Sweet (yet troublesome) ball python

[Holbeird]

OK, well a friend of mine bought a ball python for 20 bucks at a flea market (yeah great care-takers I'm sure)

Well my friend had the snake for about 2 weeks, his mom found out, and said the snake goes, or him AND the snake go! So he was gonna just let it go in the while, which I promptly told him was an incredibly stupid Idea, and I'd take him to keep him from doing so. That being said.

I took a 20? gallon LONG glass tank, I'm currently using newspaper as a substrate, I have two glass bowls with water, one at the heated end, one at the cooler end. I have two hide boxes (pop tart boxes with holes cut in them!)

I also have a heat rock in there (DONT KILL ME I'M NOT USING EM FOR HEAT!) he-he I read up, so I know better then this, but its what he had, so I cut off the cord, and put it in there to give the little guy something to lay on. I haven't gotten a climbing branch yet, due to money being on short supply. I have a humidity meter, and a temp meter (http://www.bigappleherp.com/Reptile_...ge_182110.html) (same type of thermometers/humidity meters, different brand though)

Any who, I'm using a red heat lamp bulb, and a under tank heating pad that I bought. The snake seemed to be doing fine, but I am having a HARD time keeping the humidity up when it comes time for shedding. He's only shed once, and it was BAD. Basically his tail, and head shed correctly, everything in between I had to get off basically by massaging him with a wet paper towel while the little guy enjoyed his little massage! (I'm assuming he's a he, he could be a she!)

Anyways, I'm thinking part of the bad shed was due to the humidity not being high enough, as well as not having any sharp enough object for him to rub against.

So now to my questions! First, can I take a regular rock from outside, boil/clean it and put it in there, as long as the points Aren't TOO sharp? Secondly same deal, but with a branch, if I dry the wood and such first?

OK, 3rd and most important question. The first two weeks of feeding went great (kinda) I put a fuzzy in there (although I think it could have had bigger, wanted to be sure) the snake wouldn't touch it...but since it was just a fuzzy, I wasn't worried about leaving it in there overnight. I went to bed, woke up the next morning, and it was gone. Good. Bummed I couldn't watch it eat, but good that he did eat, as I read that they can be picky eaters. Now since he's shed, he hasn't eaten yet! I'm not sure if it has to due with him shedding, or that I've tried switching him over to pre-killed prey, since he's big enough to eat adult-small mice. Tried with two pre-killed adult mice, now trying with my first pre-killed fuzzy, seeing if maybe the size intimidated him. I tried using forceps, heating in water, dangling, leaving alone at night, putting it IN his hidey hole, for him to find/eat, and everything. The only 3 things I haven't tried yet that I read, would be putting the mouse in chicken broth, rolling the mouse with a dead gerbil/gerbil droppings (which I'm trying tonight for the first time) and then the most gruesome, splitting the mouse's head open, so its brains spill out and entice the snake!

Tonight I'm trying the fuzzy rolled with the gerbil droppings, seeing if that helps him at all. I'm also a little worried since I helped him finish his shed with the paper towels tonight, he may not eat due to stress, but at the same time, he didn't seem to mind, he laid pretty still when I was rubbing him as if he enjoyed it, and only moved as if trying to get away, when I had to rub just behind his head. Also, the little guy hasn't eaten in about...say 3 weeks, maybe 4? I know that they can go a while without eating, but he's looking a little skinny. Also when he's curled, his skin wrinkles a bit. I would take him to the vet as see what they say, but unfortunately I'm a little strapped for cash, I didn't exactly have the money for the snake, but figured it was better then my idiot friend letting him loose in the wild!

So any other ideas to get him to eat? Should I try going back to feeding him live fuzzies/hoppers till he puts on a little more weight, and then go back to trying the dead ones. I've read to try "stunned" ones, but how the heck do you stun a mouse? Also, is it OK to put two fuzzies in there. My biggest thing is, since he seems so picky about eating in front of me, or anywhere unless its the DEAD of night, pitch black in my room, I cant sit and watch him eat a mouse, and I refuse to leave a life mouse wandering around his cage while I sleep! So Any advice will help, also if anyone knows a place to get cheap snake items online, or certain stores!? I plan on heading to Home Depot or Lowes to get some Terra cotta pots as hidey holes, since he pushes his pop tart box around most times!

Thanks for reading that LONG post, and thank you for any help or advice you can give!

-Holb


Edit! Also, I'm currently living with roomates, and they're terrified of snakes, so I have to keep mine in my room, I live in Charlotte, NC. Its insanley hot, and I tend to keep my room kinda cold, so is there any way to keep the cage a little hotter, I have a hard time keeping the cage TOO hot. Its currently (according to the gauge) 87 degrees, on the hot side Humidity is 51.