not eating

ok. having eating issues. 2 year old bp was eating live mice fine. was told he needs to move to rats. tried a live rat he wasnt interested but the rat was interested in him. wacked the rat a little. still no interest. temps and humidity fine. this was 3 weeks ago. so i got a frozen small rat. tyhawed then used hair dryer. wasnt interested so i left it in over night and he ate it 3 weeks ago. did the same thing the following week. still there in the morning. waited a week did same. same result. got a live mouse last night...not interest left it for a little under quiet supervision. no interest. wacked the mouse left it overnight. no interest still there in the morning. so its been a lil over 2 weeks since he ate. any suggestions? he just sniffs the food and continues on past it, over it and away from it. i was told it is breading season, so should i forget it for a week and try again?

It's breeding season and he's two years old...going off feed is normal. Wait a week and try a scented rat. Especially if he's been eating mice all this time he probably doesn't recognize the rat as food, since they smell much different from mice. I've had fairly good success with scenting, if he doesn't take it I'd still offer every 1-2 weeks as normal and just stick it out through breeding season. Keep track of his weight.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

It's breeding season and he's two years old...going off feed is normal. Wait a week and try a scented rat. Especially if he's been eating mice all this time he probably doesn't recognize the rat as food, since they smell much different from mice. I've had fairly good success with scenting, if he doesn't take it I'd still offer every 1-2 weeks as normal and just stick it out through breeding season. Keep track of his weight.

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thanks. think i should go frozen/thawed, he did eat it once. whats the best way to scent. shake the thawed in a bag of old mouse shavings?

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Originally Posted by arrow

ok. having eating issues. 2 year old bp was eating live mice fine. was told he needs to move to rats. tried a live rat he wasnt interested but the rat was interested in him. wacked the rat a little. still no interest. temps and humidity fine. this was 3 weeks ago. so i got a frozen small rat. tyhawed then used hair dryer. wasnt interested so i left it in over night and he ate it 3 weeks ago. did the same thing the following week. still there in the morning. waited a week did same. same result. got a live mouse last night...not interest left it for a little under quiet supervision. no interest. wacked the mouse left it overnight. no interest still there in the morning. so its been a lil over 2 weeks since he ate. any suggestions? he just sniffs the food and continues on past it, over it and away from it. i was told it is breading season, so should i forget it for a week and try again?

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I agree with LGray. My 2 1/2 year old male went off feed a month and a half ago. It doesn't help that your trying to switch him during this time. Just keep offering him what he's used to every week. He'll come back eventually - but don't be surprised if he goes 2-4 months without eating. Ti's the season.

Mines been off feed since the middle of August. 4 months now.

as well here...........all my bigger males have other things on the mind:gj:

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Originally Posted by arrow

thanks. think i should go frozen/thawed, he did eat it once. whats the best way to scent. shake the thawed in a bag of old mouse shavings?

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Yes and yes. Since he did eat a F/T rat once, he knows it's food. Fresh (used) mouse bedding works best, just make sure the rat is dry so it doesn't get too much stuff stuck to it.

Add: As long as he isn't losing weight, be strong! If you continue to offer him live mice, it will just take that much longer to switch him later.

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Originally Posted by arrow

thanks. think i should go frozen/thawed, he did eat it once. whats the best way to scent. shake the thawed in a bag of old mouse shavings?

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

Yes and yes. Since he did eat a F/T rat once, he knows it's food. Fresh (used) mouse bedding works best, just make sure the rat is dry so it doesn't get too much stuff stuck to it.

Add: As long as he isn't losing weight, be strong! If you continue to offer him live mice, it will just take that much longer to switch him later.

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Don't get me wrong, your much better off with frozen thawed. The reason I suggest continuing to offer live mice is that your ball python WILL eat this prey for you under normal circumstances. If you offer frozen right now you won't know if he's not eating because he is still fasting, or because he doesn't want F/T rat. He's two years old. Another few months of mouse feeding won't make a difference when it comes to your attempts are switching him over.

Cheers.