Hello everyone,

Background:
My girlfriend and I recently adopted our second ball python from craigslist, and we couldn't get a lot of our questions answered as the prior owner was the second owner and we're the third. We do know that he is blind in one eye from being fed live and got scratched, the last owner fed him pre-killed. He's a 5 year old male BP who lived in a rack setup for what I can only presume was most of his life, and was most likely fed in cage.

Let me get to the point, since we've gotten him 2 weeks ago he hasn't eaten inside his terrarium or out and seemed even afraid of the food. I think he was stressed out a bit by living in too small a terrarium as he hissed at me yesterday when I reached in to grab him, this prompted us to get him a 30 gallon tank which seems to suit his size well. If he has been living in and being fed in a racked tub for most of his life, is there any chance we could condition him to eat pre-killed in a box separate from his terrarium? This is how we would prefer to feed him. I'm thinking of giving him another week to adjust to his new home and trying again. I'm concerned that for him to adjust to eating in a separate box, we may have to offer him live food as was the case with our first ball, but he only has one good eye left so that's taking a risk Also, I've heard that adult ball pythons may not need to eat weekly as younger ones do, perhaps waiting couldn't hurt.

We'd appreciate any advice, we want to give him lots of love as he isn't just another snake in a rack to us. He's a cherished member of the family.

Thanks,
Caleb & Cat