My Ball isn't eating.. Help!

[Bogertophis]

Hi! You know what, I didn't even think to ask them that question so I will give it a shot!

I have been avoiding handling him cause I read an article that said that that could stress them out a lot.. but to be honest I have lifted him to check his underbelly and him in general (which I am sure probably isn't helping) so I will just limit to water changes. Oh, I also handled him a bit when I was taking him to the vet but he has his own travel container that I got for him so its not like I'm holding him more than necessary.

Oh, yikes! I certainly don't want to burn him so I will be sure to lower the temp to 90.

Well my offerings went from being 1 time a week to 1 time every 2 weeks and back to 1 time a week cause I started to get paranoid (that was like 3-4 days after I weighed him). I do offer him food at night but I notice he doesn't peek out of his hide anymore and typically doesn't switch hides until about 2-3 in the morning when I am asleep.

The cool thing about the breeder I got him from is they had a little card that had a chart that listed his last feeding (as to how I know it was in June). It said they were feeding him small f/t mice.

He hasn't pooped for me at all either.. I think maybe he did before he got shipped out to me cause all I have seen in his enclosure are urates.

I think maybe I should try a different vet cause she suggested moving him in a separate container for feedings and I heard that's a big "No-No" so definitely didn't do that. Also, she suggested that I try gerbil's? Would that be something to try? Thanks for the link!

Vet trips (even in a container) are SUPER-stressful. That's probably why (or part of the reason) he's not eating. The vet's handling 'counts' too.

Honestly, most of us don't ever take snakes for a routine vet check up- ONLY IF & when there's a visible health issue. Difficulty feeding is "usually" a husbandry issue, not a medical one, & most vets are the best at medical & surgical treatments. Discussing husbandry is time-consuming & involves techniques that they can't "sell you", if you get my drift, lol. That's why we're here.

And yes, the vet you saw gave you bad advice about feeding in another container, & also about feeding him gerbils at this point. Yes, BPs usually LOVE hamsters, gerbils & ASF's (<African soft-furred- these are actually their natural prey in the wild), BUT these things will cost much more AND your snake will probably never accept mice or rats thereafter, so be careful what you "try" as it's likely to become permanent. So consider your budget & local availability of these other rodents before you get out on that limb... (Some areas, ASF's are illegal too.)

Snake poo- baby snakes are eating baby rodents which are more digestible than adult rodents, so there's way less waste left over to expel. This question comes up a lot- many fear their snake is constipated, when usually they just don't have to go. A little waste just gets saved up until they have enough to "bother with"- in the wild, this also conserves water in their body, & since there's no drinking fountains out there for snakes, that also helps them survive. (That's also why they expel semi-solid "urates" instead of liquid urine.)

That's an excellent sign of a good responsible breeder to furnish a feeding record of their snakes.