help.. my ball python is driing me nuts (non feeding)

[seercirra]

so ive had him for 1 and 3/4 years, hes about that old too as i got him as a baby. he hasnt eaten for like 4 months, ive tried EVERYYYYYYYYYYTHING. as far as i can tell he has a perfect set up, and hes driving me mad.

hes just over 3 foot long and currently weighing almost a kilo, before his fasting he was just over a kilo, his enclosure is wood on 5 sides glass on the front, about 3 foot long by 1 and a bit deep/high. identical hides in each side, heat mats on both sides, (because its been so cold here his cold side was bottoming out too low, so i got another heat mat and thermostat just to make sure it doesnt go lower than 80/high 70's. his warm side is bang on 91.
i didnt trust the thermometers i was using, though that may be the problem (although both sides have a thermostat), so i brought a laser temperature gun. my temperatures were right all along, 80 cool, 91 hot.
hes using reptibark, has a water bowl he can bath in. i have a red light to provide decent background air temp of about 80.

before i try and feed him, i wave about a frozen mouse in his enclosure to see if hes interested, he usually comes out licking the air and heads towards the scent, showing interest. ok, so i assume hes interested, defrost the mouse/rat/wtfever (ive tried 2 types of mouse and rat, all of which he used to take), heat it up to a nice temperature by either hairdryer or warm water, put the mouse in - the snake behaves like it cannot identify it. it looks around the enclosure, like its looking for the mouse, but it WILL NOT take it, he behaves like its invisible. the mouse is definately warm enough, no differernt from how ive fed him since ive got him. im at a loss.

i know that bp's can fast for months, often it isnt a problem, but i am worried as its been 4, maybe 5 months now, and he does show interest (albeit alot less than he used to, he used to shake with excitement), but he cant seem to find it or identify it properly, else lacks the balls to BITE it. last night i put a mouse in there - he came out of his hide like he was looking for it, went right up to the mouse. and just sat there.. and then he spent hours circling around his enclosure doing nothing. even after i took the mouse out he was still circling around his enclosure for ages. its stressful to watch and i'd hate to feel he's starving, im really worried he'll just drop dead or something.

any help or advice would be much appreciated.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Sorry I dont have much help for you but I do know you really need to keep an eye on his weight.

[rabernet]

OK - first of all, at a year and half old - it sounds to me like he may be more interested right now in girls than in feeding, even if there are no girls around.

Your profile doesn't say where you are from, but because you said he was about 1 kilogram, I'm presuming you are in Europe?

Do you have any way that you could get a live mouse or rat to offer him and see if he'll take live?

If he's not losing significant amounts of weight, I wouldn't be too concerned. I know how stressful it is to you as a keeper, I had a male go on a winter fast that lasted 8 months. Drove me NUTS!

[jefrow]

Yea try a live one and see if he will eat it. That's how I got one of mine to start eating again. If he takes it then next week see if he will take the f/t so you don't always have to feed him live

[steveboos]

Yeah a friend of mines ball python went off feed for 7 months. His wife was getting really worried, but i told them not to fret, just keep his tank at optimal temps and humidity and he will eat when he wants.

Well now he is a pig and eats every week even numerous rats at once! Just give him time, they can go over a year without food, no issues.

Just make sure all his hides are tight fitting and he is urinating normally.

[seercirra]

OK - first of all, at a year and half old - it sounds to me like he may be more interested right now in girls than in feeding, even if there are no girls around.

Your profile doesn't say where you are from, but because you said he was about 1 kilogram, I'm presuming you are in Europe?

Do you have any way that you could get a live mouse or rat to offer him and see if he'll take live?

If he's not losing significant amounts of weight, I wouldn't be too concerned. I know how stressful it is to you as a keeper, I had a male go on a winter fast that lasted 8 months. Drove me NUTS!

thanks, i did think he might be looking for a girl, and i know its that time of year, but as a newbie snake owner i want be be totally sure.
yeah, i live in england. i have looked for live mice to try him on, but i cant find any, anywhere. i think its illegal to sell live mice for food here, i may be wrong.

[seercirra]

Yeah a friend of mines ball python went off feed for 7 months. His wife was getting really worried, but i told them not to fret, just keep his tank at optimal temps and humidity and he will eat when he wants.

Well now he is a pig and eats every week even numerous rats at once! Just give him time, they can go over a year without food, no issues.

Just make sure all his hides are tight fitting and he is urinating normally.

ill try not to worry. reading through the husbandry guides here again, i have raised my temps a little. 80 on the cool side is now 84. 91 in warm is now 94. ill give him another week till i try feeding him again and see if i have any luck.
hes urinating about once every 3 weeks. it doesnt seem out of the ordinary seeing as he's not digesting anything, i give him fresh water every other day.

i recently read that giving bp's large prey can cause them to fast indefinately. before he started fasting, i had just moved him up to small rats, which were about 125g each. as he was just over a kilo i though this was a decent size. and it was about as wide as the snakes girth. he kept pooping though, like every couple of days, it was infuriating, lol. but perhaps this has something to do with it?

thanks for all your replies, ill keep you posted.

[PghBall]

My one male weighed around 600 Grams last winter and went off feed for several months. Once he went back on, he was pounding small rats and this winter is a whopping 1300 grams. Needless to say he's skipped his last 3 meals so another fast is probably in store. I also have two females that have each been off feed since late October. Neither is of breeding weight. I've just given into the fact that BPs will go off feed and there is little to do but wait it out.

[MitsuMike]

I vote live feedings. Normally sparks them into eating. For example:

Male spider 1 year old 700 grams was bought from someone who only fed 1 f/t mouse a week and would "only eat f/t over night b/c he won't strike". He stopped eating for me for about 3 weeks, so I decided to put him on live like everyone else. And lone and behold this the snake who can't strike and only ate f/t gobbled the mouse down in a matter of minutes.

If the snake starts loosing weight another option is ASF rats or Gerbils.

[seercirra]

still not eating
he's quite settled though, but every day at around the same time (usually just before dawn) he comes out and about for an hour or so then retreats back to a hide. still think hes just looking for a mate and not interested in food?
ill try and take a picture soon but to me he doesnt look skinny, maybe youll think otherwise.