My python wont eat...Help?

So I have had my ball python for two years now and for the past 2-3 months it will not eat anything. Since I have had her she has always been live fed. Started out with mice when she was a yearly (when I got her). I moved to small-medium rats about 6-9 months ago and she eats those quicker than she ever ate the mice. She has great color and had a very successful shed about 2 weeks ago. I know it warm enough for her and she always has fresh water. absolutely nothing has changed about her environment since the day I got her two years ago. I tried going back to mice today to see if she would try that. I have also tried male and female mice/rats to see if the smell of them changed anything. What else should I try?

she likely isn't eating because of the breeding season. at this point all you can do is make sure that your husbandry is perfect and hope for the best.

Caresheet: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

she likely isn't eating because of the breeding season. at this point all you can do is make sure that your husbandry is perfect and hope for the best.

Caresheet: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

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Agreed, there is still the possibility that ambient room temps have dropped a bit because of winter and that could be enough to trigger winter fasting/breeding behavior. Don't go by just the hot spot temps.

Lots of rain and/or snowstorms also can trigger breeding behavior as they are sensitive to low pressure. I always pair when it rains;)

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Originally Posted by jrawlston

absolutely nothing has changed about her environment since the day I got her two years ago...What else should I try?

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If absolutely nothing has changed, there will still be natural seasonal changes(unless you have a super controlled environment)...slightly lower temps, lower humidity. Any number of things can set a ball off feed for months...she'll eat when she wants to. As far as what else you can try, I'd suggest trying not to worry about it. It can be frustrating, but if all is well with how you're keeping her, she'll come back to eating.

Has her fast been two months or three months? How much weight has she lost? Recording this information in a journal or spreadsheet can really be helpful in determining possible cause and effect, or seasonal patterns.

I vote off feed for the winter both my older snakes went off feed for 2-3 months and every finally ate for me friday. So keep offering as normal and wiat him out

I'm assuming you got her as a hatchling. She's probably sexually mature right now and is experiencing her first breeding season. Many adults will go off feed for the breeding season. So unless she's losing a significant amount of weight, I wouldn't worry about her yet.
Keep offering food regularly until she does and I'm sure she will once it gets warmer.
In the mean time, monitor her weight and overall body condition.

Thanks guy that relieves me to hear because I wasnt sure how long a fast could last. Ive heard of them doing it but havent experienced it with her yet. She hasnt lost a ton of weight and she is real active inside the cage like she always has been so the only thing that has changed is the weather outside and just not eating.