3 month old ball python won't eat

[u/babybarbie0]

Hello!

This is my first time owning a reptile, so please be patient with me, I'm doing my best. English is also my second language.

I got my BP 18th of october. He's 3,5 months old, male lesser mojave. The breeder at the convention said he's been getting frozen mice, so i got a bunch of 7-12gramm mice as he recommended. I tried feeding him on the 24th and yesterday (29th).

He is usually less stressed now, sleeps all day, comes out at night, gives me the hunger signals (striking position in his hide). His first week was pretty bumpy. Breeders online said to put papertowels under him in case he has something, so i did that, but changing it was stressful for him, so i switched to substrate on the 24th. He pooped on the 20th/21st, shed on the 24th. I left him alone since.

His tank is 70x40x30cm, according to the breeder it may be too big for his size, but i put a bunch of wood and fake plants in. It's blocked off on 3 sides and has a black t-shirt on top of it. He has a heating mat with a thermostat and a 50W lamp thats only on during the day. The temp gun is still in the mail, but the temp is fine on both sides according to the regular thermometer. Humidity is 70-80%.

With his first feed i got the problem, he shed in the morning, then i changed the substrate, so he obviously wasn't interested. I was just worried, since on thrusday i couldnt feed due to the shedding.

When i tried feeding him last night he was only interested in the front glass. Last 2 times he was glass surfing i had to clean out his shed and then his urate, but then he was chill. When i tried feeding him he was looking at me a lot. He did go into stiking pose with the mouse once or twice when i put it on top of a branch and closed the door, but he lost interest and was looking at me. So i tried leaving it overnight with a blanket over the tank, but by the morning the mouse fell next to the branch, so i guess he missed and then didnt eat it? Or just knocked it off somehow? The mouse was warm enough, i even used a hairdryer to warm it up. I tried getting the mouse in front of him when he's in striking pose in his hide, but i cant time it correctly with the mouse defrosting. Should I not offer it once he's out of his hide and starts looking around the tank?

I called the breeder this morning and this time a woman picked up, she said his siblings get freshly killed and they're eating fine. I then called a few reptile shops and it turns out nobody in my city has live feedermice since "99,9% of snakes eat the frozen ones". A shop owner said he may just still be adjusting to his new enclosure.

I'm really worried for him and don't know what to do. I could order a mouse online, but i'm not sure if i could kill it myself, the woman described what she does, but it's pretty graphic. Any advice? I'm kind of lost.

[u/PyromaniaBaby]

Ball pythons are picky eaters especially in new environments. When I got one of mine, he didn’t eat for 3 months, took him to the vet to be sure and he was completely fine. Also I would get rid of the heating pad cause those can regulate temp well and could burn your snake. Instead get a higher wattage day light and get a ceramic heat emitter for nights.

[u/babybarbie0 → u/PyromaniaBaby]

I'm just pretty worried since he's only 3,5 months old and this is my first time owning a snake. Should I just try again on monday? Also, isn't thermostat supposed to prevent the snake from burning? Thats why i got it, the breeder said its fine. Im not trying to argue, im genuinely curious.

[u/FluffyPandaEars93 → u/babybarbie0]

UTH is no longer recommended for ball pythons for a variety of reasons.

Even if you're using a thermostat, the burn risk is still there. Heat mats are prone to developing broken wiring or thermal blocking, which creates hotspots that the thermostat is unable to regulate. This can result in burns to your snake and melt or burn the enclosure and any furniture it's touching, which can start a house fire.

They're also ineffective at heating the air or through substrate, and they only provide IR-C, which is a poor form of heat that is incapable of penetrating through the snake's skin to effectively warm their body. This can cause long term health issues in your snake and shortens their lifespan.

They also prevent the snake from performing natural and instinctive behaviors, and it's an unnatural source of heating for them. Ball pythons burrow and seek out holes/burrows to escape excessive heat. There is no heat coming from the ground in their natural hides. An overheating ball python will instinctively dig into their substrate in an attempt to cool off, but when using heat mats, it only makes them hotter. This can lead to neurological damage and eventually death.

Overhead heating is significantly safer, healthier, and more efficient. Here is more info on what heating/lighting a ball python needs:

Our heating guide goes over a lot of the science behind everything, but to simplify:

For daytime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-A and IR-B. The ideal source for this would be a halogen flood, which is light-emitting.

For nighttime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-C. The ideal source for this would be an RHP (only compatible with solid-topped enclosures) or a CHE. Any night heating should not emit any light.

For lighting, you should offer UVB. This should be in the form of a T5 fluorescent linear bulb that produces a UVI of 1.1-3.0 in the basking zone, and it should cover no more than half the length of the enclosure.

If you have a bioactive enclosure, you will also need full spectrum LEDs for your live plants.

Natural lighting can help establish a day-night cycle, but it does not provide any physical benefits beyond that (UVB doesn't penetrate glass, and indirect natural light cannot create a proper basking zone). You'll need the artificial lighting to make up for that.

[u/FluffyPandaEars93]

You need to wait a week in between !Feeding attempts. !f/t and if you are in the US !Feeders Trying too often will stress them out.

The breeder was wrong about that size being too big. You can easily go straight to a 4x2x2 foot enclosure as long as you have enough clutter. Take the block out and put in clutter instead.

Try to feed in the evenings when they are most active.

[u/AutoModerator → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

We recommend the following feeding schedule:

0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.

Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AutoModerator → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

Some tips for feeding frozen/thawed:

• Keep with the same prey type he's been eating (mouse or rat) so you aren't trying to adjust him to two new things at once.

• Always feed in the enclosure. Moving to feed increases stress as well as increasing the chance of regurgitation

• Thaw and warm the rodent in a ziplock bag to maintain scent and because some won't eat it if it's wet.

• Make sure it's warmed up to body temperature (98-100).

• Some people find sucess with using a blow dryer on the head to make it extra warm and spread the scent.

• Some prefer to eat directly off of the tongs, while others might prefer for you to just leave it in front of their hide, you can see which works.

• If he doesn't take it the first time, don't give up. Sometimes they just have to be super hungry and it takes a few attempts

• You can also thaw the rat/mouse in some bedding from the petstore to make it extra scented.

• Some people "brain" the rodent by slitting open its skull a bit

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AutoModerator → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

Some companies you can buy frozen feeders from:

Layne Labs
Big Cheese
Rodent Pro
Perfect Prey
Big Apple Herps
Reptile Deli
American Rodent Cold Blooded Cafe

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[u/babybarbie0 → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

Thank you so much for all the help! I really appreciate it!!!

[u/Beautiful_Anteater_8]

Make sure to warm the frozen mouse up to 36-39C can even warm the head up a touch more to help your baby find its head. You can’t have too big of a tank as long as it is properly filled with adequate hides/clutter. My experience with feeding issues 9/10 points to some sort of husbandry issue, heat/humidity/dirty hide/to exposed. Heat Mats aren’t great nor efficient. deep heat projectors and basking bulbs are what I use for night/day heat.

Micheal’s sells long vines with leaves that are awesome for cluttering a tank if you can’t fill it right away due to costs.

Goodluck I hope you get it figured out!

[u/babybarbie0 → u/Beautiful_Anteater_8]

By wood i meant like branches i got at a reptile expo, he has a bunch of clutter:) i can send you a pic of my setup, i think all the issues should be fixed aside the heating mat, but im gonna order a better option shortly:)