I'll ask my main question up front since I think I know what the response to the rest will be and don't want to scare off with multiple walls of text.

I picked up a tiny mojo on 6/24. I have attempted feeding 2 times unsuccessfully with FT hoppers. One attempt she struck and coiled and then quickly dropped it and retreated. According to the seller it had eaten 5 times total at 1 week intervals and hasn't needed an assist. I think the last feeding date was 6/19. Here's a picture of the snake that I was sent before purchase: Even here you can notice kind of a wimpy tail, but the snake is clearly full of food.

Here are some pics from the day I picked her up. She's tense, so it really changes the way she looks here. The belly is perfectly flat for the over the top shot. She was a little 'flat' when she was balled up, and again when I snapped these pictures, but even in the second you can see the peak of the spine a bit behind the head. The tail is tucked under her body, but I remember it looked a little wimpy.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...09#post1858709

I took a look at her last night (been trying to leave her alone as much as possible) as she cruised her tub and she is really looking quite thin. The base of the tail where a lot of animals store fat is very narrow and almost twice as high vertically as it is wide for about 2 inches from the tip. The back starts 'peaking' maybe 2 inches down her neck and has a somewhat triangular shape overall. When I picked her up, I noticed a little bit of looseness to the skin where her belly was leaning over the edge of my hand. I didn't take pics because I was trying to make the whole thing as quick and stressless as possible. I did weigh her and she weighed 82g. I really thought she looked like more than that. Time to make a thread...

My first and main question: based on what you read above, if I attempt a feeding with a live hopper unsuccessfully, should I just kill it and assist feed on the spot? Should I make that attempt today (a day after the last failed FT attempt) or wait a few more days?

Now the part maybe not everyone wants/will read:

Seller setup: 6 qt tub, paper towel, water bowl
My setup: 15 qt tub, paper towel, water bowl, 2 hides, fake ivy vine over the whole tub (trying to shrink the space a little bit like you would with crumpled newspaper)

Temps 81/90 - Humidity 60 - 70%

I attempted feeding 2 days after I got her (all of my other snakes have taken at that time) and got her to strike the FT hopper once and strike and coil a second time. When I went to slide the drawer back in she dropped it in the water bowl and peaced out... I left the hopper overnight at the entrance to a hide. No go.

The second attempt was last night (1 week after the last). She showed 0 interest in the hopper and just keeps trying to climb straight out of the tub without fear (or overwhelmed by it) every time I open it.

The snake is quite active. I see it during the day cruising the tub a lot. I expected that to slow down after a week, but it's still every day after almost 2. Both times I attempted feeding the snake was already out and about, fully extended across the tub and nosing at the upper edge in an attempt to escape.

In an ideal world I'd simply give it more time, attempt a hopper live, attempt a rat pup live, etc. but I haven't dealt with a small snake before and if it really has eaten 5 times and is 85g, then I know something is up. I guess I'm wondering if I should just assist feed as the body condition is a little concerning and worry about getting it to eat etc. in a few weeks over time or should I relax and keep trying other options every 4 or 5 days?

I'm also not responding to any nonsense about the seller. It's here nor there for the purpose of this thread. I'm going to contact him and see if I can get some hatch weights to compare against.