Am I doing something wrong?

[cmack91]

I just brought home my ball python on the 25th of november. He is about 14 inches long, but i'm not sure how old that means he is. I have never owned any kind of snake before, but have some expirience handling them. The first two days went great. He was very active, and explored his new surroundings day and night. He even let me touch him a couple times. But on the third day he went into his warm-side hide, and didn't come out. Its been 5 days now and he has barely moved.

Also just moments ago i attempted to feed him. The pet store said the last time he ate was the 23rd, and he is on frozen-thawed fuzzies. He responded positivly to the food by flicking his tougne and getting in strike position. But i dangled the mouse for about 20 minuets and he never made any moves to take it. And when i tried just laying it down in front of him and walking away he became even less interested in it. I've learned that its nothing to worry about if they skip a few feedings, but he is still very young, and kind of thin because he just finished shedding about a week ago.

My setup is in accordance with all the research iv done, but I have two theories for his odd behavior. First is that the temp in the cage has been a little low the past couple days, due to a sudden cold snap and a broken window in the room. But ive made arrange ments to get it fixed asap and will be using a space heater to heat the room in the meantime. And the second one is the feeding tongs i'm using are different than the ones used by the pet store and he might be scared of them.

So if im doing something wrong, please correct me! Any advice at all is appreciated. And thanks for taking the time to read my post :]

to the site!

a ball python in the wild hides all day, and pretty much will only come out for food and water, so your snake hiding all day is perfectly normal. do you have a way to check your temps and humidity?

feeding things like this happen alot, ball pythons can be VERY picky when they want to be. next time you offer, if your snake doesnt take it within 15 or so minutes, try leaving it in the cage with your snake overnight, and if its still not gone in the morning, take it out and do it again next week.

and theres also a good care sheet on here too: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

if you have any questions, feel free to ask on here. everyone here is always happy to help