Feeding question

[iCadance]

I am new ball Python owner and I just tried feeding our 5 month old BP but he refused his rat pup. I am wondering can I put the rat in the fridge and warm it up later tonight or tomorrow to re try? Can I live it in the cage overnight? Also when do you retry to feed them if they refuse? Thanks

Here is a picture of our new addition


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[Craiga 01453]

The general rule of thumb is you can re-freeze it one time if your snake refuses.

As for when to offer next, wait at leaat 5 days. Offering too often can stress the snake and lead to more refusals.

The next step is to try to determine why the snake is refusing.
It is likely either husbandry or stress.

Are you handling the snake at all?

[iCadance]

The general rule of thumb is you can re-freeze it one time if your snake refuses.

As for when to offer next, wait at leaat 5 days. Offering too often can stress the snake and lead to more refusals.

The next step is to try to determine why the snake is refusing.
It is likely either husbandry or stress.

Are you handling the snake at all?

Ok thanks I will wait 5 days. Yes we have held him and he seems good when we hold him he doesn’t stay in a a ball or anything when holding him. Should we avoid holding him before feedings? Also I am reading/hearing different things about moving the snake for feedings? He has a heat pad set to 90. Does that need to be bumped up? We also have a humid hide along with 3 other hides.
Tomorrow I am going to buy another heat lamp to help keep the cool side a little warmer


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[Dylan_]

When did you get it? When i got mine it refused food for approximetely 2 weeks then started eating i also had to convert it from live to f/t because it was on live when i got it it and didnt want to run a risk of rats hurting it that process was unfun lol did not want frozen thawed at all was hissing at it when i would offer now it eats every week havent had an issue with feeding for the last 2 or 3 feedings i havent had it long im just glad its finally eating on a regular basis if it refuses feeding i usually throw out the rat after being thawed out id rather be safe if rather then re freezing something that was already frozen and thawed once also i warm it up and use feeding tongs grab the rat by the back of the neck and make it do a little dance mine refuses to eat unless the prey is warm and moving stubborn as can be sometimes also you can leave the rat in there over night kf you want but if its anything like mine which hopefully not then it wont take it unless warm and moving around ive left one over night and it would just crawl over it from what i hear if you just got it you should not handle it for the first few sucessful feeds i may be wrong im new to the ball pythons as well and im still learning hope this helps tho

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[Dylan_]

Check the tempature of heat pad i just asked this information yesterday to find this out and the tempature of the glass should be 90 and how are you controlling the heat pad?

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[Kira]

Ok thanks I will wait 5 days. Yes we have held him and he seems good when we hold him he doesn’t stay in a a ball or anything when holding him. Should we avoid holding him before feedings? Also I am reading/hearing different things about moving the snake for feedings? He has a heat pad set to 90. Does that need to be bumped up? We also have a humid hide along with 3 other hides.
Tomorrow I am going to buy another heat lamp to help keep the cool side a little warmer


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It's typically recommended to not handle a new snake (especially young ones) until they have successfully eaten for you 3 times. So I think it would be a good idea for you to hold off on handling until he is eating regularly. The stress of being in a new environment + handling can often make ball pythons feel insecure. Waiting is not easy but the frustration of having a snake that isn't eating is worse.

Do not move the snake to feed. There are exactly zero benefits of doing this and can actually increase your chances of being bitten or the snake regurgitating its meal. Always feed in the enclosure. I assure you that he will not become aggressive or think that you hand is food. Pretty much everyone here feeds in the enclosure and hasn't had any issues.

How are you measuring your temps? And just to be sure- your heat mat is regulated by a thermostat right?

[iCadance]

When did you get it? When i got mine it refused food for approximetely 2 weeks then started eating i also had to convert it from live to f/t because it was on live when i got it it and didnt want to run a risk of rats hurting it that process was unfun lol did not want frozen thawed at all was hissing at it when i would offer now it eats every week havent had an issue with feeding for the last 2 or 3 feedings i havent had it long im just glad its finally eating on a regular basis if it refuses feeding i usually throw out the rat after being thawed out id rather be safe if rather then re freezing something that was already frozen and thawed once also i warm it up and use feeding tongs grab the rat by the back of the neck and make it do a little dance mine refuses to eat unless the prey is warm and moving stubborn as can be sometimes also you can leave the rat in there over night kf you want but if its anything like mine which hopefully not then it wont take it unless warm and moving around ive left one over night and it would just crawl over it from what i hear if you just got it you should not handle it for the first few sucessful feeds i may be wrong im new to the ball pythons as well and im still learning hope this helps tho

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Thanks. We just got him two days ago the picture was from the night we got him he isn’t held right now we wanted to give him a week to get used to everything (we where told about a week). Sounds like we might have to wait longer. The breeder we got him from said he held him all the time so he is used to being held but did say that he has been a stubborn feeder he was taking f/t rat pups so that is what I tried I was told to heat it under a heat lamp for a min he tried biting it missed and the. Wouldn’t touch it I put it in a bag in the fridge tell I can figure out if I can either RE freeze it or put it in the cage over night. I have owned breaded dragons for years but I am very new to ball pythons.


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[iCadance]

It's typically recommended to not handle a new snake (especially young ones) until they have successfully eaten for you 3 times. So I think it would be a good idea for you to hold off on handling until he is eating regularly. The stress of being in a new environment + handling can often make ball pythons feel insecure. Waiting is not easy but the frustration of having a snake that isn't eating is worse.

Do not move the snake to feed. There are exactly zero benefits of doing this and can actually increase your chances of being bitten or the snake regurgitating its meal. Always feed in the enclosure. I assure you that he will not become aggressive or think that you hand is food. Pretty much everyone here feeds in the enclosure and hasn't had any issues.

How are you measuring your temps? And just to be sure- your heat mat is regulated by a thermostat right?

Thanks this is all good to know I won’t move him again when I re try to feed him in 5 days I measure my temps with a laser theme reader. And yes the heat mat is plugged into a thermostat. I have it set at 90 right now. He is moving around but I am getting a heat light for the cool side just to keep it a little bit warmer it is about 69-71 right now.


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[Dylan_]

Thanks. We just got him two days ago the picture was from the night we got him he isn’t held right now we wanted to give him a week to get used to everything (we where told about a week). Sounds like we might have to wait longer. The breeder we got him from said he held him all the time so he is used to being held but did say that he has been a stubborn feeder he was taking f/t rat pups so that is what I tried I was told to heat it under a heat lamp for a min he tried biting it missed and the. Wouldn’t touch it I put it in a bag in the fridge tell I can figure out if I can either RE freeze it or put it in the cage over night. I have owned breaded dragons for years but I am very new to ball pythons.


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Mine can be very very stubborn how i heat mine up is the only way i find it takes it i place the rat in a ziplock bag with warm water dont use really hot i tried that once and rat was losing hair and his guts were starting to ckme out wont try that again lol then i dry itnoff as much as i can and use a blow dryer to completely dry and warm up ever since i statted this method havent had a problem with it taking food i say it because im jot 100% on sex yet

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[Dylan_]

Mine can be very very stubborn how i heat mine up is the only way i find it takes it i place the rat in a ziplock bag with warm water dont use really hot i tried that once and rat was losing hair and his guts were starting to ckme out wont try that again lol then i dry itnoff as much as i can and use a blow dryer to completely dry and warm up ever since i statted this method havent had a problem with it taking food i say it because im jot 100% on sex yet

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And try making the rat kind of dance grab it by the back of the neck "with feeding tongs" and make it appear alive moving it slowly left and right or up and down making the head shake a little that sometimes encourages them only way i can get mine to feed

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