u/Jaded_Perspective11

Hello! To preface, I am a first time snake owner. I have done a lot of research but I also believe people who actually have snakes rather than sometimes another source lol first hand knowledge is key more often than not. Anyways, I brought my baby home about two weeks ago. The lady didn’t tell me much about him other than he’s a hatchling (about a foot long) and that he just got through shedding. We took him straight home, put him in his enclosure and left him be for about a week. I made sure that he has a warm (less humid) and cool (humid) side with 3-4 hides and plenty of clutter to make him feel safe and hidden when exploring. At first he was super shy and didn’t really come out but eventually he would come out for hours and climb on his little rings and lay on his hammock or sit on his basking rock under the heat lamp. He was still a little shy like if we got too close to him he’d kind stare at us like “wtf are you” but we tried to give him his space. After the first 5 days we did try to feed him bc the lady said he hadn’t ate the week we got him bc he was shedding and that he would be super hungry soon. I dangled it in front of him and he didn’t strike so I ended up leaving it out for him over night so he could eat alone if he was a shy eater. The next morning it was still there. Btw it was a small pinky mouse. Thawed and warmed to body temp. We took it out and then left him alone. We waited 5 more days and did the same thing, still wouldn’t eat. Afterward, we gave him a full week and this time I did decide to put him in a small ventilated container with the pinky and leave him in the dark sitting in a warm space. We left him alone for 45 mins and he still hadn’t ate but had his little head at the top looking at me like tf if you don’t get me out of here. So I took him back and let him crawl out on his own. He was nervous around me but not as scared as when I first put him in the container. He was kinda just eyeing me like okay well you didn’t kill me. I let him settle and then as a last ditch attempt, I punctured the skull of the pinky and left it with him over night. I made sure the temp and humidity was right, put a little blanket over his enclosure so he felt completely secure and left him be all night. This morning, the pinky was still untouched. I’m at a loss. I’m trying to do everything I can bc I want to make sure I treat him super well. I love him dearly. Any tips and tricks? Advice?