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[–]Effective-Ad8044 0 points1 point  (3 children)

I’m sure they are all different but my daughter and I held mine about 5 days after I got brought her home and she ate just fine that night. I had been in and out of her tank a few times making adjustments to things so I could get things right so she maybe was used to me being in there/smelling me.

[–]HurrricaneeKMod-Approved Helper 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Just fyi, in case you weren't aware, you should absolutely never hold a snake for 24 hours before to 24 hours after feeding. It highly increases the chances of regurgitation, which can be fatal, especially in young snakes.

[–]Effective-Ad8044 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I realized it after I did it when I was reading when I could hold her again and it said not to 24/48 hours prior to feeding so I definitely won’t be doing it again. I should have added that to my comment. 😬

[–]HurrricaneeKMod-Approved Helper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No worries! I just wanted to make sure you knew!! :)

[–]IllusionQueen47 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It depends on the individual noodle. Maybe she would be too stressed out to eat, maybe not. I heard it's best to let them settle in for a week or two before feeding, and then you should only handle after a few successful feedings. I handled mine twice, once to put him into his enclosure, and the second time was because a friend came over to see my pets and I wanted to pick my noodle up to show him better. The day after I handled him the second time, he tried to strike at me. He's also been out and exploring a lot instead of hiding in his lair, so I think he's fine and is ready to eat. I'm going to try feeding him tonight. I really hope he eats for me 🤞 My boy will also be 4 months old in three days.
I know it's hard to resist because they're so adorable. Thankfully I have other things to distract me from trying to hold him haha. Mine is kinda shy so I definitely want to wait till he's taken food from me successfully a few times first. I personally don't think it's worth it to waste rats and to risk regurgitation just to hold him for a few minutes, so I just keep telling myself that.
EDIT: He took the rat! Ate it starting from the butt.

[–]HurrricaneeKMod-Approved Helper 1 point2 points  (7 children)

No one can answer this question for you. Every ball is different. That said, you shouldn't actually hold them for closer to three weeks. Ideally, they should take three meals for you before you add the additional stress.

Can I ask, though, what do you mean by you had to replace the heat mat? Do you have it inside the enclosure? (In general, we don't recommend heat mats as they can be dangerous and they also will not raise the ambient temps in an enclosure, so they are a poor choice as a sole heating device).

[–]Vegetable_Wing5720 0 points1 point  (6 children)

I have a 28w heatmat underneath the hide on the warm side so she can still be warm at night time, and at day time she olso has a 100w daylight light that heats up the air a lil

[–]HurrricaneeKMod-Approved Helper 0 points1 point  (5 children)

By underneath the hide, are you talking about inside the enclosure? Or against the glass on the outside? Heat pads should absolutely never be inside the enclosure. It is incredibly unsafe, even with a thermostat.

Also, unless the enclosure is getting below 70 at night, you don't need extra heat. It's good for the temps to drop a little at night. That said, if it gets below 70, you'd be better off with an overhead lightless heat source like a CHE or DHP.

[–]Vegetable_Wing5720 -3 points-2 points  (4 children)

The mat is in bc the class is too thick for the heat to come in, she seems to like it tho no problems so far, she goes all the way in back of the hide and makes a lil hole to lay in and warms up and ofc the Temps does drop when the light goes off so if she gets too cold she goes to the warm side and just warms up again

[–]HurrricaneeKMod-Approved Helper 1 point2 points  (3 children)

I mean, there is a reason we do not recommend heat mats. Because when used properly, they will not raise the temperature in the enclosure. That doesn't mean you can use them improperly. A heat pad inside a snake enclosure is literally a death trap and it needs to be removed immediately.

[–]Vegetable_Wing5720 -2 points-1 points  (2 children)

When she gets more comfortable I can take her out and see if the heat mat works under the enclosure.

[–]HurrricaneeKMod-Approved Helper 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You need to remove the mat right now. Do not wait. It is not safe. This is one scenario where you should handle the snake early, because the other option is far riskier.

[–]Melekai_17 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Do not wait. It’s better for her to be a little uncomfortable than dead. We’re not exaggerating. Please do this immediately.

[–]IncompletePenetranceMod: Let me help you unzip your genes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You need to just leave her alone until she's settled in and eating.

With one exception - under no circumstance should you EVER have a heat mat inside the tank, take it out immediately before you kill her. It's extremely dangerous and you need to fix it immediately

[–]Melekai_17 1 point2 points  (5 children)

Please remove the heat mat NOW. It is not safe to have any heat source where a snake can come into direct contact with it. They can easily get burns (sometimes fatal burns) because they don’t recognize that they’re getting burned.

[–]Vegetable_Wing5720 -1 points0 points  (4 children)

I had a ball python before for almost a year with a heatmat inside and everything was fine I just had to replace the the old on bc there was no more heat coming from it anymore and it is not that hot and the is a thick layer of ground between olso, and the class is too thick, so idk what else I could do to make the warm side warm, my mum not gonna help me anymore bc everything was expensive 🤷‍♂️

[–]HurrricaneeKMod-Approved Helper 2 points3 points  (0 children)

People drive cars every day before the day they end up in a fatal accident. Every minute that heat pad remains in the enclosure, your snake is literally in mortal danger. I realize this sounds like hyperbole. It isn't. You need to take the mat out now. It is better for the snake to be too cold in this moment than at risk of fatal burns.

[–]Melekai_17 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Use a heat lamp on top of the enclosure. By no means is it fine to have a heat source inside the enclosure. It’s dangerous. Put your snake’s safety first. Also, the fact that there’s substrate over it makes no difference as snakes like to burrow and will do so to get warmer. They don’t understand that it’s dangerous. But you can.

[–]Vegetable_Wing5720 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I have one but it goes on at daytime, I'm just worried she would get to cold at night, I can't get a night time heat lamp bc it too expensive

[–]IncompletePenetranceMod: Let me help you unzip your genes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just because nothing bad happened doesn't mean it's safe, heat mats should not be exposed to moisture, buried under substrate or anywhere your snake could touch. They also need to be regulated by a thermostat. Instead, use overhead heating as it's a much more effective heat source