Ball Python not eating and visit to the vet

[richardpena]

Hello everyone,
I have a 15 year old male ball python named Dagon, he was given to me August 2013 and had not eaten in 5 months. I set him up in a new enclosure and left him alone for 2 weeks, then I offered him a medium rat and he ate it. His feeding schedule was a medium rat every 2 weeks and never rejected a meal from me until March 2014, he hasn't eaten since then. I know it is normal for ball pythons to fast and go without food for long periods of time, but Dagon is looking thinner than what he used to be, so I got a bit concerned. I decided to take him to the vet for a general checkup.. The vet didn't find anything wrong with Dagon but suggested me to "force feed" him daiy with Carnivore Care with a syringe in small quantities (see pic attached). OK, I think that is an extreme measure, I did it once and I can't imagine the amount of stress I put my snake through, so I didn't do it again.

So, my question is, what is the proper weight for an adult 4 ft ball python and when should I worry if he continues without eating. I am attaching pictures where you can see he is not fully rounded...

Some facts:
Enclosure temperature: 75-80 cool side, 89-93
Enclosure size: 50 gallons
Current weight: 1,600 gr (today is the first time I weight him
He has had a hump on his back for several years - The vet took x-rays and seems to be an old fracture that didn't heal properly, however doesn't seem to be affecting the snake.

*I have noticed since he stopped eating tha the has been more active than usual and keeps trying to get out of his enclosure... Sometimes I let him out around my bedroom.

Any thoughts or advises are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Kat_Dog]

I would get a new vet, your snake looks fine and if he ate in march, no biggie. Dovah went off feed for 2 months and he's only a year old. I didn't worry at all, and just kept offering until he finally took again.

Force feeding is an absolute last resort. If your snake hasn't eaten for almost a year and has dropped so much weight he's lost muscle tone, or for babies that refuse to eat and need help getting started.

Don't worry too much about this, jut keep offering food every feeding day and eventually he'll take again, and always try feeding live rats then try mice before trying to force feed anything! Your snake looks to be a fine weight to me. Snakes can go several months before food strikes become a problem.