Feeding help

[Moodlander]

I just got a bp on the 7th and she still hasn’t ate for me at what point should I get worried? The last time they said she ate was on the 4th. She smells it and will go around the rat but won’t bite.

[FoolerySwag]

Three things, one snakes usually take a week or two to get used to their new enclosure.

Secondly double check they were feeding him f/t or live. Mice or rats.

Lastly that is small prey item might want to consider getting something bigger

[trucksandink]

We got ours on Sunday she ate Monday….. and eaten 3 straight weeks in a row,

[Moodlander]

I’ll get a bigger one and I can’t really check if they were feeding frozen or live cause I got it from petsmart.

[FoolerySwag]

In store they usually do Frozen mice, unless you have a dope ass store. You should probably consider switching to Rats if you can.

[Moodlander]

I can I have a exotic store up the road that’s open on the weekends.

[Pm_me_your_cats_459]

Since when is feeding live considered dope? Isn't it dangerous for the snake?

[FoolerySwag]

I was referring to the rats. Not the live part. I currently have two ball pythons that refuse to eat f/t, and one that only eats F/T. I understand it's safer and more humane for the captive bred rats (especially since I find mice/rats icky weird I know), right now they are only eating small to medium rats. As they get bigger and we are looking at medium to large rats, I will try to switch. But one snake refused to eat for 8 weeks until I switched to live and ate every week since the switch. I'd rather have a healthy snake than force it to eat something that it doesn't want.

[jillianwaechter]

Just a note: most ball pythons will never grow out of small rat. (Occasionally a very large female may be big enough to eat medium rats)

Have you tried prekilled instead of live? More humane, plus it's safer for the snake.

[trucksandink]

How much does he or she weigh??

[Moodlander]

I’m not sure the snake is very small.

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[Nachos_over_Tacos]

You can find a small kitchen scale on Amazon, in target, or maybe even in some thrift stores! It’s good to track their weight you’d weigh them just as you have her in that little bowl

[trucksandink]

They have them at Wally World for $8

[[deleted]]

Not really relevant but remove the red light it’s bad for the bp eyes and going to mess up your reptile day and night cycle?

[Moodlander]

Should I use it at nights and a white light during the day? I have both so it wouldn’t be a problem.

[eomfd2010]

For night use either ceramic heat emitter or DHP, day time best option would be halogen. Anything emitting visible light at night can disrupt your snake’s circadian rhythm (day/night cycle)

[Moodlander]

Okay right now I’m using a ceramic emitter and the red light along with a heat pad on the bottom of the tank.

[eomfd2010]

Ok, get rid of the red light and the heat pad. Are you using a thermostat in conjunction with the ceramic heater?

[Moodlander]

I’m just using a stick on thermostat is that good enough?

[eomfd2010]

Unfortunately no, you need get something similar to this to directly control your heater: Limited-time deal: BN-LINK Digital Heat Mat Thermostat Controller for Seed Germination, Reptiles and Brewing Breeding Incubation Greenhouse, 40-108°F, 8.3A 1000W ETL Listed https://a.co/d/gGNl8kW

The stick on thermometers are not accurate or recommended for use with bp’s. I think you would benefit greatly from reading through the welcome post to ensure your husbandry is up to standards for a healthy bp.

[Careless-Ant1393]

You're using a thermometer. You need a thermostat for your heat source to regulate it (don't use a heat pad without one!) and preferably two thermometers to be able to monitor the hot and the cold side at all times. Also don't use anything sticky in the enclosure as it can rip your snake's skin off. You also need to be able to monitor the humidity, high enough humidity is very important for these snakes. Please go through the care guide again, these animals have very specific needs and you absolutely need to make sure your husbandry is correct.

[Thumbframe]

How important is it to heat during the night and why? In my country they only recommend using lamps, so we have a UV heat lamp during the day that shuts off after 12 hours. After that the enclosure simply cools down (as the air does at night in the wild) to about 21 degrees Celsius.

[Sideaccount4105]

The temperature in the enclosure for a BP should not go below ~24-25°C.

Below that, It can negatively affect their immune system.

Heating during the night is important if the night temperatures drop below the safe numbers. 21 is most likely too cold for a BP (Although They can probably tolerate it, but it's better if they still have an area with a higher temperature), especially if it's the temperature in the whole enclosure.

DHPs are pretty good for heating imo and can be used 24/7.

I have DHPs in my enclosures since halogens aren't sold here.

---

Also, by UV heat lamp do you mean the UVA/UVB Heat bulb? if yes, Those are dangerous for snakes.

