Feeding help and what I have tried so far???

[SDA]

He was feeding on live rodents. Are you offering that or trying to switch to frozen thawed during this time. You have had him less than a month and are already trying to feed while trying to acclimate. Not the best idea.

First I would hold off feeding until you meet the husbandry conditions needed to help this snake reduce moving stress and feel safe in their enclosure.

After meeting the requirements you need to for a ball python, I would then offer only once per week a live or preferably pre killed (as in you buy it live and kill it right before offering) until this snake starts eating. After getting it on a reliable feeding schedule where it does not refuse and where its husbandry needs are met you can then try and switch to frozen thawed.

For now I would reply to Deborah in this thread. She has the experience you need to get your snake feeding and as such do exactly what she says. Do nothing else until you fix husbandry to what your snake needs. Stop trying to feed so much and give it a week at least to acclimate before offering again.

[Skyrivers]

He was feeding on live rodents. Are you offering that or trying to switch to frozen thawed during this time. You have had him less than a month and are already trying to feed while trying to acclimate. Not the best idea.

First I would hold off feeding until you meet the husbandry conditions needed to help this snake reduce moving stress and feel safe in their enclosure.

After meeting the requirements you need to for a ball python, I would then offer only once per week a live or preferably pre killed (as in you buy it live and kill it right before offering) until this snake starts eating. After getting it on a reliable feeding schedule where it does not refuse and where its husbandry needs are met you can then try and switch to frozen thawed.

For now I would reply to Deborah in this thread. She has the experience you need to get your snake feeding and as such do exactly what she says. Do nothing else until you fix husbandry to what your snake needs. Stop trying to feed so much and give it a week at least to acclimate before offering again.

He has always been fed live and so offering live.

[larryd23]

My daughter and I liberated this scale from the kitchen. It works great for our 2017 hatchling (now 340 grams) and it's only $15.99 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KICLN4C...536817853&th=1

I should add that we not only track the weight our boy, we also track the weight of his prey (yes, a little obsessive, but we only have one).

[Craiga 01453]

I should add that we not only track the weight our boy, we also track the weight of his prey (yes, a little obsessive, but we only have one).

I weigh all my prey too. I have 4 snakes now and will be adding more over the next few years. I weigh and sort my prey and pull only what I need on feeding days. Helps keep the prey organized as well as keeps prey fresher longer.

[CALM Pythons]

He has always been fed live and so offering live.

Slow down. Dont panic, they can go for Months & Months without eating. Don't try to feed more than once every 7 days or refusing becomes habit forming. Keep him in a quiet room without kids or high traffic. Offer the food after 8pm when nobody has bothered him & ONLY when he is in his hide. Do Not turn the lights on or have, the entire Family and neighbors standing over the enclosure watching. They sense it. Ball Pythons are not aggressive hunters normally. They are opportunistic. They rather sit quietly and snatch something when it walks by the hide door and pull it in to eat alone. All the monkeying around you will be doing with the enclosure and Thermostat soon will put this off longer. He needs proper temps and to adjust to his new home before he will be content. Hold off on feeding for a week after his enclosure is all set and leave him be. Once he eats you will understand the signs of hunger also. Most peak their nose out the hide door at night. This is how they wait for the perfect chance to snag something going by. Good luck and dont worry as long as he is 88/90 hot Hide UTH and a 78/80 cool hide your ok. Mine spend 98% of their time in the cool...
Also as far as Ambient.. You can get a smaller 12 watt UTH and run it at 78 under your cool hide or get a (100 watt for 20 gal tank) CHE for over the cool side. The small UTH at this point would be easiest for you. Heat lamps and CHE's dry the tanks out bad. The biggest thing to remember is that they have to be on Thermostats. A small UTH can get to 140 degrees directly plugged into the wall. If you cant afford a Herpstat 2 that runs two heat sources ($189) then go to Lowes and get 2 Dimmer Switch extension cords. They are $15.99. They are not reliable IMO but better than nothing.
Take your time and read this stuff over and over. Write it down if you need to and you will start to get a handle on it.
Most of all take things in stride here. Sometimes people come off aggressively but thats because everyday people come on here and have a snake in distress because they bought one without knowing what to do or they listened to some nonsense a 18 yr old worker at Petsmart told them that doesn't know the difference between a ball python and a meal worm hahahahahaha
Good Luck.


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