HELP! She stopped eating...

[Savage420Siege]

My 650 gram, almost one year old female has not missed/refused a meal ever since I got her in May. I have been feeding her ASF rats of appropriate size every seven days.

Three weeks ago she did not take a meal, so I tried a few days later and then every week since. It has now been three weeks and she still is not eating.

She roams her enclosure as normal like she is hungry. Nothing in the enclosure has changed since May. Husbandry is perfect in every way, no question about that.

She has always been a very aggressive feeder, going right after the rodent. Now she just watches it with no interest and backs away if it comes near, goes into her hide.

I know that BP's can go quite a while without food before I need to worry, I just want to know what you guys think might be going on and if there is anything I could try.

Other than showing no interest in food all of her other behaviour is normal.

Can someone offer some much needed advise please?

[paintballerpunk722]

some times they will go on a fast and will not eat for weeks or even months! ball pythons are know for that fact 2 of my female normals are fasting right now no matter what i try they wont eat dont freak out just yet just keep a close eye out and if she starts dropping weight rapidly you might wanna take her to a vet or get someone who knows how to force feed to feed her hope this helps!

[ShortStack]

I know you said your husbandry was perfect, but most of the people on here who know a lot will want the specifics anyways..

[bsavage]

I know you said your husbandry was perfect, but most of the people on here who know a lot will want the specifics anyways..

i second this

and remember, three weeks is nothing to worry about to begin with

[steveboos]

I have this same issue, yet I'm not worried whatsoever. My 900 gram female het pied is currently going on 4 months of not eating. She's lost maybe 60 grams which is a large poop for her and she acts normal, husbandry has not changed.

She did this last year around 300 grams, then she goes on a huge streak of eating everything in site, then fasts again. I expect her to come around in the next month or 2 and we will be back to normal.

[paintballerpunk722]

I have this same issue, yet I'm not worried whatsoever. My 900 gram female het pied is currently going on 4 months of not eating. She's lost maybe 60 grams which is a large poop for her and she acts normal, husbandry has not changed.

She did this last year around 300 grams, then she goes on a huge streak of eating everything in site, then fasts again. I expect her to come around in the next month or 2 and we will be back to normal.

yup every snake is just like every human all have its own way of doing things just gotta watch and wait

[Savage420Siege]

She is 650 grams now, and has not eaten for 3 weeks.

What amount of weight loss should be considered too much?

What amount of time should be considered too long?

[fredanthony]

Many females will stop feeding this time of year, try offering her every 1 or 2 weeks..

[amgbabyboi]

I've heard about BP fasting for weeks and even for 6 months but you don't have to worry about that, but if you have a VET that you can bring your BP to it is best and advisable. In my opinion, you can try to offer him a smaller meal/prey, maybe he is intimidated with the size or the temperature of your enclosure is not right. You can also stun your prey and let them smell their food maybe this will help. Maybe your BP is intimidated with its food. When BP pass for their scheduled meal try offering it to them after 4-5 days. I'm not sure about this, but you can try. Hope this helps!

[Savage420Siege]

For those commenting on Husbandry, here is the breakdown. It has not changed since I got her (other than hide size)

Terrarium Size: 36"x18"x18"
Aspen bedding
Foliage, plants, log - creating very secure/closed environment
water dish
(2) identical tight fitting hides
Hot Side: 92.5 degrees
Cold Side: 82.5 degrees
Ambiant Air Temp: 82.5 degrees
Humidity: struggle to keep around 50%

The terrarium is kept in my bedroom which is low traffic and low noise. She has thrived in this environment up until recently.

It sounds like the best thing to do is wait it out and keep offering her prey every 7 days as usual. However, I would like to know how much weight I should allow her to lose, or how long I should let this continue before taking some action.