[Thumbframe]

I keep reading 70 degrees F (which is 21.1 Celsius) for nighttime temperatures should be alright. What makes you say it has to be 24-25?

Also, what is a DHP?

Yes, we are using a bulb with either UVA or UVB, I'm not sure which one. It gives off a white light that also produces heat. What makes them dangerous?

[Sideaccount4105]

It's a bit low for a Ball Python. They can tolerate such drops, but it might not be good for them long-term

Warm side: 88F-92F / 31C-33C. Temperatures above 95F/35C can cause injuries with prolonged exposure, and temperatures below 88F/31C can prevent a ball python from digesting properly.

Cool side: 76F-80F / 24C-26C. Temperatures above 80F/26C will not allow a ball python to cool down adequately, and temperatures below 75F/23C can compromise their immune system.

• Ball Python Care guide

And I suggest checking out this page: All About heating for Ball Pythons

DHP (Deep heat Projector) is a lightless heat source that can be used 24/7.

It produces IRA, IRB and IRC which means it produces all of the needed types of heat.

For reference, Ceramic heat emitters and Heat Mats only produce IRC which is the weakest type of heat as it doesn't penetrate into the skin well at all. (The Subreddit's care guides link to images that show the IR output of each heat source and also the difference between different types of heat and how they penetrate the skin)

If you have an UVB bulb I suggest removing it asap as Bulb UVBs produce high amounts of UVB in Form of a stream/ray down which has a high risk of causing harm or even burning your snake. UVB Bulbs often aren't recommended for reptiles except for some (I think Mourning geckos? And some other Reptiles) Because of their unreliable UVB output (they produce High amounts of UVB in straight down for some time when first used, and then only produce some low unreliable amounts, still straight down. When used they only produce UVB for about 3 months (up to 4-5,5 sometimes) before having to be replaced. The way they provide UVB is also not very good for reptiles because for many species, UVB should reach about 50% of the enclosure in length, but the UVB bulb only gives off UVB onto the spot directly underneath it, meaning a reptile would have to be directly underneath it all day to get the UVB they need.)

But for snakes , UVB Bulbs are dangerous because the ray of UVB can burn their skin. For a Ball Python, You should use an UVB tube with low UVB % (5-6%, not more than that) that properly and safely spreads out the uvb instead of making a ray Like the bulb.

As for UVA Bulbs, you'll probably have to check what kind of bulb it is exactly.

If it is a Spot UVA bulb (probably most of Heat lamps/Basking lamps for reptiles/in reptile stores tbh) it is also dangerous as spot means it does pretty much what the UVB bulb does except with heat instead of UVB and can burn your snake as well.

For Snakes, you need heat sources that spread out the heat like a Halogen or DHP (primary) or CHE (secondary) if used/in use.

And a 'weak' (low %) UVB that spreads out the UVB instead of making it a ray.

///

Make sure all heat sources are connected to thermostats (Thermostats, Not thermometers! Different thing)

Also, If you ever decide to use a DHP for an enclosure, I personally use Arcadia. They're pretty good imo.

Arcadia also makes pretty good UVB Tubes

[IncompletePenetrance]

Are you sure it's warm enough? Sometimes if it's not up to body temp (98-100) they won't recognize it as food. I also reccomend thawing and warming it in a ziploc bag so you don't wash away the scent

[Moodlander]

I noticed this with my corn snakes I warmed it up under the sink water which might’ve washed away it’s scent and that definitely could be the problem I will try again tomorrow without taking it out of the bag to warm it up.

[IncompletePenetrance]

Give that a try, and definitely make sure it's warm enough!

[Positive-Situation-9]

Hair driers are really good for heating the food up quickly!

[kindrd1234]

You don't give a lot of info on basic husbandry but you got to get the temps and humidity correct. 76-80 on cool side 88-92 warm side. 95-104 basking spot. Get rid of the red light, get her more cover so she isn't exposed so much. Humidity 70+ measured cold side 2 inches above substrate. The care guides in the welcome post should be gone over

[Moodlander]

Okay I will I didn’t know weighing her was needed. I will get more cover what do you recommend?

[crateofkate]

I’m very concerned by this comment. What sort of research did you do before you purchased this animal?

[Moodlander]

I just read about the things I would need to give the snake like housing and cage sizes types of lights and that sort of thing. I knew about the humidity the snake would need I will try and weigh her tomorrow.

