1yr old ball python tricky transition to f/t food. Need advice/information

[DJKFOUR]

I'm seeing a few issues with your setup but nothing that can't be fixed:

The issue with just having a heat mat as your only source of heat is that it doesn't do anything for ambient temperature. That means that your temp is whatever the temperature of your room. Depending where you are in the country you might not have an issue during the day, but even here in Southern California where the days are pretty warm (80-100 degrees), my office/snake room falls to 70 degrees during the Summer and much much cooler during Fall/Winter. I'd suggest providing something to provide ambient heat like a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE), which will also need it's own thermostat. When you add the secondary heat source, your humidity will drop, but that's not as important as heat. You can always either mist the enclosure or add damp moss when you observe your BP going into shed.

Regarding his enclosure, it's a little bare. I would add some fake plants so your BP can "hide" and block off the sides and back with some sort of dark paper or material to provide additional comfort. BPs love to feel safe. So the more clutter and security you provide, the happier your BP will be.

I would also add some sort of thermometer in the enclosure. You can either go with the Accurite brand that's available anywhere, and there's also Vivarium Electronics if you're looking for one with a probe. Walmart link stolen from Craiga, thank you!
https://www.reptilebasics.com/thermometers/TH-100/
https://www.walmart.com/ip/AcuRite-0...kaAkdMEALw_wcB

There are more expensive options like Hygroset or other brands that people use for cigar humidors that do well with high humidity and are very accurate but they're not necessary.

Regarding defrosting, try to defrost with ambient temp for a few hours before feeding in the room where he is. Then warm up the prey in the zip lock bag with hottest tap water you can find for a few minutes and offer right away.

After making the changes (especially the secondary heating source) I'd give it about a week before offering. I also suggest getting a scale to monitor weight, which is the most important indicator. That will tell you if your BP is losing weight rapidly or not. If he's not, then it's not too much of an issue. One of my larger girls (2k grams) goes off feed for about 4-7 months during breeding season. I monitor her weight and offer on a monthly basis.

Awesome! Thanks for your help. I will employ these changes as soon as I can. I have already cluttered up the enclosure and put some dark paper around the back and sides to make it feel more secure. I have a thermometer, though it is out of he shot here - I should probably lower that to a more relevant height for him. I'll scout out a secondary heat source for the ambient temps as soon as I can.

Again, thank you for your help. I'll keep this thread updated as I go.