Hi,
Just got a new BP from Petco on Sunday. They told me it is a captive bred hatchling. They had about 8 babies in the tank. The first one I handled struck at me , so we put him back and eventually settled on a much more docile, very gold BP. It is a beauty! We also purchased The Ball Python Manual. Good book! This is a very informative website and am glad I found it.

We fed the snake a thawed to room temperature mouse on Wednesday night at about 10 pm. Kaa was in the warm side hide and I dangled the mouse about 3 inches from his face for about 10 secs. He showed no interest so I dropped it in front of the hide. I looked in on him about a half hour later and only about a third of the mouse was still visible through the BP's jaws. So happy this first hurdle has been cleared!

I do have a couple of questions. First: The pet store only sells 1 size frozen mouse. It looked about 2 inches long, not including the tail. The BP is about 15 - 16 inches long. The bulge of mouse is barely perceptible in the thickest part of the snake. Do you think this meal was too small? If so, should I feed the mouse that is in the freezer?

Second: The snake has not been handled since feeding. When he was handled he would occasionally defecate during the handling. Is this a defense mechanism or just bad timing on our part? Or maybe it is a sign of stress.

Lastly the pet shop carries a carpet like cage substrate that they say is not too abrasive for snakes. I like the looks and neatness and ease of cleanup of this product. Good idea or should I stick with the coconut husks? I don't like the look of newspaper for bedding.

Thanks in advance for your help!