Got my first ball last Thursday. I attempted to feed him Sunday afternoon as his breeder said he should probably be okay to try with but he didn't take. I'm not too horribly worried as he's still on the first week in his new environment and just may not be adjusted yet and I'm going to try again next Sunday. He didn't tense when I touched him to pick him up out of his enclosure and moved him to the feeding tub. However he seemed freaked out by the tub and was near instantly wanting nothing more than to be out of it and climbed out and onto my hand. He was squeezing lightly but not hard but he didn't seem agitated and he wasn't breathing hard at all on my hand. I'm also worried that his hides may be a bit too big for him. But he won't touch them if I put newspaper in them to make them feel a little more cramped. When I took the newspaper out he went back in without a problem. He also seems to like to sleep in the warm hide during the day and on occasion he will pull his head out to lay on the rim of his hide or climbs out just enough to lay his head on the tshirt I've had in there to get him a little more used to my scent. Is any of this normal at all because I've read that Balls usually enjoy tight hides but again he won't touch them if there's stuff in his hides.

Also when I was doing the general maintenance today I lifted up his hide and I think I woke him out of a dead sleep but I wanted to be sure there was no mess to clean as he spends most of his day in there. He didn't tense again when I touched him to move him away so I could put his hide back but he seemed to be taking long deep breaths after I set him down again. Also lately he seems to be favoring his warm hide and won't use his cool hide. He likes to lounge on the branches I have in his tank. Is this all normal, I'm just worried since this is my first snake, I want to give him the best care I possibly can.

I know he wanders around for a couple hours at night as I'm nocturnal as well so I get to enjoy seeing him when he's active.

Oh, also. His temps are at a constant 85-90 on the warm side and 75-80 on the cool. The humidity on the warm is around 50-55 and the cool is about 60-68.