Any tricks to get stubborn males back on food?

My adult male has been off food since the beginning of October and he weighed in at 1498 grams. He took one small f/t rat in January but that is the last time he's eaten. Today he weighed in at 1276 grams. He seems healthy and interested in food, but right before I think he'll strike, he appears to lose interest. Any suggestions? He used to be a great feeder. Never missed a meal. His usual prey before the hunger strike were f/t medium rats.

What are your hot side, cool side temps? I have found that cools side temps between 80-82 degrees and a hot side of 90 makes my Bp's eat more readily.

Have you tried pre-killed or live? I'm not a fan of feeding live, but it can help get BP's eating again.

How warm are you getting the F/T rodents before you offer them? slightly increasing the temp of the rodents might help as well.

My temps haven't changed all year. 91 hot 79-82 cool. I'm sort of reluctant to try him on live, but I'm looking into getting a few to try him on. Do you think that amount of weight loss is something to be concerned about? I might book a vet appointment for him just in case.

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My temps haven't changed all year. 91 hot 79-82 cool. I'm sort of reluctant to try him on live, but I'm looking into getting a few to try him on. Do you think that amount of weight loss is something to be concerned about? I might book a vet appointment for him just in case.

Patience :/


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We had our boy go for months without feed. And then we tried a mouse (mind you he's only eaten rats) and he took that. It might just be that you snake wants to eat live. Patience my friend. He'll eat again I'm sure.


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Originally Posted by carlisleishere

My temps haven't changed all year. 91 hot 79-82 cool. I'm sort of reluctant to try him on live, but I'm looking into getting a few to try him on. Do you think that amount of weight loss is something to be concerned about? I might book a vet appointment for him just in case.

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My temps haven't changed all year. 91 hot 79-82 cool. I'm sort of reluctant to try him on live, but I'm looking into getting a few to try him on. Do you think that amount of weight loss is something to be concerned about? I might book a vet appointment for him just in case.

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I don't think that a vet trip is necessary, but I would have moved to more extreme methods (trying live, etc.) awhile ago personally.

I'm going to try live this week I haven't done it earlier because my past experiences with feeding live haven't been too pleasant, and I was trying to be patient with him. He's used to switching between f/t ASFs and f/t rats, so should I try him on the live ASFs first, before going for the mice? Live norways are illegal here.

I was also considering bringing him to a vet because his behavior is a little different than normal. He's been really jumpy and defensive and the last time one of my snakes behavior changed like that, it was because of an ri... Maybe I'm just a little paranoid...

I would try a live ASF

Do you see any symptoms of RI? That makes things different. A vet can't do much about a snake that isn't eating.... but if you suspect something else is wrong then a trip to the vet might be worth it.

I didn't notice any symptoms but he just seems.... off. I had a female with an RI last November so I'm on high alert for anything out of the ordinary, no matter how minor it is.

No lethargy, whistling, popping, cracking, gaping or mucous, but I'd rather pay the money and know for sure.

I would hold off on the vet for a week or so then and give live a try first. he may just be acting weird because of not eating. taking him to the vet potentially could reduce the chances of him eating so I would try live 2 or 3 times then take him to the vet. (unless symptoms start showing up of course)

Okay. Thanks for all the help.

I have a suggestion it is a long shot. I have been watching weather patterns and you might try increasing the humidity to 70% for a time (make sure you have correct ventilation.) I wonder if breeding is not linked to rainy season so dryer entering wet may trigger an end. Perhaps... it is simply a guess one of my problem feeders is still on strike from jan. It sucks but she is and has always been a problem any way. (WC, mouse eater... super timid... neglected rescue...)

I needed to do live for my dude. He was off for 6 months. Now he eats live no probs. I'm hopeing to switch back to f/t soon.


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You know what kitedemon, you reminded me of something.... I can't believe I didn't remember this. He grew up in a tub that was usually 70-75% humidity, but he outgrew it and I moved him to a larger tub that had lower humidity (60-65%). He's only eaten 3 times since being in this tub, so maybe humidity does have something to do with it? I'm going to try live anyways and add some humidity. Thanks for your suggestion.

