Quote Originally Posted by Samzi1123 View Post
I’m a new snake owner, 7 months ago I got a ball python. He’s about 16 inches long. The first concern I have is that his belly has become rough and the scales have been peeling up. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain and moves about the tank fine. I realized that the humidity was way too low inside the tank and I’ve changed his substrate from aspen shavings to coconut husk. Could the rough belly scales be due to the low humidity? He has not shed yet and as I said I’m new to snakes so I’m unsure if he is just overdue to shed or if it’s from the lack of humidity. My second concern is that he has yet to eat. The breeder fed live and I’ve been trying to get him to take frozen thawed but he’s not at all interested. I have a friend who has snakes and she has given me lots of tips to try and get him to take the mouse but he just slithers away from it every time. I’m at the point where I’m going to have to offer him live so that he eats. Any tips/pointers would be much appreciated! -Sam

7 months without eating is a concern. It's very important to get the snake eating. At that length it's obviously still young and needs to eat.

The main reason a new BP won't eat is often husbandry. The second is stress.

The more you can tell us about your setup the more we can help you.

Also, if you're handling the snake at all please refrain until the snake is eating consistently.