Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased my first ever gorseous little ball from a pet store yesterday. My first herp purchase ever from a petstore actually - they just looked so healthy, the person who cared for them was knowledgable, and I fell in love with one in particular. So I have it settled in in a comfy 10 gallon right now with two hides, appropriate temps, and a water bowl with a lid and a hole in the top. Aspen substrate, which has been packed down and depressed to his/her liking. So now I just have a question about exactly how to go about feeding. I have only had corns up until now, and I always take them out of their tanks and feed in a separate container to avoid accidental aspen ingestion when eating. From all I've read, a young BP probably wouldn't feed if removed from its tank, is this right? It needs to feel super secure, and some even prefer to snatch food from in the hide box. So when I feed, do I just dangle a stunned or fresh killed mouse in front of the hide? I am afraid it will ingest bedding. Or am I worrying about something highly unlikely? How long to wait until feeding? 10 days or so? Thanks for any advice for a first-timer.
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?.?.? Leopard Geckos (eggs incubating)
1.1.1 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
2.5 Paroedura picta(eggsincubating)
1.1 Paroedura bastardi
1.1 Paroedura androyensis
1.1 Hemitheconyx caudicinctus
1.1 Cyrtodactylus irianjayensis
1.1 Gekko gecko
1.1 Pachydactylus turneri
1.1 Uroplatus henkeli
0.0.1 Hemidactylus turcicus turcicus
1.2 Teratolepis fasciata

Snakes
1.0 Blizzard Corn
1.0 Christmas corn
1.2 Reverse Okeetee corn (1 tang)
0.0.1 Ball Python

I actually feed frozen/thawed mice to my BP( I am going to switch to rats though). I do this in the bathtub and do not have a problem. It is a good place for me to do it and it doesn't bother him at all. I thaw the frozen mouse , and then in a ziplock bag, I heat it up in hot water to bring the body temp up. I use a long chop stick to twitch the fuzzy a little and then WHAM! he strikes and curls. I have fed him 3 times in as many weeks without incedent.I actually fed him two fuzzies tonight, and he seems to be doing fine.which brings me to my next point. I would wait at least a week to feed him to 10 days depending on when he last ate.hope my input helps! Jay and Maximus.

P.S. I have never had a problem with aggresiveness in the tank I just feed else where to be safe, because I have heard some referance to a snake associating a hand in the tank to food if it is fed there. I don't know if there is any truth to this but better safe than sorry I always say!
my album

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1.0 ball python(normal)Maximus
0.1 golden retriever Amber
0.1 dalmation/lab mix nikita
0.2 bettas

Actually since he is a new snake and from a pet store you should put him on news print or paper towels for a while to be able to spot mites easier. And once he "goes" get a fecal done. Once everything clears put him on aspen again.

What I do when I feed on aspen is I just put a sheet of newspaper under the snake. It should be ok to take him out and feed him in another tub. Just don't reach into his cage smelling like his lunch and you will have no problems.
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 0.1 western hognose