My Son Dropped My New Ball Python!

[Bogertophis]

It's so frustrating when a snake won't eat- believe me, I understand.

The normal "first food" for BPs is a "smallish" mouse hopper. But right now that might be too much for him (in terms of their activity)-it might scare him off a lot! If that was my snake,

I'd try offering a live fuzzy mouse (eyes closed w/ short hair); once a rat or mouse opens their eyes, as with hopper mice, they can & do fight back. If he really was raised on f/t mice, that would likely scare him. OR, if you can find a very small pinky/fuzzy type baby rat (eyes closed), he might take either of those. Neither one poses any risk, & isn't as much as he should be eating per meal, but it's a start, & may tell you what he wants to eat. Also, when a snake (or a sick person, for that matter) doesn't eat for a while, they lose their appetite & in the case of humans, if they didn't have an I.V. in the hospital for nutrition, most would never get well- they'd never feel well enough to eat. Your snake needs to get HIS "energy" back, so a fuzzy rodent will help a great deal if you can get him to eat it. He'll likely decide he likes the "feeling" of food in his tummy. So do your best to make that happen.

If he's in his hide & looking out, like he might eat or be thinking about prey- you can first try offering it by tongs to see if he'll grab it...BUT don't make it seem like the rodent is coming AT him!
That sure wouldn't be normal in the wild- rodents don't volunteer to be dinner, lol. Slightly wiggle it (using tongs) just out of his reach, going "past him" (not "at") to see if he's interested. If he backs up & doesn't follow it, what I'd do is leave it in his home overnight, in a shallow flat-bottom bowl that's heavy enough that it won't tip if he sit's on the side of it watching for a while to get up his courage. I've seen many snakes get up their courage this way- it may take hours or all night though. The scent & body-warmth should attract him- but don't watch, as that might scare & distract him- he needs most to summon up some courage & "be a snake"!