still not feeding

[jlax786]

well i tried a rat two weeks ago, didn't eat it....and i tried mice this week adn didn't eat it.....and he is losing wieght and really needs to eat.....should i try a gerbil next week....will that garantee him eating?? husbandry is perfect now....what should i do

[mykee]

Define "perfect".

[jlax786]

90 hot side........84 cool side......humid stays between 60 and 65%

[CARLiTO_]

are u trying live or frozen? U need to be more specific.

[jlax786]

i tried the rat live, and the mice live.....but after he didn't eat the mouse live i tried killing it and feeding it.....didn't eat it either way....hes a WC snake....and the pet store i bought it from said they fed them live...and eventually ill get him away from eating live but right now im jsut trying to get him to eat

[alanhoo]

Pet store people might not telling the truth. WC snakes are infamous for not eating espeicially ball pythons.

Be patient, try whatever you have including gerbil every few days.

Good luck.

[greenman1867]

If it's losing too much weight I would suggest getting it to the vet for a parasite check/treatment. They can check without doing a fecal by doing a wash. Sometimes treating a ball with a heavy internal parasite load will get it eating.

[jlax786]

ya that probably is a good possibility....so say i take him to the vet to get treated for this...anyone know how much taht will run me....it cost me 60 to get him treated for RI....will it be more or about the same?

[mykee]

Hot side could be hotter, an cool side could be cooler.
(92-95 and 78-82).
Do you have a hide(s)?
What substrate do you use?
Water dish? Where?
Backing on your aquarium or open all around?

[jlax786]

ok here we go...

last night i uped his temp on the hot side staying consistent 93 hot side cool side is still about 83

i have one hide on the hot side which is a plastic flower pot with a hole cut in it (my sis is making me a new hide from clay because she takes a pottery class....off subject is clay ok for them or bad)

substrate is repti turf

water dish is on the cold side and is shaped like an oval plenty big for him to soak his whole body in (its plastic)

my enclosure is wood on all sides except the face which is glass...it opens from a hinged screen top....i keep a damp towel on the screen 24/7 with a rubbermaid lid over that to hold humidity which stays between 60 and 70% because hes still getting over an RI but it is pretty much cleared up....the wood is just plywood i bought it from a pet store....i have a feeling its moer designed for lizards than snakes..but i converted it really nice to work for my snake.....oh ya and the dimensions of the cage is 24 inches wide....14 inches deep...and 12 inches high...my snake is a little over 3 feet

the heat source i use is a human heating pad that i can adjust the temps on.....it takes up a little bit less than one half of his cage...so the hot side is a little bit smaller than the cold side but plenty big.

if there is any other information you need plz let me know...thanks guys for the help...without the help this forum has provided me my snake would probably be dead right now..i really appreciate it

[Thor&Dash]

is your snake still recovering from the RI (still being treated) if so that may have somthign to do with it

[CARLiTO_]

maybe u should return the snake to the petstore u got it from.

[jlax786]

damn i wish i woulda thought about that earlier its to late now because im back from college now, and i bought the snake from a pet store near my college....but ya if i could do it all over again and i knew about this site and stuff i definatly would have bought one from a breeder......in anycase the way i look at it is im saving a snakes life if i returned it to the pet store who knows what woulda happened to it.....i think with time he'll come around its just been a real pain probably three times the amount of work it woulda been with a cbb.....and if he does come around then il feel real good about myself

[jlax786]

any comments or improvements on my setup?