Newbie BP Owner. Help Please

Your getting some great advice but I will drop this here as a last resort: New owner with non feeding hatchling, troubleshooting 101 :blush:

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i just saw this topic and decided to read through it, and oh boy. Yup, had that one happen to me! Thankfully it feels like a paper cut at most :)) I’ve now developed the habit of lifting their hides up with a drumstick (who knew being a percussonist had its perks in snakes, too!) to prevent this, LOL. They’re, like you said, ambush hunters. They see a quick movement of warmth infront of their hide, and they go for it… made the mistake of not washing my hands after sticking my f/t rats in the freezer, and i got a nip. Bleeds like crazy but feels like nothing, in my experience. But the teeth marks made a smiley face, so i’m taking that as an apology, lol.

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as horrible as it sounds, ball pythons are very very picky eaters and will only eat live, or thawed. if your beautiful baby isn’t eating thawed I’d suggest trying live feeding. live feeding is riskier and it is more disturbing (in my opinion) but that’s the reality of owning a ball python. if you decide to try live feeding here are some tips/ do’s and dont’s:

  1. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS supervise live feeding: the risk with live feeding is the prey fighting back. when the prey is younger it is less of a problem but once you upgrade to rats, there is a chance they won’t go down without a fight.

  2. if your BP doesn’t take an interest, don’t leave the prey in the cage.

there are so many more tips but I recommend visiting this site for more tips on feeding:Ball Python Feeding Tips | ReptiFiles' Ball Python Care Guide

or look at more post on this website!