Its been 3 weeks...

[montie420]

...SInce my BP last ate should i be worried? i feed him F/K adult mice as he refuses F/T. He is Approximately 10 - 11 months. Which brings me to another question, how often should he be shedding at this age. his last shed was 6 weeks

[gozetec02]

Sheding depends on the amount of growth. At 3 weeks there is no need for alarm.

Describe to us the tecnique that you are using for feeding.

And please describe your setup.

Both of these factors could contribute to a picky ball python.

[led4urhead]

He will shed less if he is eating less. I've seen a bp go 4 months without eating and shedding. Unless something is actually wrong, not eating is almost always more stressful on the owner than the snake.

[montie420]

well, i have him in a 15 gallon tank right now, i have one of the human heat pads and have his temperature at 90 degrees on the hot side and the humidty stays pretty much constant at 60-65 %. When i feed him i remove him from his tank and into a box i have specifically for feedings, and throw in a fresh killed adult mouse, his regular feeding schedule is every 9 or 10 days, however its been exactly 3 weeks since he last ate. i have been avoiding handling for the past 10 days to avoid stress. but normally handle him 2-3 times a week 15-25 minutes at a time.

[elevatethis]

I've seen BPs get scared by people moving mice around in an effort to get the snakes attention. If you've done that, chances are thats what may be turning him off to the idea of taking a strike at it.

More likely though, its in their nature to go off feed for periods of time. Just keep offering prey items every 5-7 days, and if he's hungry, he'll take one.

Don't worry about it until he starts to show outward signs of ill health. When and if that happens, you will need to consult a vet and get him checked out for parasites or other health ailments. It IS possible that he picked up a bug from one of the mice that he ate, which is now causing him to go off feed. I'm not saying this is definitely what happened, but it is something that you should be aware of.