Ball Python will not eat

[jaded]

How do I find out if it needs a live mouse? And where can I obtain one?

It doesn't need live. It has only been few weeks and the snake has eaten f/t before, so there really is no need to feed live.

Sex is my first question................Male??
You also should up your food size, fuzzy mice are way too small........most hatchlings start out on small hopper mice or fuzzy rats.

We are talking about a baby here. The sex is irrelevant at this point. You are right about the food size though

It's a 30 gallon long tank looking to upgrade in a bit, I also gave a heat reader and humidity reader, I have one hide. The last shed was about a week ago, I also have a daylight bulb that emits heat and a heat mat but it doesn't have a controller

How long you have had the snake? Your enclosure is way too big for a baby if you ask me. Too big and open enclosure will cause the snake not to feed, because it doesn't feel secure. You can try to make it feel more secure by adding multiple hides and covering the sides of the tank. And like many others have said, get your temps right.

No stress what so ever it loves being held, I do offer the food and nothing I'll leave it there and it won't do anything and the mouse ends up dried up

It is a snake. It does not LOVE anything. Leave him alone for couple of weeks, no handling, just changing the water and feeding attempts once a week, nothing more.


This is how I see your situation:
You have a baby ball, living in a quite large enclosure. The temps have not been quite right and you have been (?) handling it often. Also the food has been too small. So basically you have been making all the common mistakes. You have had many good advice in this thread. Read it carefully, do as you're told and wait. It might take few weeks, but when circumstances are right, the snake will eventually eat.

It has only been few weeks, and the snake has shed recently, so I don't think you have too much to worry about yet. Just too as youä're told and everything will be fine.

[PitOnTheProwl]

We are talking about a baby here. The sex is irrelevant at this point. You are right about the food size though

Four months is no longer a baby. Sex is still relevant. Then again I guess my 6 month old that went off feed and started locking when paired doesn't matter either??

[NH93]

Four months is no longer a baby. Sex is still relevant. Then again I guess my 6 month old that went off feed and started locking when paired doesn't matter either??

Either way, whether the sex is relevent or irrelevent to whomever, it doesn't really change the situation all that much simply because the other husbandry issues haven't been taken care of - to the best of our knowledge.

The way I see it (and just my opinion) is that, if you put a young animal in a situation where it can mate... it will! Doesn't matter the species (especially for males who produce sperm much earlier than females become fertile).

[200xth]

Where can I purchase a smaller mouse than petco, a petco associate supposedly told me their mice would be too big for my ball python

You may have already posted this, but how much does your snake weigh?

I doubt a petco mouse is too big unless you have a tiny hatchling.

The food should be about as wide as the snake is at it's widest point. If you are still unsure, get a scale and weigh both the snake and the food and post the weights here...someone can tell you just from the weights if it's far too big or far too small for the snake.

[PitOnTheProwl]

There has been a lot of good information given, most regurgitated but still good none the less.
Hands on real world experience plays a huge factor.
There are many things that will get your snake off of feed but it will not let itself starve either.
Thee are plenty of snakes that are in oversized housing and unregulated temps that still feed.
There are also plenty of keepers that don't use any heat other than ambient temps between 80 to 90 degrees.
I will say what works in one persons house might not work in anothers.
Im going to leave this be for the betterment today.