new owner wants to get on the right feeding track, hopefully with frozen

[RickW]

First feeding time is here for my sons 10 month old BP. We've had him for 5 days and the breeder last feed him a live rat about 6 days ago so I don't want to wait much longer. Breeder say he was always a voracious eater and would be a good candidate for switching to frozen, which would be my preference. I tried a frozen mouse yesterday with no interest, so today I've tracked down a rat source. I'm not sure if they have frozen or not. My question is do I stick with live for the first few feedings just to get the BP to become comfortable in his new home or just go cold turkey and try for frozen/pre-killed? The breeder suggested not using mice and now I agree. I just want to get on the right track and schedule and I fear I may have started down the wrong path with the frozen mouse.

[Greekinese]

You didn't do any harm by offering a mouse, nothing to worry about.
Since he's new and hsan't had f/t before, it might be a good idea to do live a few times before trying to switch over to f/t.

Good luck!

[swansonbb]

Relax. It is very common for bps to refuse food (even live) after a move. Sometimes for months.

Let's start by reviewing your husbandry. Why don't you post pics/describe your setup for your son's bp? Review the bp caresheet & make sure you have your setup optimized. It's here:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

You haven't started off on the wrong foot by offering a frozen (and then thawed, right?) mouse. Just give him time to get adjusted. Feeding him won't help him become comfortable with his new surroundings; once he's comfortable with his new surroundings he'll feed - maybe.

Many prefer offering rats, but that's because of costs. It will be a lot less money offering 1 small rat once a week vs. several mice later on.

Don't offer food again for another 5 days. And no holding him until 24 hours after he's eaten.

And good for you for seeking advice! Welcome!

[RickW]

thank's for putting some of my worries at ease. My tank setup is maybe a bit unconventional, kid of a hybrid I suppose. I'm a cabinet maker and since my son wants to look at his snake I built a display type case. I didn't want to go with a fish tank, so the bottom of the tank is a tub with a UTH, controlled by a thermostat. on top I've got a ceramic heat, also controlled. My low side is right about 80 and my high is about 90, maybe 94. 3 hides, one each side and one "pet store fake log" (a birthday gift from a friend) in the middle My one concern is that the tank is large for a small BP, 18X28 and about 16" vertical. I'll work on getting a picture up in the gallery, still have to figure that out.

So should I wait another 5 days? the mouse was thawed and heated, checked with an IR gun and the mouse was 96 degrees. The BP definitely put his tongue out of the hide so he new something was up, but wouldn't come out to investigate further. Logic tells me I should stick with live since that's what he's used to, but that opens up the usual debate with the usual worries about live. I'm ready to go pick up a rat today but I know that these guys can go a while without eating. I used to own a couple adult Bps and a boa back in college so I'm not a total stranger to snakes. Thanks again for the help!

[Greekinese]

What time of day did you try feeding? You might try leaving food in the tank late and night and turn out the lights (if it's f/t).
You know better than to leave live in the tank unmonitored hehe.

Seems like he's just scared to come out...still have that mouse? If so, try leaving it in the tank with him alone at night and see if it's gone in the morning. I've done that before and he took it, but he made sure he was alone first (I was hiding lol).

[KMG]

If you feel the cage has to many open spots put fake or real plants in it. This will make it feel more secure and offers cover while moving around the cage. Fake plastic plants are easy to clean and care for but real plants can help with humidity. I use both.

[RickW]

^^^good idea! I suppose it couldn't hurt. He's been raised in a tub by the breeder. Here's gallery pic of my tank. THis is prior to the newspaper, water, hides, etc went in. Hopefully this works....

[KMG]

Great job. It looks really nice.

I like your design. Did you seal the interior wood to protect from moisture?

[RickW]

The interior wood (maple) is already prefinished. It's a product I use throughout the cabinets I build, all zero formaldehyde. Exterior is also maple but that I had my painter laquer with another job. The entire thing is somewhat of a compromise. Practicality would seem to call for tubs, but for an 8 year olds pet snake that wasn't going to fly. A fish tank without a stand and enclosure of some kind to house all the heaters and controls seemed strange to me as well so I just built what I wanted, using the criteria found here and elsewhere. I'll say this: it wasn't cheap! But there also wasn't anything like it out there to buy for any reasonable amount of money.

Still wondering if I should go get a live rat and put him in there today

[KMG]

Wait five days between prey offering. Offering to often can cause stress and make it even harder to get it to start feeding. Be patient.