No luck for me

[Jasonl]

So I just got a 1500 gram male spider and he is a super sweet and docile snake. Likes to be held and looks great. He is 5 years old and got him from a local breeder. He has no head wobble which is great. Once again I am having a eating issue with this guy. He is housed in a AP T5 cage by himself, hot side 90 and cool side 80, humidity is at 62. Has a large water bowl. He has been in the cage all setup since last Friday. Owner sent me video of him eating so I know he ate a few days before I got him. Just tried to feed him and just went the other way and had zero interest in eating. Kept looking at it and moving back. I am stumped. Meanwhile my son's 8 month old one was put in the identical enclosure and ate in like 15 seconds! Hahaha. I am having no luck with my snake. Suggestions?

[Gc99]

My female went a month without food, i barely got her eating again two weeks ago, and now he just gulped down her rat in a second, they are just picky eaters some times, i just kept offering food every week and she finally took it

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[Jasonl]

Should I try and feed at night when he is out and about Exploring?

[Jasonl]

So he was out exploring like crazy, and tossed rat back in cage. Rat came close to snake and the snake took off far away from rat. Weird that he was out and looked like he was hunting but still no luck. So stressful for me.

[John1982]

It's not uncommon for males to go off feed for many months at at time. Heck, many females fast seasonally as well just not usually to the extent of males. It's not something to worry about, completely natural behavior. Don't worry unless he starts losing noticeable body mass. It seldom goes that far unless the animal is being continuously paired. Some are more sensitive to going off feed than others but most will start right back up again once they've cycled through whatever triggered the fast. With him being a new acquisition, it's probably just be a case of him needing to settle in a bit. If there are any female royals in the vicinity, that could also be a factor.

[Gc99]

My female was out hunting day and night for 3 weeks and wouldnt take food anyways, and my temps and humidity where on point, so if its not a husbandry issue, just keep offering until he takes it

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

Not only not uncommon for males to go off feed, but definitely not uncommon for adult to go off feed when they change environment, many adult take a lot more time to adjust to their new environment, I have received adults that would take a year before eating for me and at his size he could very well do that.

It is a rather large male and it is also possible that he is fasting to catch up depending on how large the preys were in the past. I recommend to offer nothing larger than a 80 grams rats to a male every 7 to 10 days. (male feeding and female feeding are not the same)

Make sure your husbandry is optimal proper temps measured with the proper instrument, make sure you offer sufficient privacy and security (enclosure not too big, tight hides etc) and most importantly be patient because it could take a while.

[Jasonl]

Thanks for the comments. Yes the cage is very well setup. It's a AP t5 has a hide that he just fits into. Humidity is about 58to 65. Warm side is about 90-92 and cool side 80-82. He comes out at night and scoots all around and does not get shy when I am in room. He is a great snake. Just hope he eats soon.

[ballpythonsrock2]

So he was out exploring like crazy, and tossed rat back in cage. Rat came close to snake and the snake took off far away from rat. Weird that he was out and looked like he was hunting but still no luck. So stressful for me.

Sounds like this is live feeding. Was the rat pretty large. Some snakes until they get use to it shy away from rats especially if it is moving around quickly and coming toward the snake. And worse since this is a new environment. I would feed every 7 days being the soonest even if it was refused. Wait 7 days and try feeding a live adult mouse or two. Or maybe you want to try frozen thawed rat that is around 50 grams. But my experience is if he isn't interested in a live adult mouse he just is not interested in eating right now. Has he been eating live or frozen/thawed (warmed up ) ? If you use a live rat try to get one about the size of a huge mouse. 80 grams or less was a good idea stated by Deborah.

[Jasonl]

Thanks for the comments. Yes the cage is very well setup. It's a AP t5 has a hide that he just fits into. Humidity is about 58to 65. Warm side is about 90-92 and cool side 80-82. He comes out at night and scoots all around and does not get shy when I am in room. He is a great snake. Just hope he eats soon.