Speaking of not eating...

[Spirit]

My ball has always been a fussy eater, but I assumed it was mainly due to poor housing (low humidity) and too much handling. He eats (eagerly) if I hold his head and gently push the rat against his snout (this is how I was told he was always fed). There is NO pressure used, as he opens up on his own and will take the prey with great hunger.

The second night I brought him home (when he was still on mice) I tease fed and he grabbed it FAST. He might just prefer mice, but when he eats mice, it's like "oh, mice", but once he gets a taste of that rat, he's like "YAY RATS!". He seems to like them better, but doesn't want to take it on his own.

The ONLY reason I've continued to do it is because he's small, and I mistakingly bought the wrong sized mouse (pink instead of pup). I'm basically just trying to get him to a healthier weight before I allow him to refuse meals.

He's now just under 5 months old, 17-18", and I'm not sure about his weight, but he's much thinner than most bp's I've seen at that age.

But I digress... I can't seem to break this habit. How bad IS this, really (to continue feeding this way for a couple more months)? Any ideas on how to make him eat on his own?

[sapphire_moon]

leave it in there with him over night in a dark, quiet place. You could also try heating up the head REALLY hot (like dipping the head in HOT water) and kind of nudging it against his snout. or wave it infront of him. You may not be getting it hot enough and he may not know it's there!

Every ball is different for their size/age/weight. your ball python won't necessarily be just like all the others, there is no set size on them.

[Spirit]

Thanks for the reply, sapphire.

The hotter the mouse is, the more interested he seems (he "followed" it last night as I moved it around), but although I used hot tap water, I was afraid to make it hotter. One accidental hard bump to the snout though and he quickly lost interest (though he would let me rest the mouse on his face lol).

BTW, I did some research on this technique last night and it's called "assist feeding". From what I read, this works on hatchlings and stubborn young feeders and they will eventually eat on their own.

I'm not liking it though. At all. Just wondering what all your views are on this subject.