I just recently got a new ball python that I love to death but I can’t seem to get him to eat. He was on f/t before hand and that is what I am feeding him now I Believe his husbandry is good as well as his temperatures. I’m thinking the rats might be too large. I don’t know for sure and any tips I could get would be greatly appreciated!
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Rat does look a bit large imo. Rule of thumb is 10% of the weight or the same girth as the snake for feeder size, which looks close for yours but smaller wouldn’ hurt. Another thing to consider; was he on ft RATS? Or was he eating mice or ASFs? Balls can be especially picky in that regard, unforunately.
Hope you get him eating, he’s a gorgeous snake!
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He was eating rats before hand so that’s what I have him on now. Thank you sm for telling me I also thought that the rat was way too large for him but I wanted to talk about it with other people. Thank you so much!! I got him smaller rats and they will be here in a few days
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How often are you offering food? And how long have you had him?
He looks like he already has a meal in him judging by the mid body size, but either way he looks to be well fed. If he does go off of food for a bit it may be because he just isn’t hungry and he will be able to go a while without meals and be just fine as long as no rapid weight loss or abnormal behavior occurs.
Whats his setup like? Does he have plenty of snug spaces to hide?
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I am offering him food around every 4 days and I’ve only had him for about 3 weeks he hasn’t eaten in the time that I have had him. Setup wise I think he should be okay he has 3 hides right now but I just recent ordered another one.
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Ahh, he hasn’t had very long to settle, then. At his body condition, he could go quite some time without a meal, so I’d scale back offering him food to maybe once every 7-10 days and make sure you’re not messing with him beyond any cage maintenance/watering. He may just need more time to get comfortable. If you could share a picture of his full setup, that may help us figure out if there’s anything else that may be affecting his appetite.
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You are stressing him out by offering him food every 4 days. As @emfraise said, offering food every 7 to 10 days is much less stressful on your snake. Your temps should be 86 to 88 with hot spot no higher than 90. Humidity should be 50 to 60 percent. The enclosure should be nice and cluttered with snug hides, fake greenery, cork bark, etc. In other words, give him plenty of cover if he wants to roam. He doesn’t know there are no predators waiting to ambush him.
You should make sure of all the above and then leave him alone other than water changes. Give him no less than 2 weeks to settle in and acclimate. If he came from a breeder he was probably raised in a rack so being in a tank environment is totally different. I reiterate, he needs to feel safe enough to eat. Also do not handle him other than maintenance until he is eating consistently, As @emfraise said, your snake looks well fed so he will be more than fine to miss a few, if not several, meals until he acclimates himself.
Trust me, he will be fine. It just takes patience on your part. I know it’s difficult though……
And trust me on this point: your snake is not gonna starve! I promise! 
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Dude thank you so much it’s good to hear it from other people. I will offer him food less and make it more a priority to acclimate him them to get him to eat. Thank you for all the advice. I’m still adjusting the heating/ lighting but right now his temps usually sit between 84-88 (on the warm side) and 74-78 on the cooler side and his humidity between 50-60 so I think that should be okay. I haven’t tried handling him whatsoever. Even before I got him the previous owner told me he was a very shy Handler so I plan to give him all the time imaginable to acclimate and build trust with me.
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Ball pythons spend their days mainly in burrows waiting for their prey to come by so I wouldn’t worry so much about lighting. If he’s in a tank which I assume he is then the natural light in the room is enough.
Edit to add: I know lights make the tank look great but the extra heat can cause a drying effect which can in turn cause humidity problems. If the tank needs extra heat you can use an UTH mat on one side.
Also edit to add: 85 is the lowest temperature I would recommend on the warm/hot side. Between 86 and 88 is perfect imo……
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Ive learned from experience that some snakes like smaller enclosures, it gives them a sense of safety, but when put in big enclosures they seem to get spooked easily, but the rat does look a little big and can be intimidating to your snake, but I would try a smaller pray item, maybe a mouse.