When to give up???? - Page 2

crazyboy · 06-02-04, 02:55 PM

like saphire said, we still dont knwo teh temps. or what you are measuring them with? how long are you leaving the mouse in there? are you trying to feed him when he is in a bright light? are you standing in front of him? becuase if you are4 trying to feed him when you are standing there with a spotlight he surely wont eat.

knads06 · 06-02-04, 03:24 PM

my temps are 90 on the hot side and around 72 on the cold side. he loves to hide under his water dish which is on his cool side. Im using paper towels as my substrate ever since the mite problem and he has a wooden log on the hot side with a paper towel roll in the middle which he uses a lot too. I listened to my friends at first because they both have bp and they eat just fine. But after getting more advice on this board ive leaned to listening to you guys more. Im not looking for a verbal argument, just help in trying to get my bp to eat. I usually try to feed him at night when the room is dark and the lights are off. I tried a common mouse which seemed to be a good size but when i put him in the tank he was way too wild and started ripping the substrate apart which scared my bp more then anything.... Its getting to that point when i might have to forced feed him just once

Syco · 06-02-04, 04:14 PM

I know this is going to sound bad..... but, will the store you bought the snake from take it back? From what I understand you to say, this is a hatchling BP which has never eaten. Right? The store should never have sold a snake that wasn't eating. If I am wrong, and this is an older hatchling which has eaten before and has just gone on a feeding strike then you can afford to give it a little more time to settle in and it will probably eat. How big is your BP? How is it's weight? A pic would really help so we could get an idea of how old it is.

knads06 · 06-02-04, 04:40 PM

This pic is from about four weeks ago

nita · 06-02-04, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by knads06
my temps are 90 on the hot side and around 72 on the cold side.

72 is too cold. Your cool end should be 80 and your warm end 85 - 90 with a basking spot that gets no higher than 95. If he is staying under the waterdish on the cool end at 72 no wonder he isn't eating. If you can't get his temps right you won't get him to eat. He probably wouldnt' be able to digest his food if he did eat at those temps.

knads06 · 06-02-04, 04:46 PM

my bad i just look and i was reading the wrong numbers, its currently at 78 degrees and the hot side is at 90

dave68 · 06-02-04, 06:05 PM

What size of tank do you have him in Knads? It shouldn't be any larger than a ten gallon for a little one to settle in and feel secure . Try a hide on both sides and the water bowl in the middle,closer to the cool side. Security is a big issue with balls they like fairly small tight hides as well. Hope this helps.

Dave

knads06 · 06-02-04, 07:01 PM

I have him in a 20 gallon tank right now, the water bowl is over on the cool 80 degree side and the paper towel roll which he likes as well is in the middle, with the half wooden log on the hot side.... He makes his way over to the hot side occasionally, but seems to like the middle and water bowl a lot more. Ill be leaving him alone for the next week and hopefully by next thursday he'll eat either a common mouse or a fuzzy rat when i feed it to him at night. I called the store where i got him from today and they said their usually a couple months old when they get them in and they are usually fed atleast once when they get them in, but im calling back on friday to talk to the lady i bought it from and get the exact details on this one.

BoidKeeper · 06-02-04, 07:41 PM

A snake that size should be in something smaller then a 10g.
Trevor

sapphire_moon · 06-02-04, 08:33 PM

HOW are you measuring temps?

Don't force feed unless recommended by a vet (or knowledgeable breeder that can actually take a look at your snake). It can result in your snake just refusing more.
In your pic the snake looks like a fresh hatchling (judging by others pics on their newly hatched babies).

Goodluck, cause your gonna need it. I would just take it back and get a corn snake.

knads06 · 06-03-04, 04:31 PM

Jw what time everyone feeds their bp's at? Or better yet what is the best time to feed them at. I usually try for between 8-9pm and as most of you know he still hasnt eaten since i got him. So next thursday will be his next attempt. Hopefully he sucks it down

elevation24 · 06-03-04, 05:01 PM

First of all, I would highly suggest you get more hides. In a 20 gallon tank 1 hide is not enough for a hatchling of that size. Grab a whole bunch of cardboard boxes (like old food boxes), cut them to a SMALL size that he can just fit into, and leave a small opening that he get through for each one. And I don't just mean one hide. Get as many as you can fit in there.

Either that or go buy a small shoebox Rubbermaid and use one hide and a water dish.

When you go to feed him, try to feed him before he has come out of his hide 'hunting' -- when it's just starting to become evening, he will start poking his head out. Try feeding him around then. Drop the live mouse or rat near his hide. Or, if you're going to try F/T, while he is still in the hide, dangle the mouse in front of the opening of the hide he is in and wiggle it around with your tongs -- he may just snatch it up.

knads06 · 06-03-04, 06:15 PM

I have three hides in the 20 gallon tank. I have the water dish which is loves to go under, a paper towel roll which he spends a lot of time in right in the middle of the tank, and a half wooden log hide on the hot side which he spends a little bit of time on. Its pretty full in there and he seems to like his hides.

marisa · 06-03-04, 06:45 PM

No disrespect to anyone here, but things are looking confusing to even me reading replies. A lot of great advice coming in, but I think it might be getting hard to read the real point here.

knads06, if you take nothing else away from this thread, you should go back and read Corey Wood's advice. Straight to the point, and he has bred and raised more balls than anyone else in this thread so you know it is good advice. It's simple to follow and if you do listen to his advice, your ball *will* eat.

That's my suggestion.
Marisa

lostwithin · 06-03-04, 07:07 PM

I'd first like by saying the topic you chose for this post is disgusting, you do not give up on a living animal especially since it's not eating because of something you did wrong, and you stressed it out. I would say you should get rid of the ball and get something you are capable of caring for properly. Or better just look at friends pets that way you can just "give up" on a pet. And will have no responsibilities at all.

You've been given plenty of good advice almost everything becoming repetitive. Start taking it. Or GET rid of the snake.

At this point If you’re truly concerned for your snake I would suggest giving it too somebody who knows how too care for it, or is at least willing too listen too people advice and care for it properly. If you refuse too do that I suggest going out and picking up a small "shoe box" type Rubbermaid, there cheap. Put a few small holes in the top some paper towel in the bottom a small water dish and something for the bp too hide under. if you don’t want too spend extra for a heating pad for this box, just stick it inside your 20 gallon, in the center not stuck in hot or cold, just in the dead center. let your baby python live in this for at least a week. DO NOT bother even trying too feed for a week. only open the lid if you absolutely have too replace water or something and if you do. open it, top off the water and close it that’s all. After a week, pick up a pinky rat for him, get whatever you can that will be the right size or a bit small but still has not opened its eyes. I'd go with a large pinky rat. Yes it’ll be small but it wont be able too hurt your ball because its eyes wont even be open yet all they do is lay on there side and breath maybe squirm a bit. Then leave the ball alone, it should take the food item. and that’s your first start.

Now I do know allot of people out there are completely against any live feeding ,But in some cases it is necessary, and a rat that has yet too developed motor skills is hardly a threat right ? I haven’t seen one capable of any damage. so it should be ok too leave in the Rubbermaid with your ball.

Although Corey Woods knows what he’s talking about, I would avoid force-feeding, and if it comes too that you should NOT be the one doing it. You obviously are not skilled with these animals, so you will only do more harm then good.

Devon