may come down to your food choice and when & where you're feeding. Rat pinkies are really tiny and from the looks of your snake, probably too small for him. I don't suppose you know the weight of you BP? It tends to be the best way to determine food size. As an example my HRA Super Pastel Lesser girl was taking f/t rat pups when she was 177 grams.
A couple of other suggestions on feeding, you may want to try feeding a small live mouse to him in a separate tub. I only say separate tub not because of the whole feeding aggression debate but for simplicity and so your snake knows right where the prey is. I have one BP that hates hunting them down in his tub so I take him out and feed him in a separate tub and he's perfectly happy. If I don't take him out and just drop a mouse in his tub I can come back a half hour later and the mouse is still running around! The other things to try could just be your timing, wait till night time to feed, or wait till you see him in his hide with just his head sticking out (he's in hunting mode). Also if you're panicking that he's not eating are you trying again every night? If so you're likely stressing him out. I was guilty of this mistake and learned the hard way to just trust the boards here and if they skip a meal don't present food again till the next time they are scheduled to eat.
Hope one of these ideas helps.

I know this is a couple weeks old already, but it seems in your post that you imply that you are not supervising your live feedings. That is a terrible idea. The mouse can/will fight to survive. Your snake can get badly hurt Or killed. Not saying it will, plenty have fed live with no harm... but mine got bit in the face after a bad strike that would have been much worse had I not been there to intervene.