Python will not eat!!!

[schwartz2.0]

It's been about two and a half weeks since my python has had anything to eat. Last Saturday marked the two week feeding day, I gave him a medium male rat and it was almost like he was trying to make friends with it. The size and sex of the rat is normal to what he has been fed previously. Yesterday I tried again, this time I bought a small female rat and still my python did not want to eat. I need to know if this is normal behavior for a 9-10 year old python. What suggestions do you have that would assist me with this situation.

[lillyorchid]

Go down in prey size. Get a small rat and try that. A ball python, specially a male does not need to eat a medium sized rat. He is probably just catching up with his body since he has been eating so much. If they eat to much they will go off eating till their bodies can catch up with everything. I wouldn't be worried unless your temps and humidity are off then that may be causing him to stop eating. But more then likely he is just trying to catch up. Your best bet would be to go down in rat size for the future feedings.

[schwartz2.0]

The last rat I tried to feed him was a small female and he didn't take it. Heat and humidity are not an issue.

[Spaniard]

If you've been feeding medium rats consistently for a while now the fact that you offered a small this time doesn't make a difference. I would not worry, my female has been off feed since October, she's still very healthy just not interested in food. Monitor weights every now and then and make sure they are not loosing to many grams. My female went from 826g to 780g last time I weighed her a few weeks ago. Hope this helps.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

The last rat I tried to feed him was a small female and he didn't take it. Heat and humidity are not an issue.

If you want your BP to feed with more consistency i would recommend to feed smaller size prey like a small rat (4 weeks old)

If your BP is fasting to catch up due to the size prey that were previously fed, it might take some time and as long as your BP does not lose weight he will be ok and resume feeding when ready.

In the mean time,

Check your temperature and make sure they are 80-84 on the cool side, 90-94 on the warm side, of course this mean you need to have an accurate reading provided by a digital thermometer/hydrometer

Check your humidity and make sure it is between 50%-60%

Make sure the enclosure is in a low traffic area.

Make sure your enclosure is the appropriated size, an enclosure that is too big can be overwhelming, and can cause stress overtime.

Make sure your hides are tight enough so your BP can snug in, all sides must be touching your BP's body (Avoid log hides as they do not really provide enough security for a BP).

If you handle your BP often, try to limit handling.

[juddb]

Maybe he just wants some Mickey D's!!!

[schwartz2.0]

Thanks everyone. I'll take your advice into consideration and wait a little longer to feed him. I'll also probably switch to smaller rats for future feedings. Thanks again.