Probably not a big deal but...

My male hasn't eaten in 5 weeks. He's always had a GREAT appetite but over the past few weeks, he's refused to eat. Nothing changed the first 2 weeks that he didn't eat, then the last 3 weeks he was relocated, but is still getting his daytime/nighttime cycles, two hides, cool/warm side, humidity, etc.

My female on the other hand, seems to have double the appetite. She's been eating perfectly. I have noticed that he has been losing a bit of weight. She's doing fantastic. They both have the same exact setup.

I heard adult BPs sometimes fast during late fall/early spring so I was thinking that this may be the issue. The female (Zelda) is about a year and he (Caesar) is about two years old.

Here's some photos:

Caesar is the one with the LOOONG stripe on his neck. Zelda is the other snake.
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/7469/caezel.jpg

This is Caesar. You can notice he seems a bit skinny.
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/4562/caezel2.jpg

EDIT:
I'll also add that Caesar shed after the 2nd week of not eating. And he's been on the cool side of his enclosure more than Zelda.

Many adult males will go off feed in the winter months because they are looking for a mate. This happens especailly when there is another female around.

Can you take a picture of his current setup? There might be something that you could do differently to convince him to eat.

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9520/caezel3.jpg

Even if the female is in a whole separate room?
I hadn't put them next to each other in a loooong time. This is the first time in a while that I put them together, just to take the photo.

Even if she is in a seperate room I would venture to say that he could be able to smell her.

I would invest in some different hides. It can be as cheap as going to the dollar store and getting some cereal or mixing bowls, or as expensive as those nice exo terra rock cave hides. The half log hides just don't provide enough security for ball pythons.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Even if she is in a seperate room I would venture to say that he could be able to smell her.

I would invest in some different hides. It can be as cheap as going to the dollar store and getting some cereal or mixing bowls, or as expensive as those nice exo terra rock cave hides. The half log hides just don't provide enough security for ball pythons.

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He seems to have been fine with the half logs for a long time, they have one end facing the back wall of the tank, which has a black background. I'll look into the bowls next time I got by dollar tree. Thanks.

So I shouldn't worry? When SHOULD I start worrying?

I would start worrying when he has lost a lot of weight. He looks okay right now but he could be a bit more plump. It might be a good idea to get a kitchen scale and track his weight.

I think that changing the hides might be enough to get him back on feed. If they don't feel safe enough they won't eat. Even if he is using the hides it doesn't mean that he automatically feels safe.

Alright, thanks for your help.

What had he been eating?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoBoilers

What had he been eating?

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They've both been eating medium rats for a few months. No problems at all.

I had good luck giving my male large mice after he started fasting (he had been eating small rats). If nothing else works, perhaps try a smaller prey item? The mice I gave him were also live (his rats were f/t)...that really interested him!