BP not eating f/t

hey there. i have a yearling that was actually my boyfriend's, but he couldn't take care of it so i took over it's care. i had him eating f/t for several months but this last shed he has decided to not eat them anymore. the last shed was complete and he did take 3 fuzzies heartily after that. now i tried a f/t and teased him and everything but to no avail. how long is too long to leave the mouse in there before i need to chuck it? he was only getting 1 mouse a week(if the bf remembered, i usually reminded him) and the last time b4 this he hadn't fed him for almost 3 weeks but he shed last week so i wasnt' too concerned at the time. i have a 70-75% humidity,75 degree on cool end and 80 onthe warm end with a repti glo light on timer. any ideas? should i not be worried right now? i did deworm him 1 month ago with panacur. i do have bene-bac on hand for reptiles in case of any problems with feeding the live ones. any help will be appreciated and any tips on improvement are always welcomed.

Try bringing the temps up, but balls go off feed in the cooler weather.

I agree with increasing the temperature. Tis the season in the great NE - temps are dropping. Many snakes (not just balls) will go off feed if the temperatures cool off. try to get the warm side up to about 85. The other thing is - Why would you be feeding a yearling bp fuzzies? my 05s are feeding on adult mice.

the reason for the fuzzies was to intice with something live that i didn't have to pre-kill and run the risk of him getting harmed during the feeding process. now i a have an under the tank heater at the moment. should i add a ceramic heat lamp as well to increase the temp? what's best? also i just checked on him since i had to take care of the baby and he did it. but i still would like to do what's possible to make a better environment than what he had before. thank you for your input.

Originally Posted by techgirl

the reason for the fuzzies was to intice with something live that i didn't have to pre-kill and run the risk of him getting harmed during the feeding process.

Gotcha.

Originally Posted by techgirl

now i a have an under the tank heater at the moment. should i add a ceramic heat lamp as well to increase the temp? what's best? also i just checked on him since i had to take care of the baby and he did it. but i still would like to do what's possible to make a better environment than what he had before. thank you for your input.

To really discuss heating options, I would need to know what he is housed in (cage material and dimensions), substrate, ventilation, room temperatures, etc. If you have that heat gradient with your UTH, even a small CHE would likely be overkill. Let us know what you are working with, and we will try to help

i have him in a 20 L (30X12.5X12)tank at the moment(shh don't tell but he's getting a bigger tank for x-mas ). i'm using the reptile carpet for substrateit's easier for me to clean right now with a 15 month old and the rest of the zoo i have. i am interested in doing a more natural habitat when i purchase a larger tank for him. i was aiming for a 40 gallon that i have seen in this pet store i go to alot. i have his water bowl and hiding log over his uth to help provide humidity. the repti-glo light is a 30% uva and 5% uvb type. house temp is kept at 70-72 degrees steady. is that enough info? sorry gotta go take care of the baby now. thanks so much for the help. just to give you an idea of what my bf had him in before was the same tank with just the uth and carpet, the driftwood and hiding log. his idea of fresh water was to have a drip system into the water bowl and never bothered to check it half the time. most times i saw it it was empty. the water bowl was never cleaned except for when he cleaned the tank and that was about once every 2 weeks if i yelled at him enough. he would only feed him one mouse week because he had read that obesity is a problem with bp. the snake is a baby for crying out loud and right now is the lenght of my arm, about a good 2 feet. i have been doing 1 mouse twice a week and he was loving it. i took over goldy's care(the snake) when we moved in together because there was no way in heck i was going to watch that poor snake get treated like that in my home. i used to have bp when i was a teen(about 20 yrs ago) so my memory is fuzzy on the care. thank you so much for helping me with goldy, he deserves better than what he had and i want to make sure he gets it. want to hear something funny? he would claim to be too tired to take care of him right sometimes. he works graveyard. so do i and i have 2 dogs a cat a 55gallon fish tank and am now getting involved in betta breeding and a 15 month old. i seem to be doing ok.

well it seems whatever slump in appetite goldy was going through is now long gone. he is eating like a champ and has taken 2 f/t mice this week on top of the 3 fuzzies i offered before when he wasn't interested. i also redid his environment some and that seemed to spark his curiousty in his surroundings. ufortunately he seems to think that my 15 month old is something to stalk now whenever she looks at him in the tank so now we are definitely being careful when he's out and she's around because she is so curious about him. don't worry the two are never alone. goldy is handled when she's taking a nap or two people are in the room, one for goldy and one for her. i would never allow that now or ever! she's supervised with all the zoo because i know 15 months can be a rough age for all invovled . on top of that now i got some betta babies to start looking after.

glad to hear it. have fun with the "zoo"