Hmmm..

New to the forum so here is a little of my back story.. I was baby sitting a 6 year old 4 foot Ball python, awesome animal very docile and a very good eater! She will eat live or frozen rats every 10 days aprox.. I ended up having to keep her because the owner couldn't take her back but i was very happy because i've grown quite attached to her!..

Well in the meantime I purchased a baby ball python of my own thinking that the other was going to be returning to its owner.

I purchased the little one 12-21-14 form a chain pet store and I waited for about a week to try and feed him.. his enclosure has got the 2 hides warm spot 85 deg, a water dish.. His environment is spot on!

I tried feeding him once a week and he was becoming quite snappy every time i filled his water or walk by he would strike at me.. (kind of funny at first) this has been going on for a couple of weeks. So i know he's gotta be hungry! he just wouldn't eat?!?!? mind you it has been over 2 months since i brought him home.

until yesterday.. I tried with no success..he was striking at me as usual so i took him out and held for a little while 15 minutes..calmed him down. I been holding him once or twice a week since i got him so he's good with it..

Here's the surprising thing.. after i tried to feed him without success, I put him back in his enclosure and he went into his safeplace.. I placed the pinky on top of his hide and went to bed..woke up and the mouse was gone?!?

So is he just a shy eater and should i continue to feed him like this or should i try and feed him in his feed box eventually?

Thanks, Dennis

I've never been a proponent of moving snakes to feed them; and, by not eating, yours is giving you a big hint that he doesn't like it.

As I'm sure anyone on here will tell you, ball pythons tend to be picky eaters. I did notice you said it was a pinky? And a mouse pinky? If so it may be an issue of the prey item being to small, feed him something as big around as he is at his widest point, you should see a bulge in his stomach after he swallows it down. Usually hatchling balls are started on hopper-medium mice. Also, everyone varies slightly on temperatures, depending the size of enclosure and type of heat source. I use heat rope as belly heat only on the back 1/4 of my bins, I keep it between 90-92, with the other end of the bin sitting at 80-85. If he feels too cold he won't usually eat either. But of course each ones different, good luck.

We've gotten a couple baby balls that were very defensive and struck when we walked past. In each case we just took them out and handled them for 10 minutes or so a day, and within a week they stopped doing that. If they're scared there's a good chance they won't eat, so that's usually the first thing to deal with.

Also, I completely agree with Harald...I never take them out of their bin for feeding, I don't see a point. Some people argue that if you feed them in their enclosure they'll strike at you thinking you're food, but with over 100 balls and NEVER having this happen, I'm inclined to think it's BS.

I agree with JB as well, I think 90-92 is pretty standard for a hot spot. Usually you only put it lower than that during breeding season if you're planning on doing that.

Originally Posted by MCMB-2

I agree with JB as well, I think 90-92 is pretty standard for a hot spot. Usually you only put it lower than that during breeding season if you're planning on doing that.

This. I don't even bother dropping temps for breeding, they don't need it.

Also, make sure you're measuring that temperature with an IR thermometer or temperature gun, so you can get the surface temperature of the enclosure where your BP is laying. Those stick-on analog thermometers that everyone puts halfway up the sides of the tank are crap.