I think the first thing I noticed about your question was..."recently" aquired. Can you tell me exactly how long you've had him? Chondros, IMO, seem to need extra time to adjust before "settling in". They generally are great feeders. And as far as keeping the prey dry for thawing process, sounds like you're already doing everything I would suggest. Squeeze good with a paper towel. Funny thing, prekilled rodents aren't that warm!! I'd also like a bit more info on your feeding tecnique please. Such as time of day presented, what's his body language like while you're trying to feed, etc.  

If your Ball python has not had any issues with what it's been eating, your rodents are probably fine. And you're right....Chondros are awesome!!!! Just get ready for the next one you'll be wanting to pick up!!! 

1) Security......it looks like the top of cage is clear, if that is the case you should cover it with something so your the gtp doesn't  feel exposed from above.

2) Feed one small pre-killed prey item and follow it up with a thawed prey item. Then at the next feeding only offer a f/t prey item. You can dry the mouse with a paper towel. If I am reading your post correctly your chondro already ate one f/t mouse, and it is only eating evey two weeks...if that is the case then only offer food every two weeks.

Buddy B

+1 to all the above   Husbandry , husbandry , husbandry  Make sure  your temps  are spot on  .. humidity .. security in a low traffic area..  I dont think the "WET "  is the problem  I thaw  my mice  in hot water and  never  have a problem. I actualy feel the wet mouse helps hydrate the animal a bit .. Like stated above  how about some more info on the animal.. cage  , heat source,  age ,  ? Good luck

I've had him for a month now.  It has taken him some time to adjust to his new surroundings.  I feed him at night, and he is usually curled up on his perch with his head hanging low.  I feed from a long pair of tweezers and usually dangle in front of his head.  He usually shows interest right away.  Last night when I tried to feed him he struck at it but immediately dropped it, he did that a couple of times.  So I think it was more of a "you're pissing me off" response.  He also defecated last night after the feeding attempt.  Not sure if that would have anything to do with it.  The top of his cage is clear so I will cover that too "I've already covered the back and the sides".  I will try again next weekend and see how it goes.  Thanks for your help.  Any other suggestions, I'm all ears.  Has anybody bought food from Rodent Pro?  Any other suggestions on where to buy frozen food?  Thanks again.  Sean.

He is 19 months old.  I have him in an Exo Terra cage.  His heat comes from a ceramic heat emitter bulb, that is on a thermostat.  His basking temps range between 84-86 degrees.  I mist him heavily once in the morning.  He's in a back bedroom so very little traffic.  Thanks for all the help.  Sean.

I agree with everything said previously and definitely implement all the suggestions.  However from the looks of your picture he seems to be pretty healthy (also very nice looking) so I wouldn't get all worked up about it.  Leave him alone for 2 weeks or even longer believe me he is not going to be any worse for it and will certainly not die from starvation.  Let him get good and settled in just make sure he is well hydrated.  You don't want to make things worse by constantly poking him with a mouse he doesn't want.  Is it possible he is going in to shed mode?  Some snakes not all will stop eating during their shed cycle.

I've only fed Rodent Pro to my chondros for the past... oh... 10 years. Have never had problems.

You shouldn't have much "training" to do here... I think your heating is fine, I just dump mine in hot water straight up, and they are soaked when I offer. What you might want to do is heat that thing up in a bowl of water... and then blow the "mouse aroma" in thru the vents in front of the exo, and come back in 20 minutes.

In my experience, chondros are very easy to get moved over to frozen thawed.

Also, depending on size/age, he may be being a boy. Boys are difficult feeders in the winter, so I wouldn't worry about anything just yet. I've had males go a year without food, and go back and be fine. A year.

Thanks for all the great advice this website is awesome.  I'm new here so I have a stupid question.  At the end of each response there is 2 boxes.  One says "accept answer" the other says "accept and split points".  Could someone explain this to me?  Thanks again you guys are great.

when you feel you have an answer to your question, you can either give the points to one answer, or if you got more than one response that was helpful, spread the points around.

points go to help ... save baby seals.

or club em. i forget which.

Feel free to swing by this question later and let us know how things are going.

We love closure :)