New Ball Python Hasn't Eaten!

[AlfredoBP]

Hi everyone, I have recently adopted my first ball python after months of research and planning. I thought I would be prepared to handle their picky eating habits, but man, is it stressful! I am willing to try everything, even feeding live as a very last resort.

He came in the mail March 25, and I have offered 3 times (every 7 days) since then, but no luck. I've read many other threads and checked my temps (controlled by thermostat), humidity, etc., and he has plenty of hides and foliage and seems adjusted to his enclosure. I'm not handling except for a minute or two during enclosure clean up or to check his weight once a week. He is 165 grams, no signs of mites, respiratory infection, or possible shed. Breeder says he has eaten f/t small mice and rat pups for him, so I've been offering small mice, and will try rat pups next feeding day. Even sent pictures of the setup to the breeder and he said everything looked good and to keep trying.

I thaw in the fridge during the day, warm it up inside a ziplock bag and a bowl of warm tap water, then use the hairdryer trick and offer it around 11 pm or midnight, after all the lights have been turned off (except for one small lamp that is not near his enclosure so I can see). I do the zombie dance a little ways away from his face, but he just does a few tongue flicks, moves his neck into an S shape for a few seconds and then just goes into his hide, if he is out. After a while of trying I just place it outside his hide overnight to see if he might eat it while I'm not looking, but still nothing.

I know ball pythons are notoriously picky eaters, but as a first time ball python owner, it's very frustrating! I will take any advice to get him to eat. I love him dearly and it pains me to know he is refusing food. Any information will help! Am I doing something wrong?

[vivi]

What's the size of the enclosure?

[AlfredoBP]

He is in a 20 x 13 x 7 Sterilite tub.

[vivi]

I'm curious to what your temps and humidity are? Props to you for having a thermostat.

I'm going to give you some links to posts that I recommended for another person. I think the first one will help the most.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101 < A useful post, by Deborah.

https://mypetpython.com/the-ultimate...hooting-guide/ < Troubleshooting.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ing-Guidelines < Keep in mind these are guidelines, not explicit rules.

https://www.reddit.com/r/snakes/comm..._from_live_to/ < F/T feeding methods.

[AlfredoBP]

Apologies for the double reply, but I am thinking it has to do with the way I am heating up the rodent? I was originally worried that I would not be able to get it warm enough, so I would run it under hot/warm tap water for about 20 min after taking it out of the fridge, and then use the hairdryer. 2 out of the 3 times I've tried the guts of the mouse have come out after a bit of wiggling with the tongs, could this be turning him off? If so, how can I properly warm up the rodent without this happening?

[AlfredoBP]

I'm curious to what your temps and humidity are? Props to you for having a thermostat.

I'm going to give you some links to posts that I recommended for another person. I think the first one will help the most.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101 < A useful post, by Deborah.

https://mypetpython.com/the-ultimate...hooting-guide/ < Troubleshooting.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ing-Guidelines < Keep in mind these are guidelines, not explicit rules.

https://www.reddit.com/r/snakes/comm..._from_live_to/ < F/T feeding methods.

Temps are 90 on the warm side, and 76-80 on the cool side. Humidity was about 70% the first week but I got it down to 65%, where it's at right now. I will check out the links! I have read through the first one before, so I'm hoping the others might give some more information that I can use.

[vivi]

Do you have a temp gun? Seeing as BPs have heat sensing pits the warmer the food (Not scalding hot, lifelike temp is I think 98.6 degrees F, and no it doesn't have to be exact) the better because it will appear and smell more life like. If a lukewarm, limp mouse is just wiggling around with his guts falling out the BP probably doesn't recognize it as food.

[AlfredoBP]

I don't have one currently, but one is being shipped to me right now, should be here next week. I am measuring temps in the enclosure with one of those probe thermometers. With everything going on in the world, it was hard to find a temp gun that wasn't grossly overpriced or would take months to ship. As I am reading the Reddit link, it seems like it might be an issue of me heating them up for too long.

[Caitlin]

Over-heating the rodents results in those unpleasant explosions. And if you are overheating in general, even if the explosion doesn't result, it's possible you've gotten the rodent overly-warmed to the point where the snake responds negatively to it. Just thaw them overnight in the refrigerator, either in a plastic bag or in room temp. water. When you are preparing for feeding, you can put them in warm (not hot) water for a few minutes - either directly into the water, or in a plastic bag, depending on whether your snake is OK with wet food or not - then give it a blast for just a few seconds with a hair dryer. It sounds like you're applying too much heat for too long.

[AlfredoBP]

Ah, thank you! I will try that warming method next feeding day. I just have a few more questions:

Could I try feeding again in just a few days instead of waiting a whole week? This is because of my concern about him not eating for too long, since it's been about a month.

Should I lower temps, like suggested in the first link that Vivi provided?

And lastly, should I try switching to a smaller enclosure/divide off his enclosure to make it smaller? Although, I am worried this might stress him out since he seems adjusted to the one he's currently in (in his hides all day, roams around at night for a little starting around 11 pm).

Thank you again, guys! All of this has been very helpful and I am re-evaluating all of my methods. Hopefully I can get my stubborn noodle to eat.