why does he act like a idiot sometimes (feeding)

ok so ever since a mite problem last year (which was taken care of) and into the winter, my garbage disposal of a BP has gone from destroying his food before the mouse/rat barely hits the floor, to months of just taking a mouse once or twice every month. Hes at 956 or so, and not really loosing too much weight, maybe like 12 grams over 2 months. What pisses me off, is that on the days he does not take the mouse, he will be halfway outside his hide, then get back in his hide when the mouse gets near, then after a while when i see hes not gonna be taking this one, i take the mouse out, put all the decor and water dish back in his tank, then he comes out like a madman, as if he looking for his food. And im like "bro, what are u looking for, hes already gone and now u want to act tough!"

that really pisses me off, even now, its been like 20 minutes since i took the mouse out and i look in his tank and i see him wayyyy out of his hide (compared to when the mouse was in) and in S position, then he sees me and he starts creeping towards me flicking his tongue, acting like i might be food and hes all "active" now. When 20 minutes ago he was standing still like a sissy almost all the way in his hide. dammit

Maybe when you're taking the decor out it freaks him out a bit? I have my females cage behind my males and I have to feed her first then wait 10-15 minutes until she has the rat swallowed before feeding my male or she wont eat :confuzd:

no no, its the opposite, for a year now, he knows that when the decor and water dish comes out, it means its meal time, ie i can make all the noise in the world and mist the tank down, mode stuff around, spot clean, etc etc and he will stay in his hide, but once that water dish and decor is gone, within a minute, half his body is out of his hide, thats like the diner bell, and it always has been that way, including when he was a great eater. He could be shacked up in his hide but once i took all the stuff out (especially the huge water dish) by the time i have it all out, go to the bathroom and wash the water dish and come back he would be in S mode starring at the top of the tank waiting for his meal.

my bumblebee has been doing the same thing lately at night he will come out and explore looking for food i try to feed. he acts like its not even there or totally crawls away from it. its very frustrating :mad:

Try feeding with the stuff in the tank next time. But he may just be off feed because hes horny

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Try feeding with the stuff in the tank next time. But he may just be off feed because hes horny

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do only adult snakes get horny?

My female does the same thing now that she's more or less a full grown adult. I'm guessing she's hormonal. When we got her about 2 years ago (she was about a year old then), she was a monster feeder. Then about 1 year ago, she suddenly became finicky. Now half the time I offer her a meal, she acts curious then seems afraid of it and won't eat. Doesn't matter if I'm offering live or f/t. :confuzd:

So it sounds like what's happening with your guy is normal. Being a male, he's nearly full grown. I'd agree with Mike, lol, and say it's probably hormonal. But being normal doesn't mean it isn't frustrating.... ;)

so hes never gonna be a garbage disposal again?

are females overall more aggressive/better eaters than males?

More into spring time he should go back onto feed. I wouldn't be to worried. Males like to mate and that's all they think about during the season. Is he your only snake? Maybe he can smell a close female and if you move him to another room he will eat? I'm speculating at this point. Lol.

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yes he is my only snake.

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Originally Posted by FrankieCarbone

so hes never gonna be a garbage disposal again?

are females overall more aggressive/better eaters than males?

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Well, I'm not going to say he "never" will. You'll see it in waves. In the spring and summer, you'll probably have your garbage disposal back. In the fall, he'll probably start dropping off again and may fast through the winter. So it'll most likely come and go.

As a general rule, yes, females tend to be more aggressive eaters. But they will be hormonal too. Remember, mine's a girl and she's off feed right now too. It is not a solid rule by any means. BPs (both males and females) just get that way - it's something you should half expect when you get one or at least be prepared to deal with.

As long as your male doesn't drop more than a few grams, he'll be fine. Weigh him about once a month so you can keep track, but other than that, don't worry about it. They can go a long time without food and as long as his weight holds up fairly well, he'll eat when he's ready. :gj:

My boy does something similar. I'll offer him a mouse, he seems interested, sniffs it, but won't strike.

I put the lid back on his tank, and he's cruising around all night looking for the mouse that he didn't want.

However - if I open the lid and offer again, he still won't take it. He's just trolling me :p

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I'll offer him a mouse, he seems interested, sniffs it, but won't strike.

I put the lid back on his tank, and he's cruising around all night looking for the mouse that he didn't want.

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yess, why the hell do they do that?

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Originally Posted by FrankieCarbone

yess, why the hell do they do that?

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Because they are ball pythons.

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Originally Posted by Tunechi

do only adult snakes get horny?

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Snakes become horny when they are sexually mature. This doesnt necessarily mean theyre "adults" i dont think. His bp is at the "12 year old boy who just discovered daddy's playboy collection" stage lmao