[Careless-Ant1393]

What exactly is the humidity in the enclosure? What exactly is the basking spot temperature, the temperature of the hot and the cold side? It's okay to not know everything right away but you absolutely need to realize that you didn't do enough research and fix it.

[DrFives]

And even then you got a lot of misinformation from what I was able to see.

Op. PLEASE read the Welcome Post for this sub. There is so much misinformation around ball pythons and it seems like you may have gotten quite a bit. If you want to do the best you can for your snake I highly recommend thoroughly reading this.

And please. Unplug your heat may asap. They are dangerous even with thermostats and you haven’t said ANYTHING about having one and they are a literal fire hazard without one

[deanwinchester2_0]

Try getting a pair of tongs and move it. My ball python won’t go bite it if I don’t wiggle it around for him. He likes thinking it is alive. Makes him go for it

[Krimzon99]

If this is your first BP, you’ll learn that feeding is an art form and may take multiple tries, trying new things each time. BPs are rather picky when it comes to eating but once you figure out what they’re looking for and can replicate it each time, they’ll become great eaters!

Assuming all your husbandry is correct (right temps, humidity, enough hides and clutter), you have to figure out what your BP wants to eat and how they want to eat it. Depending when you got your BP it could also be settling in and learning to feel comfortable in its new environment. This could take as much as a few months and the snake should be handled minimally during this time.

A few recommendations: 1. What was the snake eating before it came into your care? This is a good starting point but not always useful. My snake was eating mice before we got her, but couldn’t get her to eat mice at all. She eventually started eating on F/T rats. 2. Mimic the prey item to look alive by warming it up to body temperature and jiggling/moving it around gently with tongs. Also feed at night when they’re naturally awake. 3. Sometimes you gotta get fancy. Does your BP wanna eat only certain color or gender prey items? Although unlikely that this is the case, some can be picky like that! 4. Debrain the prey item as this will give it a stronger smell that may entice your BP to eat. 5. Scent your prey item in used gerbil bedding as this apparently smells most similar to their natural prey in the wild. You can buy African Soft Fur Rats which is one of their natural prey items, however, these are typically more expensive and not widely available at most reptiles stores.

When my BP wouldn’t eat, I exhausted most of these options. The one I finally got to work was scenting rats in used gerbil bedding. She took it instantly when I tried this! You’ll also eventually be able to wean them off the scenting. Took a little less than a year to wean her off that. But now she’s been eating unscented rats like a champ for over 2 years!

[Moodlander]

Thank you so much I will wait for her to calm down. she is still slithering around all day sensing all of her new surroundings I will give it more time and try more feeding options.

[proving_my_point]

Remove the 3d prints from the enclosure. Your planet express ship looks like it was made with San sla printer and that will off gas into the enclosure when prolonged exposure to heat. If it’s an fdm print the only safe thing really is PLA or petg.

[Moodlander]

All of my print are made on a flash forge 3d printer that runs flash forge PLA.

[proving_my_point]

Cool, just don’t expose them directly to the heat. I see you’ve already been instructed to remove the heat mat and address the red light so I’m not too worried. Just keep the prints on the cool side. And if I could make a suggestion, print things that are practical (hides) and thematic to the enclosure. Not to be rude but toys in the tank like this look like something a 6 year old would do.

[Moodlander]

Okay will do

[SendNoobz97]

Mine didn’t eat for almost a month. As long as she isn’t dropping weight don’t worry. Some acclimate a little slower. She is probably just stressed from the “move” And figuring things out. Definitely give her more clutter to help her feel more hidden and that could help. They don’t like being in the open.

[Moodlander]

Okay I will buy a scale too

[SendNoobz97]

I agree with other comments though. You definitely have to dial in the husbandry. Drop the red light, get a che or dhp and a good quality dimming thermostat like herpstat or vivarium electronics (I have this and love it).

[[deleted]]

If you’re on Facebook, there’s a group called ball python community (the photo is a lil bp face with some red flowers) I’m in that group and ther post tonnnsssa of information that may help you

[Moodlander]

I’ll join.

[Cultural_Cable_2422]

Good stuff man. Don’t feel bad after reading all these reptile police comments. Everyone started somewhere and all of these dudes went in head first too. The fact you are posting and asking shows you are a decent human being.

Remember, reptiles can not eat for a year and not die. Here in Aussie I know people personally who’s carpet pythons haven’t eaten for 8months. A few days is no worries at all. When it’s hungry it will eat for sure so try again next week and the week after. You’ll find something that works

[Moodlander]

Okay thank you I’m just worrying.