Every week or two weeks?

I need feeding opinions.
I have a male normal bp and he is now 1090 grams.
About 8 months ago he was only 250 grams. So I'm thrilled.
He eats a medium rat every 7 days.
But today he refused a rat again. He had never refused food until about 3 weeks ago and then today. So Im starting to think maybe i should feed him every 2 weeks.
I think I know why he didnt eat today. My parents are getting our roof redone today so there has been loud banging since 8 am. When I removed his house today to get him to eat he also hissed. First time ever. So i think the noise is really spooking him.

But even without the noise should i continue to feed him weekly or once every two weeks?
Thank you!

I would still offer every 7 days.
BTW hello from S.A. as well:D

wow you are the first person I have seen on this site that is from San Antonio! I am not alone!!! :D
And thank you for the advice! :]
I'm back from college so I actually get to spend time with my snake. I'm very happy.

I'm not sure if the noise would bother your snake. Ball pythons can't hear, they just sense vibrations. Also, a lot of ball pythons will go off feed around winter time since it is breeding season. I would offer every 10 days to two weeks. Once they start getting that big, they can go quite a while without you having to worry. Just make sure he doesn't seem to be loosing much weight. If that starts to happen, you may want to try a few different feeding techniques.

The house was shaking literally, and there had to have been crazy vibrations. Even with no outside ears there is no way he couldn't have felt the vibrations.
Yea Im starting to think it may be the cold also. I need to get a heater to put beside his tank to keep the ambient temp up.

I'm not sure how big your medium rats are, but I would suggest feeding rats in the 60-85 gram range every 7-10 days. I stick with the smaller size now because that is about the size of an adult African Soft Fur rat, which is their natural prey, and mine feeds consistently with rats that size...

I would feed small rats every week! The vibrations from the roof probaly did stress him out. Just make sure your husbandry is all correct and keep offering weekly!

Since he's gained that much weight in 8 months it's obvious you have been feeding him pretty heavy. Nothing wrong with that! When you feed a BP tons of food many will take breaks every now and again. I've been power feeding my mojo male that was a tough feeder, and he quit on me a few weeks ago. I'm going to pick up some mice to try and get him eating, he's a headache! I really wanted him to breed for me, but at this pace I probably won't be able to use him till next year! :taz: I'm not surprised at all that he's taking a break though, just about every hatchling/juvenile that I have power fed/fed heavily has taken a break. One of my females will take a break every 3-4 weeks.

I wouldn't worry about him! He's grown a lot and is in good health. He can handle going for a little while without eating, no problem! Just keep offering once a week. Unless you can see white between his scales (skin) he's fine. If you can see white between his scales I would cut back to offering every 2 weeks till he's not so fat ;)

Also the vibrations could definitely have him stressed. Assuming you haven't changed his set up, I think it's just because he's gained a lot of weight in a short time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

Since he's gained that much weight in 8 months it's obvious you have been feeding him pretty heavy.

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Thank you so much for the advice! The reason I'm so happy he has gained so much weight is because when I bought him he was close to 2 years old and only 250 grams!! I felt bad for the poor thing. Even On mice he barely gained weight. But once he started rats he just started gaining weight like crazy! So now he gets a rat every 7-10 days. :D

The roofers are done thank goodness! And as soon as I go buy more rats I will offer him another one!
Thank you everyone!

Alright. He refused to eat again. What is going on?
Up until the past month he always ate for me. haha First time I am experiencing feeding difficulties and boy is it frustrating!!
Time to make sure all the husbandry is up to par. :psychotic

He's over 1000 grams, and it's winter. It's possible he has decided that there are other things in life that are more interesting than food.

If so, he may start eating again next May. ;)

I'd offer food every 2 weeks until he starts accepting it again, then you can go back to the weekly schedule.

Alright everything is great.....
Except my cool side is at 75!!! Oi Vey....
Could that be making him not want to eat?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

He's over 1000 grams, and it's winter. It's possible he has decided that there are other things in life that are more interesting than food.

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He probably wants a female :wuv:
:P haha not gonna happen, while Im at college at least.

You can continue to try every 7 days, but at this time of year he may be starting to fast. If he keeps refusing you can start trying every other week. He's not gonna die if he only ate every other week so you'll be fine. He may not eat for months though. Just keep an eye on his weight.:gj:

My boy still hasnt eaten. I even offered him a rat today. He just wants nothing to do with it. And I even left it in there a couple hours but didn't have any luck. I hate feeding issues!!! All his husbandry is as it should be! What is going on? Will he really maybe fast until may!?

He is now at 997 grams

i have a maile that hasnt eaten since dec 3rd hes 500gms.. his in shed now so im hoping he will want to eat after he sheds

I feed my 2.5-3 yr old 1,432g female (weighed her after her latest poop and 6 days after her last feed) every 2 weeks and I have had very good results! She is still gaining weight and is healthy and happy. Feeding every 2 weeks will NOT harm a snake. All of mine (2.5-3yr old Female Ball Python, 4 year old male Florida King and corn) are bimonthly except my 2010 Amel Cornsnake. He gets fed every 7 days but once an adult, hes going to bimonthly also. So... i guess whatI'm trying to say is every 2 weeks is fine!

Edit: I also feed my BP a 40-80g small rat every 2 weeks