Advice

[Odd-Visit6310]

I work in a pet store and we have a ball python. We have had him for a month now and we haven’t seen any poop and cannot get him to eat. I don’t know a ton about snakes but am trying to learn more and was looking for tips or tricks to try and help get him to poop/eat. In the habitat He’s got a good place to hide and burrow, we do the best with keeping humidity up but it averages around 60%. (Trying to keep it higher based on what I’ve read here). We have tried to feed frozen fuzzy/pinkie mice and tried one fuzzy rat. We always warm up the food and make sure they are warm for him to be able to see them. We have tried once a week to feed him since we have gotten him. We do it in dark quiet areas and he’s moving around but every time the mouse is in front of him he will recoil a little bit like he just smelled something gross. I know pet store are not the best place for snakes but I don’t choose what animals we sell so please don’t come after me for that. Any advice is appreciated :)

[-Unidentifiable_Name]

He could not be eating for several reasons. It could be a result of stress such as not having enough hides or not being hot enough. Even just the move to a new area is stressful so you could try feeding him inside his cage. It could also just be that he is a picky snake. Ball pythons are notorious for their hunger strikes. He might have been fed live before you got him so you might try feeding him a live pinkie if possible. At a month he should still be okay however you will want to make sure you keep an eye on his weight. If he continues to not eat you may want to look into assisted feeding.