Snake didn't eat

[smmfish]

Ok, so I bought a feeder rat yesterday to feed to Shimmers the ball python.
Well, he didn't eat him. So now I am stuck caring for this rat until Shimmers decides he wants to eat. I have him in a 20 gallon tall tank with a little water dish and some scraps. What else do I need to do to keep this thing alive until he becomes snake food?

 

[davo]

You have the appropriate amount of heat right? and some hides? Sometimes balls are fussy eaters. Tried mice? How big is it? Do you know the weight? Was it feeding before you bought it (should have asked this really)? How have you tried to feed it?

 

[Pagan]

Balls sometimes will refuse a new food at first, and may refuse their old food after trying the new one. If you're up for it, you could freeze the rat, and thaw it out in a week or two and try again.

 

[smmfish]

You have the appropriate amount of heat right? and some hides? Sometimes balls are fussy eaters. Tried mice? How big is it? Do you know the weight? Was it feeding before you bought it (should have asked this really)? How have you tried to feed it?

Yes, he has an under tank heat mat on one side of his tank with a hide over it. He has had a mouse the last couple times I fed him. He has been eating regularly every 2 weeks one mouse. He is 2 1/2 foot long with a pretty thick girth. Yes, he was feeding when I bought him. Maybe he is going to shed soon, but his eyes don't look cloudy at all. So maybe, I will just keep the rat in the holding tank and go and try and get a mouse today. Maybe the rat is too big, I will try a mouse. Thanks for the advice.

 

[fishnutham]

Going on the size of your ball a rat pup would be a good size any bigger and he woudnt take it normaly.. theres also the color are you feeding a white rat most balls will only take dark or multi colored food.

 

[smmfish]

Going on the size of your ball a rat pup would be a good size any bigger and he woudnt take it normaly.. theres also the color are you feeding a white rat most balls will only take dark or multi colored food.

Yep, it's a white one, maybe that explains it. Oh well, I guess I have a pet rat for a while.

 

[Sunpoe]

They can be stubborn eaters especially during this time of year. I would try to keep the temperatures on the hot side (about 92) and cold side (about 82) stable. I personally would not have any night time drop in temp. You are also trying to feed him a new type of food so you have to be patient. I know it is hard when they stop feeding and you start to second guess yourself but they come around.

 

[EclecticFish]

If the snake has been eating mice and you went to a rat that is a likely reason for refusal. BPs are a bit obsessive. Keeping the rat alive is going to likely result in too large a prey item by the time the snake is going to eat. I would either return it to the store for credit or break it's neck and freezer it for future.
I would strongly recommend feeding killed prey also. I have seen far too many scarred up or dead snakes due to being fed live rodents.
Meantime if you want to retry feeding it immediatley I would prekill it, scent it heavily with a mouse and then offer it dead. Leave it overnight to think about it.
There are a ton of things to try. I would recommend the Barker's book...The Ball Python Manual.

 

[Pagan]

If you don't want to kill it yourself rats do make good pets.

 

[smmfish]

If you don't want to kill it yourself rats do make good pets.

Yeah, I can't kill it. I guess we will have a pet rat. I did read their life expectancy is only 2 to 3 years, is this right?
Also, I got a mouse (a black one) and tried to feed again and Shimmers will strike but can't seem to sink his fangs in deep enough and the mouse gets away every time. This went on for about 1/2 hour in the box and so I got frustrated and put the mouse in another container and put the snake back. Is it possible that he cant catch it? Doesn't seem normal to me. It has been 2 weeks since he ate, maybe I shoud try again next weekend?