Is he sick?

[krystalrose2]

I recently bought my first ball python about 3 weeks ago. And he fed for the first time last almost 2 weeks ago, which was the 2nd of March. He did a great job on the fed.

However since then he has not been seen at all outside of his hide. He stays in his hide and doesn't come out at night or during the day.

He's in a 20 gallon tank. With a hot side of 80-85 and a warm side of 70-75. He never leave the hide that is placed on the hot side.

He shows no signs of mites...and does not sound like he has a respritory infection.

He is feeding on live mice...as he refuses pre-killed since he has always been fed live in the past.

My question is this...to us he is not showing any signs of wanting to feed...the thing that we are afraid of is putting a live mouse in there and him getting hurt if he is possibly sick. Should we try and feed him as tomorrow will be exactly 2 weeks since the last time he fed and I don't want him to go off feed for too long?

[Vengeance]

Your temps are incorrect, it should be 90-95 on the hot side and 80-85 on the cool end. He is definitely going to be off feed with your current temps because he doesn't have the temperatures needed to digest his food properly. As for staying in his hide, most likely he is just trying to stay warm as it is much too cold on the cool side of your cage.

Get your husbandry in order and then your ball python should begin to feed.

[snakehunter]

that and get him on rats ASAP.

[greenman1867]

Okay that likely because his Hot side is too cool. Raise his hot spot to 92F and his cool side to 82F.
How much does he weigh now? If he ate the first week I would say you probably got a great snake. Just do some research, give him some time. Normally you don't handle a new snakes at all (cept to check for mites/ticks etc ) for the first 2 weeks.
Is his cage glass all around? Is it in a fairly high traffic area? All these things may (and probably will) affect feeding.

Check some of the care sheets all around.

Shawn

[tHeGiNo]

As suggested, your temperatures need to be modified. For starters, increase the temperature on the hot end of the enclosure to 95ºF. The cool end should not drop below 75ºF, and is ideal in the 80ºF range.

As for hiding, ball pythons are a timid species and spend a great deal of time under concealment. This is the least of your concerns as of this moment.

Once your temperatures have been modified, wait at least a week at which point you can attempt a feeding again. Under no circumstances should you place a live feeder item free in your snakes enclosure.

As for the twenty gallon tank, although chances are you will not support the idea, I would suggest moving him into a rubbermaid enclosure until he has been well established and is comfortable in the environment. Why? with the smaller size and closed environment, it is both easier to manage temperatures and is more welcoming to a timid species.

Refusing to feed, often times, is a sign of insecurity in the species. When you say he refuses to eat pre-killed, what have you attempted to come to this conclusion?