Hello. Need help with my sunbeam snake

[CexyEm]

Hiya, I'm new to this forum site. I have 5 snakes. 2 retics, 1 ball python, 1 paraguayan rainbow boa and my newest is my sunbeam snake.
I first came across a sunbeam months ago at a pet store and fell in love with them and how different they are. Hard to get hold off and took a while to track 1 down.
My issue is my sunbeam. Got it over a month ago, married couple, he was away alot for work and she didnt like snakes and feeding it so was bit neglected. Was told it was fed night before I got it, which I can only assume is right. When I got it home, what substrate soil stuff that was in it was crawling with little critters everywhere, so the next day I got it out and it shot something at me and hissed and kept darting around, nothing like the 1 I came across in the pet store. Gave it a whole deep clean with fresh substrate, hide and water bowl.
The viv is in the corner of my bedroom, sheltered by another viv, away from windows. It is levitating at the front so the back of the viv is more damp than the front. Has a heat mat on a thermostat underneath on the floor at the back and a heat lamp up top. Water every day. Lovely and humid in there with 5/6inches deep to burrow in.
I have tried three times to fed it, twice by placing a mouse in the viv and tonight I got it out and put it in a tub with a small wiener rat, still nothing. And again I have only handled it about 3 times, every time, hissy, darting around. Going to get even smaller mice tomorrow and try again in a few days.
I hear sunbeams are supposed to be lovely and greedy snakes, apart from mine. Asking for advice as I will not give up on any snake.

Thanks Emma

[ClockwerkBonnet]

Welcome to the forum, Emma. What are the temperatures and humidity in the vivarium?

[chairman]

Sunbeams are beautiful snakes but I don't keep any because, well, they're a poor match for most keepers.

Most sunbeams in captivity are wild caught. I don't know if yours is or not, but they can occasionally carry parasite loads. I'd consider getting a fecal sample to a vet for analysis to see if there's anything to treat for.

Sunbeams generally hate being handled. Just hate it. People that keep sunbeams and try to handle them as frequently as they do cornsnakes, boas, pythons, etc find themselves with a snake that dies from stress related issues. When you get everything squared away then your sunbeam will likely end up as a pet tank of dirt that you keep stocked with clean water and the occasional mouse.

All those critters crawling around in the dirt were likely springtails. They are very helpful additions to tanks of soil that house fossorial snakes. You are going to want to hope that they come back, they'll make your life much easier. You should also add other helpful bugs, including isopods if you can get your hands on some.

In the grand scheme of things, you've greatly upended the life of a very shy species that hates being bothered. I'd give it at least a week, maybe two, of zero human contact, then try offering food again. Hopefully once your snake has a chance to get used to its home and feel safe then it'll come around.