Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'll give my question first, and then a little background. I need every bit of advice that can be offered. How do you get a hatchling to eat?

About a month ago, we as a family adopted a small Ball Python. One of my wife's co-workers found her underneath his stove in his apartment and his roommate wanted rid of her. My 8 year old son asked if we could keep her. I had no idea how to care for a snake, but my wife had a Rainbow Boa when she was a teenager, and thought we could care for the python. We named the snake Ophelia. She is about 15 inches long, which I've learned, makes her a hatchling.

She had a wound near her tail that was about the size of a dime. We treated her wound with antibiotic ointment, and even though she still has some skin hanging loose near it, the wound appears to be healing. I went to my local Petco for advice, purchased a 20 gallon tank, a separate feeding tank, bedding, hide items, a climbing tree, and the approproate heat sources and lamps. On their recommendation, we did not try to feed her for a few days because of her wound.

When we first tried to feed her, we offerred a "pinky" which she tried to eat sideways, then spat out. That is the last time she has tried to eat, and that was three weeks ago. We have offered three other "pinkys", and three "fuzzys", and she has shown no interest in them. We have soaked a few of them in chicken broth, and tried refreezing and rethawing one. She is now showing signs that she is in her shed cycle. I've read that Ball Pythons can go for a while without eating, but she is just a baby. I've also read that young pythons need to eat every 7-10 days. She has become a well cared about member of our family, and I want her to be healthy. If you can offer any advice, tips, or just words to rest my mind, please pass them on.

My advice would be to try live.
If you have a local pet store with live fuzzies or hoppers...buy one and give that a try.

My new hatchling just ate 2 hoppers the other day without hesitation.
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-Man fears the beast in the Wolf because he does not understand the beast within himself.

In my experience seperate feeding tanks do nothing but add another realm of failure. What I mean is snakes by nature do not like to be picked up by 6 ft tall hairless apes and by moving them from their home to feed them stresses some animals and even some to the point where they will not eat. Like the other poster stated try feeding a small live hopper mouse after the snake sheds, this is usually all it takes to get them started. I am not a fan of feeding frozen just because I have a large collection but for the small hobbyist it is a convienence but the snake must be estblished before trying to get them to switch. After your snake feeds several times on live hoppers then try to feed her a frozen hopper but make sure the mouse is thawed and warmed completely, another reason she/he may not be eating for you. Hope this helps to get your new member of the family eating.

oh I forgot, I didn't notice, if there is no hide spot, make sure there is one in the cage for her.
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Josh Hutto
J&K Reptiles

2.3 het pied (RDR, alan bosch x 2, BHB x 2)
1.0 Spider Ball python (Ballroom pythons south)
1.0 Vanilla Ball Python (Gulf Coast)
0.1 High Contrast Albino (Gulf Coast)
1.1 het albino (ben siegel, Gulf Coast)
1.2 het citrus ghost(Gulf Coast line)
1.0 citrus ghost (Gulf Coast line)
1.1 graz pastel female
Alot of normal BP females (some not so normal)
2 various corns
0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (alan bosch)
1.0 american pit bull terrier
1.1 taco dogs (ankle biters)
1.0 grey cat
0.1 bearded dragons

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

I just would like to put in my thoughts on the separate feeding cage. I have used one every time I have fed my ball for over a year now. She eats every time except twice while shedding. During her last shed cycle she ate the night before she actually shed. I remove her from her tank and put her in a plastic tank with a flip open lid. She is so excited by this point that she strikes while I am getting her live mouse from the pet store box. I just can't stand the thought of mouse pee or poo in her home. This would be a lot easier for those using newspaper, but I don't. I just wanted people to know that this is not always a wrong method.

Thanks!
~April

I'm not saying it's a wrong method. However, if someone is trying to get an animal to eat for the first time or on a set schedule, it's not the best option. It stresses snakes bottom line. Some snakes deal with the stress of being handled better than others and for those it's a great option if that's what the owner wants to do. But again, for poor feeders, or picky feeders, moving to another cage is a bad idea.
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Josh Hutto
J&K Reptiles

2.3 het pied (RDR, alan bosch x 2, BHB x 2)
1.0 Spider Ball python (Ballroom pythons south)
1.0 Vanilla Ball Python (Gulf Coast)
0.1 High Contrast Albino (Gulf Coast)
1.1 het albino (ben siegel, Gulf Coast)
1.2 het citrus ghost(Gulf Coast line)
1.0 citrus ghost (Gulf Coast line)
1.1 graz pastel female
Alot of normal BP females (some not so normal)
2 various corns
0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (alan bosch)
1.0 american pit bull terrier
1.1 taco dogs (ankle biters)
1.0 grey cat
0.1 bearded dragons

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

Just like the other guy said: make sure the thawed mice are very warm before you feed them to the snake. This is very important to ball pythons because they hunt by heat. It needs to feel so warm that if you didn't know better (from its appearence) you might think it was just sleeping.

I heat a bowl of water in the microwave for 2 minutes and then put the mouse in a zip lock bag and put it in the bowl. you can also put the mouse directly in the bowl, this way you dont actually have to put a mouse in your microwave.

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0.1 Ball Python
1.1 Corn Snakes

I would also say not to handle her at all for a few days. Keep her in a low traffic area and let her finish her shed cycle. As little disturbance as possible may help to make her feel more secure and safe. Good luck.

ep
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Occupants not paying rent:
1.1. balls
1.1 corns
1 everglades rat
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
2.1 cats

If you move it to a new cage where it feels unsecure it will almost certainly not eat, unless its a great feeder.

I would also get a bigger sized rodent than a pinky mouse. A fuzzy or maybe a hopper would be best. I would still try a frozen one that has been thawed in hot water (not boiling). Make sure the mouse feels kinda warm, and then just place it in front of the snakes hide box in the regular tank. I would let it finish its shed cycle first though which will also give it time to relax in its new home.

Also don't worry about watching it eat as your presence may actually be a hinderance. Just put the mouse in the cage during the evening when it is darker and walk away for a few hours. You can check back later and hopefully the mouse will be gone.

Sometimes you do need to try many different tricks to get them to eat, but hopefully all he wants is some peace and quiet.