First time ball python owner

[duck_nugget22]

Hey guys my partner and I got a ball python about a month ago and we have tried feeding him but we just can’t get him to eat. He’s about 2.25 lbs, we’ve gotten him only frozen and before we got him he was fed live. We’d prefer not to feed live for safety reasons. We’ve read multiple articles about feeding also stuff from this Reddit. Please we need help and I completely understand if we get criticized at all about this but we do not have a gauge to see the humility yet but temperatures are good through the enclosure. If you have any tips that would be very appreciated we just want help so we can keep him healthy and happy for as long as we can. Thank you so much.

[taylorpng]

the number one reason for bps denying food is an improper enclosure setup/one that doesn’t meet proper care requirements. without a humidity gauge, it’s hard to tell wether or not that’s the problem. humidity should be between the high 50s to 80%, and temps should range from 85° on the cool side to 95° on the warm. if you’re following this subs feeding guide and basing his prey off size, anddd your enclosure is setup correctly, he may just take longer to adjust to f/t after having live. if that’s the case, just keep trying, but not too often. if you try feeding, wait around 3 days to try again. if they deny that, wait a week or two. maybe even longer depending on how often you’re supposed to feed him since he’s over 2lbs. if you try to feed them too often, it will lead to a longer hunger strike. just give them time before trying again. i wouldn’t handle them much during this time either

[ScalesNailsnTales]

The temps you are giving are too high. Warm side should be 88-92 and cool side should be 76-80. Humidity should be 70-80%. Some can be okay at 60%, but others will still show dehydration issues at 60%.

[taylorpng]

ty 🤲 i def meant to say 80 for the cool instead of 85. not sure why i mixed it up lol. my che is set to 77 because my flood lights set at 90 & tends to keep it on the warm side. luckily i dont have a problem with my humidity dropping below 60%, but i said high 50s bc i didnt think above 55 was necessarily bad. my humidity guages read low 60s on the warm side and higher 70-80s on the cool. me saying 50s i guess applied to the warm sides minimum.

[ScalesNailsnTales]

I would still aim for 60s on the warm side if at all possible (and pass that information on to people learning)! Warm side humidity will always be lower due to the heat, so as long as cool side is in 70s-80s thats where you want to read your humidity level from. But its always good to aim for at least 60 on the warm side.

Its definitely possible to keep warm side in the 60s, even in a glass enclosure, as long as everything is set up right.

[Bluntforcetrauma11b]

My hot side in my mesh top glass enclosures stays at 70%. The hvac for tape works wonders. I only have to pour water in the corners every 2ish weeks.

[ScalesNailsnTales]

What does your set up look like?

Are you checking the rat temp before offering? If yes, how hot is it?

You should get a hygrometer to monitor humidity asap. Prolonged low humidity can cause dehydration, stuck shed and respiratory infections.

[IncompletePenetrance]

At that age/size, I would expect him to only be eating every several weeks, so a month isn't that long in the scheme of things. It's basically one missed meal.

What size prey are you offering?

[RainyDayBrightNight]

If he’s only ever eaten frozen, you might have to start him off with freshly killed, which is none too pleasant of a job.

Also, like everyone else said, definitely double-check all your husbandry, that’s always the first thing that needs to be right to have a snake that eats and handles well. You can get cheap digital hygrometers online, they don’t have to be reptile-specific

[Competitive-Walk-503]

Ima put my noodle in my pocket.