how long do i wait to feed

[pretzels]

my bub is due to be fed tomorrow. hes been home for 5 days now with minimal to no contact apart from refilling his water ( which he is always hiding under) iv been told to leave him for longer without feeding him because he will most likely be stressed. should i offer him food or will that stress him out more??

 

[RSPcrazy]

He'll be fine, you only need to leave a new snake for a week before trying to feed.

 

[pretzels]

oh good thanks was stressing a tad, dont want to upset him. my resident snake 'expert' has decided to go out into the sticks with no reception for the week so im basically lost :/

 

[CaptainRatbag]

What breed is he? how old? I take it it is a young one?
When I get a new snake I find out from who I got it from when it last ate, what it ate and when it is due to be fed... did you get any records with it? If a snake I get is due to be fed when or soon after I get it, I just watch to see it is settling then offer it food, even if it is the same day. I think it would be more stress to not feed it if it is due to be fed, than to offer it food. If it wont take the food, so be it, but I think you will find a full tummy will help lower his stress.
I would be offering it a feed anyway.... if it is anything like my 4 month old MDP it will hammer it straight away.
Make sure he has plenty of hides and a heat source

 

[pretzels]

hes a spotted python and was 3 months on the 16th. luckily my sister works at the pet shop i got him from so she knows his schedule pretty well ( but shes uncontactable) . he was last fed on the 14th and is fed weekly. the first couple of days home he was really calm, he only bit my sister once and hadnt tried to strike at me, but i noticed today when i refilled his water he was very agitated and tense.
he is still in his click clack so he doesnt have a big elaborate set up but has two hides and his water bowl. iv been monitoring his tank temps as well and their pretty stable.

 

[pythonmum]

Try to feed at night when he is active and hunting. He is more likely to feed in low light with nice warm prey items. This may not be necessary, but better to be as conservative as possible when offering the first feed.

 

[pretzels]

hes not really active at night so far though. not that iv noticed anyway. theres a chance he may be going wild between the hours of 2-7 when i sleep ol. my rooms pretty dark. he took to it ok. was a bit slow at the start but he managed to get 2 pinkies down

 

[pythonmum]

Sounds fine if he has taken the pinkies. Move to something with fur soon. He should be able to handle fuzzy mice. He can go several weeks without food, so don't stress too much.

 

[pretzels]

thanks pythonmum ill get fuzzys when his pinkies are gone. its his first feed so he still has an entire packet lol.