new ball python. feeding and handling

[Annarose15]

I would definitely wait until the snake has eaten a few times to handle it. Handling can cause stress and lead to not eating.

I agree. You may have only handled him twice so far, but you dramatically changed his environment both times, so it was like resetting his initial settling-in period. You may also want to offer live for his first feeding, if that was what he ate previously, and the switch to F/T once he's had a couple of meals.