Any ideas why snake won't eat?

[ocean girl]

So it's been about 4 weeks and the snake won't eat, I've tried feeding him inside his cage as well as outside his cage and he will smell it, but then hides his head. I have left it in there as well up to 4 hours and nothing. I also do it at night, and nothing, so what do you think?
I know for a couple of weeks we were dealing with mites, but he has been mite free for a couple or more weeks now. Is he sick? He looks healthy. He had a great shed last week, nothing left on him, even the eye caps even came off.

[loonunit]

Aw, because he's a ball python. And they like to stress out new owners in particular.

How old is he? Do you happen to know his weight? (If not you might want to invest in a digital kitchen scale that can do metric units (grams) and weights from 100-3000 grams.)

My rule of thumb is, I won't freak out unless they lose 30% of their starting body weight. ESPECIALLY if the snake is a male between 400 and 800 grams. All of my juvies have hit a fast at that weight, and some of the males kept it up for several months.

[billye1982]

I had a girl eat on Saturday for the first time in over 6 months, thats just what they do.

[Skittles1101]

Triple check all your husbandry, and triple check for mites. If there are no issues on either then it's just a ball python being picky.

[ocean girl]

Wow, well that's alot of wasted mice every week. Are there other ball pythons that always eat when offered?

[Vypyrz]

What type of substrate are you using?

[Skittles1101]

Wow, well that's alot of wasted mice every week. Are there other ball pythons that always eat when offered?

Other ball pythons? I think it's very rare for every ball python to eat every single time it's offered, it's just part of the species. I only have one our of five that has never refused....

You can refreeze one more time after thawing once...I do and haven't had any issues.

[OhhWatALoser]

The snake just got over mites, its not a surprise their not eating

[EAllen84]

Fortunately, I have a hungry bp. I have had him since the end of April and he eats every 6-7 days on the dot. (knock on wood) I feed at night in the comforts of his cage. He prefers to hunt while he is in his hide. The mouse never lasts more than a few minutes when it's dangled outside of his hide. Otherwise, he is a little hesitant with the mouse. Maybe try that? So he feels super secure when he hunts.

[ocean girl]

I'm just using plain paper for substrate.