Hi. I'm new to this site, and new to BP's, but not to herps in general. I am pretty knowledgeable about North American herps, and I have kept and cared for a variety over the past 15 years. However, I have never kept pythons before, so I just have a couple of newbie q's. My husband and I just got a baby ball python (Nugget) almost 3 weeks ago from a breeder I have heard good things about (word-of-mouth from other owners I know). The breeder was very friendly and knowledgeable, and he gave us lots of good info when we got our little guy. Nugget was 4 weeks old when we got him. He looked very healthy and in good condition. He was alert, active, curious, and very easy to handle. When we got him home, he weighed 51g. The breeder said he had been feeding well, taking mostly live mouse fuzzies and one live rat pinkie. He was last fed 3 days before we got him. He is currently in a 5 gallon aquarium with Eco-Earth substrate. We have a small heat mat under one side of the tank, and a small ceramic heater above the tank on the same side. The warm side stays about 91 degrees F, give or take a degree, and the cool side is about 79. The humidity hangs between 55%-65%. He has a small hide on each side of the tank. We did research and talked to some of our herper friends before we brought him home. From what we learned, BP babies can be quite nervous and skittish initially, but tame up fairly quickly. They like to feel safe and secure, and can take a little while to adjust to new surroundings. And apparently, BPs are notoriously picky eaters. After we brought Nugget home, we left him alone to adjust to his new environment for about a week. Since then, we (or rather, he) quickly established a new routine. He sleeps in his warm hide during the day, then in the evening, he climbs to the top of the cool side and starts trying to nose out of his cage. When we open it, he’ll immediately climb up onto one of our arms, and seemingly happily hang out with us for the evening. We let him explore the couch, bed, blanket, or wherever we’re sitting. He’ll wrap his little tail around one of our fingers (or toes) and investigate everything he can reach without letting go. When he’s finished, he’ll typically climb into one of our laps or around a wrist, and just chill for the rest of the evening until we have to put him back. He’s a little reluctant to go back into his cage initially, but he soon settles down to rest somewhere. Through all of this, he seems content and inquisitive. He does not ball up or move around frantically, like he’s scared or stressed. We don’t force him to come out. It’s all on his own. So my first question is, is this typical BP behavior? I’ve only ever dealt with one other snake (a Black Rat snake) that seemed so interested in human contact.
My other question involves feeding. The breeder said Nugget was feeding well on live, and he had last eaten 3 days before we got him. For numerous reasons, we would like him to eat F/T. The breeder said that since he is so young, we shouldn’t have too many problems switching him over. In doing research prior to getting him, I read that BP’s are notoriously picky and will refuse meals for long stretches at a time. They can go back and forth between accepting F/T and live. Sometimes they are okay with rats, other times only mice. Even the color of the rodent can make a difference. I also read that BP’s should eat rats as adults, simply due to size and quantity matters, and that if they get a taste for mice, they often won’t switch to rats. (But apparently rats vs. mice don’t make a huge difference in terms of nutrition?) Does that all sound correct? So after letting Nugget settle in for a week, we tried to feed him. He has had absolutely no interest in food. We tried F/T rat pinkies, then F/T mouse fuzzies. We tried heating them with a hair dryer before feeding, wiggling them, dipping them in warm chicken broth, and even cutting them open. We left one in his cage overnight. It was a complete no-go. So we tried a live rat pinkie. Nope. No interest at all. Finally we tried a live mouse fuzzy. It didn’t show any interest, so I left it in with him for a couple of hours (which I usually won’t do, and I would NEVER do with any older prey item!) That completely stressed him out! He was frantically crawling around his cage, and when I took it out, he just curled up in a ball. (Thankfully my king snake is nowhere near as picky, and was happy to eat anything Nugget didn’t want.) Now, obviously, we’ve only tried a couple of these tactics at a time, so he doesn’t freak out or get too stressed. But nothing has worked. So he hasn’t eaten since we’ve had him, which means he hasn’t eaten in about 3 ½ weeks. If he was an adult, or even an older juvenile, I wouldn’t think twice about this. But how long can baby BP’s go without eating? I can’t seem to find much online about it. I weighed him yesterday, and he is down to 47g. For older North American snakes, I just make sure they don’t lose more than about 10% or so of their body weight, but he’s nearly at that point. So for a baby, and a BP, at what point should I worry? And if I do worry, should I take him to the vet, or should I just try to “assist” feed him myself? (I have had to assist feed a sick snake before. I just held her and got her to open her mouth just wide enough to fit the mouse’s head in—each time, she took it from there.) Any advice, opinions, tips, or tricks would be appreciated. Unfortunately, most of my herper friends are like me and have dealt mainly with Native herps, so they don’t have much experience or advice for me. Thanks to all in advance!