Feeding BP during winter

Hey, can anyone help me with this? I have an adult ball python, and he has stopped eating for the winter. How often should I offer him food? I'm not sure when he's going to start eating again and I don't want him to get too hungry or anything. Also, he ate once this winter, at a point after he had already stopped eating. If it helps, he's 1.720 kg as of today and about five or six years old. Thanks for any advice you can give.

if he is an adult or even sub adult it really won't matter if he doesn't eat for the whole of winter. weigh him from time to time. If he isn't ill he will not loose significant body weight. It only becomes a problem if he loses weight.

if he is a baby weighing only 100 grams that may be a problem.

I still offer food once a week or even 10 days during non feeding episodes..

My adult male Axanthic also refusing food for 2 months from 10/27. I think he`s looking for a mature female to breed but I don`t have any plan with him now... but I`m pretty sure, he`ll eat again later.

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Originally Posted by dek593

My adult male Axanthic also refusing food for 2 months from 10/27. I think he`s looking for a mature female to breed but I don`t have any plan with him now... but I`m pretty sure, he`ll eat again later.

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I've never had a male of any reptile or amphibian species that doesn't go off food or slow down eating for at least part of the mating season. Not to say that there aren't some out there that eat like champs year-round, but they haven't found their way to my house lol.

If mine has gone off food I don't even offer it to him unless he starts showing interest in eating, I don't like to waste feeders. While I'm feeding the others if he starts showing interest in eating (coming out if his hide in strike position) then I'll thaw one out for him and feed him later, but if he's not showing those signs (just sitting in his hide) means he has no interest in eating.

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Originally Posted by AlexisFitzy

If mine has gone off food I don't even offer it to him unless he starts showing interest in eating, I don't like to waste feeders. While I'm feeding the others if he starts showing interest in eating (coming out if his hide in strike position) then I'll thaw one out for him and feed him later, but if he's not showing those signs (just sitting in his hide) means he has no interest in eating.

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Same. If i have a snake that isn't interested in food, i just weigh him/her and post it and then go on feeding everyone else. If he/she shows interest when i bring home rats and start feeding everyone else(coming out of hide and looking around) then i go back to the shop and grab him/her a rat too. Takes more time but that way im not wasting feeders also and not having to double feed one of my other snakes although my Red Tail boa is a garbage gut and loves to eat anything.

My adult male pretty much skips from fall to spring, if he's out and looking for food I might offer it but mostly I don't bother and wait until it warms up and he feels like eating again.

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Originally Posted by AlexisFitzy

If mine has gone off food I don't even offer it to him unless he starts showing interest in eating, I don't like to waste feeders. While I'm feeding the others if he starts showing interest in eating (coming out if his hide in strike position) then I'll thaw one out for him and feed him later, but if he's not showing those signs (just sitting in his hide) means he has no interest in eating.

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Same here, except I feed live.

I know not to expect any signs of hunger until late Feb or Mar.

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Same here, except I feed live.

I know not to expect any signs of hunger until late Feb or Mar.

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Why on earth are you feeding live rats anyways ? There is simply no need IMHO .

One it's just cruel on the rats , at least in the wild they have a chance of escaping and try and run . In a confined space they get cornered and fight back to save their lives . Google snakes bit by rats !!! Scary what damage they can do to your precious snakes who don't quite as pretty with scarred heads or eyes missing !!

Bp's sometimes go on hunger strikes, reasons could vary, sometimes they just dont feel like eating, sometimes it could be stress from their environment/enclosure (temps/humidity etc).
But they will survive not eating for a couple or a few months, just make sure to offer every week. But watch out for drastic weight loss (need a scale for this, 5000g scale recommended) and watch if the stomach looks like its sucked in, means your snake is definitely starving to death and then you have a problem.

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Originally Posted by Borgpython

Bp's sometimes go on hunger strikes, reasons could vary, sometimes they just dont feel like eating, sometimes it could be stress from their environment/enclosure (temps/humidity etc).
But they will survive not eating for a couple or a few months, just make sure to offer every week. But watch out for drastic weight loss (need a scale for this, 5000g scale recommended) and watch if the stomach looks like its sucked in, means your snake is definitely starving to death and then you have a problem.

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I'd agree with all the above and add to watch out for the snake getting dull and wrinkly fairly quickly , that can be dehydration which is easily remedied with a decent soak in an enclose /secure tub of water for half an hour .

It's important to allow for Royals to go "off" their food as many do and quite regularly and for long periods . The record for a snake going without food is 20 months ( one year AND eight months ) .... Not surprisingly it was a Royal python who hardly lost any weight , wasn't in this case dehydrated and was in perfect health , it started eating normally

Another thing I think about Royals is that MANY just don't like eating every 7 days as many keepers prefer to do , many Royal keepers may well be better offering them food every two weeks or so and even then be prepared for long periods of not eating .

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Why on earth are you feeding live rats anyways ? There is simply no need IMHO .

One it's just cruel on the rats , at least in the wild they have a chance of escaping and try and run . In a confined space they get cornered and fight back to save their lives . Google snakes bit by rats !!! Scary what damage they can do to your precious snakes who don't quite as pretty with scarred heads or eyes missing !!

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Oh PALEEEZZZEE!!!!!

Must we go through this again????

I'm biting my tongue :cens0r:, and I'm not going to argue this point. It's like defending gun rights to a liberal or the other side, the Vegan trying to convert someone. You are not going to change my mind, and I KNOW I am not going to change yours.
Great, now I probably opened another can of worms.:stupidme:

BTW, I'm there monitoring the feeding process the whole time. Danger is minimal if any.

My work here is done :)

I bid you good day .

Thank you all for the input, it helps make sense of what he's doing. I've had the little guy for a few years, he was just acting a bit different this time and I wanted to make sure it was normal. (Also, does anyone know exactly how long 2% chlorhexadine takes to disinfect something? Sorry to ask so many questions, but I just got some (switching from bleach) and the directions were a bit confusing).

Just out of curiosity, what do some of you mean by "acting hungry"? I've always offered food in the winter, but he doesn't really act different when he starts eating? Is this odd?

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Originally Posted by ian.

Just out of curiosity, what do some of you mean by "acting hungry"? I've always offered food in the winter, but he doesn't really act different when he starts eating? Is this odd?

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When I say acting hungry/interested in food I mean waiting in strike position tongue flicking ready to go. When my bp Levi is ready to eat he stares at me in strike position waiting for me to offer the rat. When he is not hungry he stays in his hide and ignores me. I feed f/t and heat them up with a hair dryer. Once the hair dryer starts everyone knows that food is on the way so they all come out of their hides in strike position waiting for me to offer. When they don't exhibit this behavior I know they are not hungry and I won't offer them one. This is just what I have observed from my snakes over the years but all of them are different so I can't say if yours is acting weird or not lol. But I hope this was a little helpful :)

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Originally Posted by DVirginiana

I've never had a male of any reptile or amphibian species that doesn't go off food or slow down eating for at least part of the mating season. Not to say that there aren't some out there that eat like champs year-round, but they haven't found their way to my house lol.

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Yeah, he`s over 1000g now and it looks he`s looking for a female to mate but I have no plan with him this year...
I don`t worry at all, lol... he`ll eat again whenever he wants to do.