Has he been around any breeder females (not necessarily with them or breeding, but nearby)? Our big albino boy wouldn't start eating again for us until we moved him across the snake room in his own tub, completeley seperate from the rack where I his females were before. He then didn't start eating again until a couple months after his last lock (and a month after moving to his own area/further from the girls).

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Originally Posted by Anatopism

Has he been around any breeder females (not necessarily with them or breeding, but nearby)? Our big albino boy wouldn't start eating again for us until we moved him across the snake room in his own tub, completeley seperate from the rack where I his females were before. He then didn't start eating again until a couple months after his last lock (and a month after moving to his own area/further from the girls).

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If you are using paper towels, or newspaper as a substrate, you might try switching to Aspen for a while. I don't know why, but sometimes it works...

In the wild most royals lay eggs in a 2 week period. That means the breeding season is triggered across the range by an environmental change. Many breeders do not cycle the light and still get breeding so it isn't a light trigger and I know others whom do not change temps and still have breeding. That leaves humidity. the rainy season marks the end of breeding and if there is rain or no rain the rivers and basins fill with water and the average RH goes up. I have no idea if this is the trigger but it as a possibility of it and may have some influence. I notice during our winter with central heating even in a RH controlled room mine either stop feeding of slow down less aggressive feeding. The summer comes and the humidity increases and presto they mostly start again. Aggressively in some cases. My big female whom has been kinda iffy on eating pokes at the FT rat for a while and noses about before striking if she does. She is back to hitting like a freight train. Last night she struck so hard she broke the hind legs of a rat (F/T) I was offering her. I am just guessing but if it helps ...

Sometimes the 'teenagers' just go off for no reason and for long times. Nothing you do will get them to start until they are ready, then watch the fingers... LOL

Sometimes feeding them something smaller than what they are used to works.

Have you tried leaving the rat in overnight. You say that he is showing interest so perhaps giving him some extra alone time may get him going. Make sure the rat is well thawed aand properly warmed. Make sure to scent the room when you are readying the rat. You can warm it with a blow dryer and have the scent going right in the snakes tub/cage. Offer it but if he doesn't take it right away let it be overnight. Like someone else posted, use a slightly smaller prey item until he gets back on feeding regularly.

He has eaten FT before, recognizes it as food, and doesn't seem to be stressed by other factors.

I agree adjusting the humidity and removing 'the scent of a woman' might help.

It's his body - he does what he wants. Maybe he decided he needs to slim down to have the energy he needs with the ladies this year. I have heard fat snakes don't breed well. Maybe they are able to regulate this on their own :)

Fasting is super common in ball pythons. I wouldn't let it worry you too much. 200g for a snake that size isn't really that bad. It would be nice to get a meal or two in him though! My pastel female was off feed for over 6 months. What broke her fast was me bringing home a trio of ASFs to start a colony. She has been eating every week since I brought them home.

There are tons and tons of tricks for getting ball pythons to eat, but nothing is guaranteed to work. He will eat when he is ready. You could try moving him back to his smaller tub? If that is enough to get him to eat for at least a few weeks it would be worth it.

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. I have some more info:

-He ate no problem for two meals in October, then fasted.
-He was introduced to a female and bred multiple times with her.
-Last lockup was in December.
-That female is not housed in the same room with him anymore, the only other bp in the room is a 9month old female.
-I thaw my rats in water, then run under hot water then blow dry. I will wiggle it with the tongs or dangle it by the tail (his favorite offering) but at the last second, he just turns away. I will try this until he crawls away from the rat, then I leave it in overnight.
-The last meal he ate was in January. It was a small f/t rat.
-I usually feed the female first, but I will sometimes offer him first.
-I scent the room 5 minutes prior to offering.
-I've tried him on aspen and paper towel. It doesn't seem to make a difference.

I'm just started to worry about him because he's usually pretty chunky. He's a 2009 between 3'10" and 3'11".

Thanks for all the help everyone.

just another thought... you might try thawing in the fridge and leaving in the room for 30min to 1 hour to warm up to room temps and pre scent. Then carry on as regular. i find rats smell less after the hot water bath... (maybe leave the water out in the room?) anyway a real dense pong of rat in the air may help... Just a thought.