Hunger strike for 6-8 weeks now, should I start to worry yet

[VooDooDoc]

My snake, who used to refuse nothing and ate like a pig has been refusing to eat lately. I feed F/T, well at least I've been trying to. I usually blast the rat with a hair dryer before putting it in his cage, and as soon as I start doing that he comes right out of his hide and acts like he's about to tear something up. But when I put the rat in, he kinda looks at it and goes the other way. I've tried leaving the rat in over night but it's always there the next day.

Temps/humidity are fine. He did have a bad shed this past time due to my being out of town and not here to adjust his humidifier, but that was a few weeks ago and he got it all off after taking a soak.

Is it time to start worrying, should I switch to live? I really don't want to feed live because I don't want the hassle of dealing with a rat if he decides not to eat it. I know what will happen the kids will see it and want to keep it as a pet, I'm not even opening that can of worms if I can help it. Guess I could let it go in my neighbors garage

I haven't weighed him in a few weeks, but last time I did he was still around 1500 grams.

[SylverTears]

For a healthy adult snake that that, a hunger strike of six weeks is no problem. I also prefer not to feed live as it is (in my opinion) inconvenient for a collection of fifteen snakes and I do NOT want to start a breeding colony of rodents. How do you thaw the rodent? I thaw mine in little baggies and submerge it in hot water and that works well. Once the rodent is completely thawed I warm it up under a light so it can achieve proper "mouse temperature" like you are doing with the hairdryer. Is the have you have for your BP secure enough? (Half logs are not very good for BPs) I would just keep trying to offer frozen thawed weekly so you don't stress him out. And if that doesn't work you can try P/k (pre killed). Sometimes BPs go on a hunger strike for no apparent reason. Good luck.

[Chris633]

As long as his weight stays stable I would not worry. 8 weeks is nothing. I just had a BP start pounding rats after a 6 month strike. Like the other poster said, a good hide is important. For some of my BPs, I have to leave the heated rat right at the opening if I want them to eat. But I also have some that refuse to eat frozen thawed. I've also had BPs abruptly change their mind on what they will eat. I had a f/t rat eater decide that he will eat nothing but live mice.

[Annarose15]

If his husbandry hasn't changed from when he was eating every meal, just continue to monitor his weight and don't worry. He knows it's food, and I don't understand the people that freak out and switch to live or other prey when their snake is choosing not to eat (not saying you are). I would even drop to only offering every two weeks until he starts up again, to save on discarded rats.

[Chris633]

I second that. Sometimes a snake off feed gets stressed if offered food too often. Mine that was off feed for 6mos, I tried weekly and then bi-weekly. Finally I left her alone for a month (other than changing water) and then one day when I was doing feedings I decided to give her a try for the heck of it. And she slammed a f/t rat. Best part is that she had previously been a live-only feeder.

[iCandiBallPythons]

First off I would not worry, second when a bp is eating consistently and then goes off food it IS NOT a hunger strike, it's not like the animal says ok I've decided to starve myself. Bp's have a tendency to go off food from time to time I have had bp's go off food for 11 months or more and then one day they decide they want to start eating again. So I would not worry, and offer prey once every 2 weeks until the prey is accepted and then continue with your normal feeding schedule

[VooDooDoc]

... How do you thaw the rodent?... Is the have you have for your BP secure enough? (Half logs are not very good for BPs) ...

I thaw in a baggie in water. Then I either make the water hot for a few minutes and/or use the hair dryer, the hair dryer blowing on the rat sure gets his attention.

As far as feeling secure enough, I think he's good. He hides all day, comes out at night for a bit sometimes. I use these heavy stone turtle shell things, cost a bit, but they are nice and dark and heavy so they don't get moved around so much.

I guess based on the responses here I'll hold off switching to live and start offering every other week.

[barbie.dragon]

How hot is the rat? Make it 110 F on the head before offering

[dragonboy4578]

I have 2 snakes in my collection that have gone months between feeding. I had one that went over 6 months without eating. As long as there isn't much weight loss I wouldn't worry to much.

[h00blah]

If his husbandry hasn't changed from when he was eating every meal, just continue to monitor his weight and don't worry. He knows it's food, and I don't understand the people that freak out and switch to live or other prey when their snake is choosing not to eat (not saying you are). I would even drop to only offering every two weeks until he starts up again, to save on discarded rats.

First off I would not worry, second when a bp is eating consistently and then goes off food it IS NOT a hunger strike, it's not like the animal says ok I've decided to starve myself. Bp's have a tendency to go off food from time to time I have had bp's go off food for 11 months or more and then one day they decide they want to start eating again. So I would not worry, and offer prey once every 2 weeks until the prey is accepted and then continue with your normal feeding schedule

Both of these responses are what I would say . My albino boy has refused from October to March / May for 2 years in a row (3 now). I still offer him a rodent weekly since I can always just give that rodent to another snake, but if he's your only snake, offering every 2 weeks is perfectly okay. If it was a baby, then 6-8 weeks is BAD. Since he's big and is an eating machine (as you stated), you shouldn't have much to worry about. My pastel special (1300 grams) scared me to death with her feeding response, but now she slowed down. My calico (1400 grams) still scares the hell out of me, and she hasn't slowed down at all! I'm wondering when she'll stop.. My normal gal (2200 grams) stopped eating after I paired her, but she started to pick up again with weekly feedings !