Ball recoils from food?

[buckyballs]

Okay, so I know that balls will fast for a while in the winter, and I shouldn't be too concerned, BUT:
Mine is less than 2 years old, and the "fast" has lasted since late November.

He used to eat great for me, but he stopped around Thanksgiving. I didn't worry about it too much since the temp was dropping, but I'm starting to get concerned since he's become noticeably "squishier" and has lost some weight.

When they're fasting, do they tend to still exhibit "hunting" behavior? Before, whenever he would sit with his head out of the hide in the "S", he would eat. Now he'll sniff the mouse, but jump back suddenly.

My temps are good, 92 hot side, and about 85 cool, humidity around 50 most of the time. And he's shed twice since he's stopped eating, and pooped once, but peed a few more times.

Any ideas, or am I just being paranoid?

[Daybreaker]

I have one whos under 2 years old and stopped eating for me this winter too (along with my three big 2000+ gram girls). My only recommendation is to monitor weights (I do it monthly) to make sure your BP isn't loosing a dangerous amount of weight and keep offering food. I think he'll decide when to eat when he's ready.

My BPs that are off feed right now arn't showing signs of wanting to eat besides the occasional looking around when I start heating up other feeders in the same room (with a hair dryer).

[buckyballs]

And what would be considered a dangerous amount of weight? I mean, he's definitely loose, but he still seems to have the energy to scoot around his tank at night.

[satomi325]

I have a male under a year old who's fasting as well. He's still a chunk, so I'm not worried.
I would say a dangerous amount of weight would be when the skin starts looking saggy and the snake starts looking emaciated...If he still has a good amount of mass, then I wouldn't worry yet.

Also, your cool side sounds a little too warm. 80 would be ideal.

[Daybreaker]

IMO when he starts becoming lethargic and weak, becoming very triangle-y shaped (sunken in), and just overall in poor body condition. Do you have some pics of him now so we can see how he looks now? Honestly I wouldn't start to worry unless what I stated starts to happen or he starts loosing hundreds of grams of weight in a quick amount of time.

[buckyballs]

Here's what he looks like as of this morning, and he weighs about 5-600 grams.

http://imgur.com/a/827zL

I'm just confused because he seems to want food, but acts like he's afraid of it when he gets too close to it.

[satomi325]

He does look a little leaner than other balls, but not too bad. I can't tell from the pictures, but is he a "triangle" shape? Like /\ when you look at him from the front? If so that means he has a poor body condition.

Have you tried pre killed food? You can also try a rat crawler/weanling. They're the perfect size for him and they're helpless and wouldn't startle your snake.

[Kamille Kirkendoll]

Our hot side is about 92 as well. From every Ball Python book that I've read, it says the hot spot needs to be from 86-95. Our Ball seems to prefer it hotter (his previous owner had the tank around 114, which was unacceptable).

Everything seems to be fine. As everyone else has said, if the snake starts looking weak and saggy, it's an issue. Try leaving the feeder with your snake. Sometimes we have to leave our Ball with a f/t rat for about 4 hours. It works every time.

Best of luck.

[Annarose15]

If you don't have a scale, get one. It isn't possible to monitor weight without actually weighing him. I would be concerned if he has lost more than 10% of his body weight since the last poop (aka "empty" weight). And satomi is right, your cool side is too hot - drop it to the low 80s so he can thermoregulate.

[DooLittle]

From that pic he doesn't look too bad, but sometimes hard to tell from pics. I would try the biggest rat pup (alive) that still has its eyes closed. Put it in his tank in front of his hide, either cover tank or leave the room, and leave the pup for a few hours. We had luck with this on one of our picky eaters. Good luck. I would also recommend a scale to monitor weight.