Juvenile not eating, help!

[Glassnake]

Hello all, I purchased my first ever ball python on the 22nd of November, the store owner (it's a specialty reptile store not a petco or anything) told me that the snake had already eaten roughly six meals and that his last meal was on the 20th of november. The snake is a Butter and when I purchased him he looked GREAT strong grip, nice colors, very responsive! I tried feeding the tuesday of the following week but he was still very stressed in his new home, staying in the hides mostly, two weeks ago I noticed that he was going into a shed and thought that this was the reason why he wasn't eating. The shed was extremely dry and he needed multiple soaks to get it all off. There is still a very small amount of old skin on the end of his tail but it is very minimal. Since the shed ended he has been very active. moving around ALOT so I imagine he is feeling much better since getting rid of that dead skin. I thought that he would for sure eat now so I went and picked up a rat pup about 25 minutes ago and held it in front of him for a few minutes but he had absolutely no interest. He was more interested in climbing onto my hand than the pup.. the enclosure is a pvc rack with the dimensions 24x24x12 with aspen bedding, 2 hides and a herpstat controlling heat tape. maintaining a hotspot around 90-93. humidity has maintained 50% the coldest end of the enclosure never goes below 74 This is my first snake and im really starting to worry. He hasnt lost any weight but I have NEVER seen him eat yet! anything helps! thank you very much for any advice you can offer!

[rlditmars]

First things first, what size is the snake? I ask because you said "they" had said he had eaten 6 meals which makes me think we are talking about a hatchling. If that is true then a cage of 24 X 24 is way too big and is probably stressing the snake out. Try cutting at least half of the space off with a divider or getting a smaller tank to start with. That may correct the problem. Snakes can go quite a while without eating and you haven't had him a month, so there is no need to panic yet. Also, if he has stuck shed on the end of his tail then you need to get that off. It can cause the tip to die and rot. I hope you get it worked out.

[Glassnake]

I will give him another soak so I can get that off ASAP then, he is roughly 18 inches long, a friend also said the enclosure may be too big but he explores the entire thing so I feel like its not too overwhelming for him but then again I am so new to this that I shouldn't make any assumptions.. thanks for the response, the snake also seems to be climbing up the glass at the front of the enclosure quite a bit and he is super active, is this a sign of anything?
He was apparently born in late July or August

[rlditmars]

Ball pythons typically like to hide and stay hidden, at least during daylight hours as they are nocturnal. Night time they will explore more. If you are seeing alot of moving around, climbing during daylight hours then that may also suggest he is stressed a bit and again it could be the cage size. Does he have hides on both the warm and cool sides?

[Glassnake]

Yeah hes been active during the day but he's really active after around 6 o'clock (its pitch black outside at this time where I live) but yes there is a hide on either side...

[Glassnake]

A friend told me to increase my ambient temp to a minimum of 80 degrees however I only have heat tape, how should i increase the ambient heat?

[Geminiluna]

I thought that he would for sure eat now so I went and picked up a rat pup about 25 minutes ago and held it in front of him for a few minutes but he had absolutely no interest. He was more interested in climbing onto my hand than the pup..

I assume this was a live rat pup? Did you leave it in the enclosure, turn off the lights (or cover the enclosure) and walk away for any amount of time to give him a chance? Some of them can be shy about eating, and may not show interest with someone nearby.

[Glassnake]

It is indeed a live rat pup but no I have not given him any privacy, ill turn the lights off now and give him some time! Thanks!

[Geminiluna]

Crossing fingers for you! My bp eats regularly, but she requires a little privacy and ambiance to get in the mood to feed. I've learned with her to wait until later in the evening when she's likely to be "awake" and cruising around. I place the feeder in her tub without bothering her, throw a towel over her tub and walk away and listen for the tell-tale strike/squeak, and then wait a little longer before I check that she's got the meal down with no issue. And I've also learned that feeding her in a separate tub is a no-go. She spends all of her time cruising around the tub looking for a way out and ignores the prey item.

As for ambient heat - lots of thoughts about that, some ideas may be better than others for your set-up. Me personally, I run a Lasco (or is it Lasko?) electric heater in the room to keep room temps about 75-76, since that room can drop into the low 60s without the supplemental heat in the winter. I think what you've described so far is just fine. Maybe see if you can experiment with humidity in the future to have the ability to provide more humidity going into shed.

[Glassnake]

Thank you for that! the same thing happened to me when i tried to feed him in a sperate tub, only focus was to escape haha im increasing the temperature right now with a room heater. the temp is going up smoothly as we speak and the snake already seems to be calming down. how long can i leave the rat pup in with the snake?