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My first ball, posted about him a few threads back... He had been shy of food, the pet store I got him from told me he should've eaten by today... Gave it one more try, voila'. Definitely a challenge compared to my kingsnake. He knocks em' down like a champ. Two in a row his birthday .

LOL, forgot the pic. Must be tired....

Might want to keep an eye out on the wood chips. he may swallow some

>>My first ball, posted about him a few threads back... He had been shy of food, the pet store I got him from told me he should've eaten by today... Gave it one more try, voila'. Definitely a challenge compared to my kingsnake. He knocks em' down like a champ. Two in a row his birthday .
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- Joel Smith

"If you're not part of the solution, you're still part of the problem"

I am new to snakes, and looking to buy my first ball python soon. I've been lurking around this board for about a week or so, trying to pick up info, and I've also been researching websites for care information, as well as visiting pet stores.

I've heard that you want to remove your snake from its cage to feed it, so that: a) it doesn't think you're food the next time you put your hand in there, and b)it doesn't swallow the substrate (if you use something like bark chips). What I've heard that you're supposed to do is take the snake out of its cage and put it in a tupperware box or something similar. Then you're supposed to let it sit for a bit, so that it isn't stressed out when you go to feed it. Then you feed it. Then, I hear you're not supposed to handle the snake for a day or two after it eats. However, you obviously have to get it back into its cage at some point. How long should you let it sit after eating before you put it back into its cage?

While I'm thinking about it, I'll ask a few more questions about snake feeding:

Do any of you feed your snakes anything other than mice or rats? I've always wondered why this doesn't lead to malnutrition being that in the wild, snakes have pretty diverse diets (at least I'm pretty sure that they do). I have a clownfish, and I usually have a rotation of about 4 or 5 different kinds of food that I feed him at any given time.
Is there any kind of supplemental vitamins that you can coat the mice in to make sure your snake is getting all of it's nutrients?

Also, what is the general approach to snake feeding? You typically want to use tongs and wave the rodent around to get the snake to bite it, don't you? If he doesn't take it, don't you leave it there for a while to see if he does? How long until you give up?

My juvenile Ball Python took his third feeding this evening. The first was a small fuzzy, the second was an adult mouse, and tonight's was a hopper (he swallowed the adult mouse last week, but it sure looked larger than he should have had to me).

The first two feedings were using previously frozen prey, though tonight's was a freshly "whacked" mouse since the reptile shop was out of frozen. I feed him in his terrarium, in which I use newspaper as a substrate. I have a pair of long nosed needle-nosed pliers which I've scrubbed clean of any manufacturing residue and then covered the tips in "Heat Shrinkable" tubing to provide a less abrasive surface. I use those to present the prey to the snake so that 1) my hand is out of "accidental strike" range, and 2) the appearance of my hand doesn't get associated with feeding. Some owners use long medical style forceps for the same reason.

Leaving him in his terrarium for feeding helps keep him relaxed and ready to feed. By no means, though, am I suggesting that those who move the snake to another container to feed them are doing it "wrong". I'm simply relating what's been working with my snake. Your best bet will probably be to talk with the breeder you get your snake from and find out what the individual you're buying is used to.

As for diet, you've probably already gathered on here that most baby ball pythons are started on small mice such as pinkies. Moving to rats early is a good idea, as rats of the same size as the mice you're feeding are younger, and I'm told, therefore easier for the snake to digest. I'm guessing making the switch to rats earlier also probably makes it easier, as the snake will be less likely to be "set in its ways". One rather amazing thing about snakes is that they can eat pretty much the same thing every meal for their entire lives and still manage to get a balanced diet out of it. Whether you believe they evolved that way or were created that way, it's still a pretty cool trait of nature they have. Couple that with the fact that mature specimens can endure prolonged periods of fasting with little to no ill effect, and you have a very efficient creature indeed (I've read of adult ball pythons that have gone as long as 22 months between feedings with no long term ill effect). For us as owners, this makes a nice trait as you can feed your snake before going on vacation, and unless you're taking a round the world cruise or some other real long term vacation, you can simply have your housesitter make sure the snake has plenty of clean water and the snake should be fine the whole time you're gone. You will find that some people are very squeamish when it comes to the idea of dropping a dead mouse or rat to a snake, so this characteristic works very well for all concerned.

Hope that helps!