BP hasn't eaten in 2 weeks.

[ride_gnu]

He hasnt eaten in two weeks, he was last fed one medium F/T rat, and I had to switch to large F/T mice temporarily as my pet store is out of rats, and he refuses to eat. I was wondeirg the following;

1) Could it be due ot the change in food?

2) How often should I offer him food? Every nigh till he eats, or every second night? or so on.

3) Are their any tricks I can try to get him to eat these mice till the store gets some rats in?

[anendeloflorien]

It's quite likely just due to the change in food type. Some BPs tend to be picky about what type of food they'll eat and once they're established on a certain prey type it can be fairly difficult to get them to switch to a different type.

DO NOT try to feed him every night, that will only serve to stress him out and cause more refusals. The best thing you can do is just leave him alone as much as possible.
Edit: I would just keep trying to feed on a normal schedule, once a week is usually good.

Now a couple of questions:

#1 What are the temps (cool side and warm side) and humidity at?
#2 How much does he weigh?
#3 What type of enclosure is he in?

You should not worry about a BP not eating for two weeks, they can go months without eating and be just fine (so long as there are no other problems causing the refusal to eat i.e. parasites, disease etc..)

[starmom]

Depending on the age of the snake, it could be due to the change of prey. Two weeks of not eating is typically not a big deal, but it depends on the age and weight of your snake.

I would wait a week between offerings of food. Offering food more often than a week typically stresses them out.

Have you looked into any of the on-line suppliers of f/t rodents? This might be a good idea for you

[Stewart_Reptiles]

1) Could it be due ot the change in food?

Yes

2) How often should I offer him food? Every nigh till he eats, or every second night? or so on.

Wait one week before offering again, if you offer too soon or too often after a refusal it will only stress your BP, leading to more refusal.

3) Are their any tricks I can try to get him to eat these mice till the store gets some rats in?

The problem is that even though you might manage to switch him, he might never go back to rats afterward, so make sure this is really what you want.

Maybe it's time for you to find a reliable source of F/T rats or order bulk.

[therecordingart]

If your temps are right and there aren't obvious signs of stress or illness...don't worry. My ball python stops eating from like October until April! He is now 10 years old and I've had him since he was a few days old. He loses very little weight in that time surprisingly. I still offer food every few weeks, but he refuses.

[ride_gnu]

Sweet, thanks alot for the help guys. As for my cage setup.

Cool Side = 82 +- 2->3 degrees
Hot Side = 98 over the UTH and 93 beside the UTH
Humidiy i have hte most problem with because I still have him in a 20 Gal. screen top, so it varys but i try my best to keep it at 50%

(I Have a new setup in the shop should be running soon)

As for suppliers I found a new pet store to get FT rats from on a constant basis however they wont have any in until Tuesday, now today is around 17 days since he ate. I picked up a large mouse, should I try offerring it to him tonight? Or wait for a rat on Tuesday?

[Basketball303]

Well they are very picky eaters I wouldn't freak out too much especially this time of year but I would wait till your shop has your original food back then try again

[anendeloflorien]

Cool Side = 82 +- 2->3 degrees
Hot Side = 98 over the UTH and 93 beside the UTH
Humidiy i have hte most problem with because I still have him in a 20 Gal. screen top, so it varys but i try my best to keep it at 50%

(I Have a new setup in the shop should be running soon)

Sorry just curious what do you mean by "over the UTH" and "beside the UTH"? 98 degrees as a hot spot is quite a bit too high. What are you using to measure temps?? If that the temperature right on the glass that's not entirely unheard of but it is still too high. You generally want the max temp on the hot side to be around 92 degrees. Are you using a thermostat to control the UTH?

[ride_gnu]

The temp right above the UTH, and the temp right nex to the UTH (No UTH underneather) but temps are measured with probems inside one den on the hot side. My UTH is being controlled with nothig right now because I dont have anythig nto control it with till i get my new tank setup and I will have everything controlled.

Now what I was wondering is what is the best way to control everything? I know I can use dimmers, but is there anything like a thermostat? So I can set it to remain at 92 degrees despite the temperature of my house? (like a fish tank say.)

[missi182]

The temp right above the UTH, and the temp right nex to the UTH (No UTH underneather) but temps are measured with probems inside one den on the hot side. My UTH is being controlled with nothig right now because I dont have anythig nto control it with till i get my new tank setup and I will have everything controlled.

Now what I was wondering is what is the best way to control everything? I know I can use dimmers, but is there anything like a thermostat? So I can set it to remain at 92 degrees despite the temperature of my house? (like a fish tank say.)

YES!! Thermostats are a wonderful thing. They range from about $50 (Ranco, Johnson) to $500. Reptilebasics.com have some decent prices on thermostats. As for your current set-up, you NEED to get a lamp dimmer on that UTH at minimum or you could have a toasted snake on your hands. Lamp dimmers are only about $10, so get one in the mean time but if you can, in the long run you will want a thermostat.