trouble feeding a new 2 month old

[Sacstate707]

Sweet. Ill put some black construction paper up on the tank. I tried leaving the rat picky halfway in his hide overnight (worked for my last ball). Thanks!

Ps. I didn't know you could put them in the paper bag with the rat. I need more tricks like that!

[alpine]

My guy really just didn't want me watching. As soon as I put the fuzzy in with him he just looked at me. I covered his tub and put the lid on and he went for it in about 2 minutes. But your guy may not like the whole "There is a giant watching me" thing

[Sacstate707]

Thanks, I put construction paper around the sides and back of the tank. Ill try the paper bag trick as well.

[Xan Powers]

try the above suggestions, if it's a new hatchling I usually always feed live for a the first few meals then get them to go frozen later. Eating = comfort/safety. I'd they feel safe they'll eat.

also try offering the prey differently, I have a Cinny female who will not strike unless the frozen prey is offered face first and I'm holding it by the scruff of its neck. weird but some are like that. just play around with different positions.

good luck.

[Sacstate707]

try the above suggestions, if it's a new hatchling I usually always feed live for a the first few meals then get them to go frozen later. Eating = comfort/safety. I'd they feel safe they'll eat.

also try offering the prey differently, I have a Cinny female who will not strike unless the frozen prey is offered face first and I'm holding it by the scruff of its neck. weird but some are like that. just play around with different positions.

good luck.

Ya, my other ball was like that for the first 2 months, super picky. Now she eats anything. Im sure this guy is just nervous about being in a new environment. Ill go to my reptile store and get a few live picky rats. Good suggestion about holding the rat different ways. Ill play around with it. If he doesn't eat though, how long should I wait until another attempt?

[Xan Powers]

Ya, my other ball was like that for the first 2 months, super picky. Now she eats anything. Im sure this guy is just nervous about being in a new environment. Ill go to my reptile store and get a few live picky rats. Good suggestion about holding the rat different ways. Ill play around with it. If he doesn't eat though, how long should I wait until another attempt?

how long has it been since his last feeding?

[Sacstate707]

how long has it been since his last feeding?

i'm pretty sure they were feeding him every weeks, so couldnt be more than 7 to 10 days. i went to the pet store and got some live pinky rats. and he ate both of them. but they were really small so, im going to try and get some bigger ones for next week.

[Ryan Chin]

so I just went to the Sacramento reptile show this weekend and bought a 2 month old ball spider morph. beautiful snake BTW, but i am having trouble feeding it. the breeder said that he eats pinky rats. so i went out and bought a few frozen and tried feeding him. no Buenos. so im thinking that he needs to get accustomed to his new environment. i have him in a 10 gallon, but can move him to a 5 or a 20 depending on what you guys think. temps and humidity running normal (89 on hot side 80 on cool). what do you guys think, should i just let him go for a while or should i be trying every other day?


1.1 Peter and Lucy

I also picked up a ball at the sacramento show last weekend, it has yet to eat. That being said I do not fear they won't eat, usually after travelling and of course tiny display cartons and people touching them for 2 days they can be stressed out. My feeding day was yesterday, they did not take. I tried again today, they did not take so til next friday they will have to wait. At two months old it should be 100+ grams if they were sellin' it there, missing a feed hasn't hurt them in my experience. Once you get them onto a schedule they usually won't miss.

If you have any further questions you can pm me. Also your setup sounds fine besides what is the RH%? I would personally recommend a DIY rack with tub setup, much easier to maintain.

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Oh i also go to sac state too, .

[Sacstate707]

I also picked up a ball at the sacramento show last weekend, it has yet to eat. That being said I do not fear they won't eat, usually after travelling and of course tiny display cartons and people touching them for 2 days they can be stressed out. My feeding day was yesterday, they did not take. I tried again today, they did not take so til next friday they will have to wait. At two months old it should be 100+ grams if they were sellin' it there, missing a feed hasn't hurt them in my experience. Once you get them onto a schedule they usually won't miss.

If you have any further questions you can pm me. Also your setup sounds fine besides what is the RH%? I would personally recommend a DIY rack with tub setup, much easier to maintain.

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Oh i also go to sac state too, .

Right on man! I still need to get a few things for both my snakes like a large water dish and other random things. The RH% is between 65 and 75. RH being humidity correct? Also, is an UTH REALLY necessary for both snakes? I have 1 UTH with a thermostat but have not yet transferred it over to my older bps tank. I do have a small hot rock hooked up to the thermostat set at 90 flat.

[AdamF]

Hot rock in tank not good, unless regulated by Tstat. The built-in stat which comes with rock is not reliable


Follow advice of others on feeding. Patience number one requirement for BP owners