Quote Originally Posted by Punkymom View Post
I have one that is VERY shy and I can't have any bright lights on or anyone else in the room when I feed him. He's the same one that will refuse 3 out of 4 feeds. If one of my kids is dancing around behind me, or if the ceiling fan is on or the light is on, forget it. He won't feed. Do you have the sides and back of his tank covered with black paper or some other background? You can also place the rat on a plate and let it thaw on top of his cage. I've also placed a rat on top of the mesh and placed the heat lamp over it for a couple of minutes to get the scent to permeate the cage. Low lights, minimal movement, hot rat, pre-scent, and feed late at night. I 2nd the tongs! There's also the possibility that you're stressing him out and a stressed snake won't eat. I would try feeding him until he retreats into his hide. If he does that, leave him alone! 40 mins just seems like a LONG time to harass a ball python with a rat. I have a new spider girl that has fed twice for me by me leaving her rat in her hide on the hot side. You could try that, as well. Offer it to him, if he seems interested but doesn't strike, place it in his hide. Come back an hour later and see if anything is happening.
I feed him at night and my room is practically pitch black. I have one light on that I block off so it allows me a little bit of sight but not enough to make it seem obvious that it's on. I don't have anything covering the sides of back of his enclosure. I use a Sterilite bin with holes around the sides and the lid. Should I consider putting some kind of background? on the sides and back? I usually thaw the rat on a towel on top of the lid near some of the air holes. Will leaving the thawed rat on the hot side be alright? Would leaving the rat in his hide not scare him? Also he prefers to hide on his cool side. In fact last night was the first time I've ever seen him in his hot side hide. I don't know if he just discovered it until now or decided to go in it when feeding failed. lol How long of a break is good so I don't harass him for 40 minutes again?