Pied seems to be starting a hunger strike.

So my male Piebald, who was recently weighed at 956g, seems to be starting a hunger strike. He ate a small F/T rat 4 weeks ago on 1/25, I offered two weeks ago per his normal schedule and he refused. Today I offered again and it would appear he is turning his nose at it. I'll leave it in his tub overnight and see if he eats it later. I've never had one go off feed before, I'm guessing it's customary to just wait another 2 weeks to his next scheduled feeding time and try again. The question I have is do you continue this pattern until they feed again even if it's many months later? Or do you try other tactics like offering a live rat at the next feeding interval or switching to mice?
What do others do?

just keeping offering on a 2 week schedule. Hunger strikes can last months, I had an older male go 8 months a few years back with minimal weight loss. Keep an eye on the weight.

^^^ Comment up there hit it right on the nose, you can't tell nature(captive or wild) when its time to eat/replenish its nutrients.. when mine did that i just let him starve a while, until i placed the rat in the tank and he took it before it hit the bottom of tank...

Is there any point in leaving a thawed rat overnight? Once its temp drops the snake is not going to eat it.
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Originally Posted by The Golem

Is there any point in leaving a thawed rat overnight? Once its temp drops the snake is not going to eat it.
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I leave prey in the cage, since my snake no longer strikes - on top of hide where heat source (in my case a ceramic lamp) keeps it warm(er). I've also taken steps to enclose the glass sides of its tank with construction paper and foam insulation, so the snake has more privacy and feels more secure.

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Originally Posted by C2tcardin

So my male Piebald, who was recently weighed at 956g, seems to be starting a hunger strike. He ate a small F/T rat 4 weeks ago on 1/25, I offered two weeks ago per his normal schedule and he refused. Today I offered again and it would appear he is turning his nose at it. I'll leave it in his tub overnight and see if he eats it later. I've never had one go off feed before, I'm guessing it's customary to just wait another 2 weeks to his next scheduled feeding time and try again. The question I have is do you continue this pattern until they feed again even if it's many months later? Or do you try other tactics like offering a live rat at the next feeding interval or switching to mice?
What do others do?

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What was he doing prior to the hunger strike? We're you breeding him, was he sick, did you change his enclosure or anything? You know 4 weeks really is not a long time to miss feedings or refuse meals. Disappointing? Yes. Imo, I would double check the husbandry and offer live at the next scheduled feeding in two weeks. Especially if the husbandry is on point. Maybe he wants to breed? 956 grams is a pretty good weight. Is he in a rack where he can smell breedable females? Either way if it continues and you think it's becoming problematic visit www.darkmanreptiles.com On his face page is how he deals with "problem feeders". Be patient and stay in peace and not pieces. :gj:

Also, if you haven't already switch to cypress mulch. It's written in some articles as a beneficial to getting reluctant feeders to resume feeding and poor feeding bps to feed better. Colin Weaver of East Coast Reptile Breeders has a article titled "the enigmatic ball python appetite ". Web is ECRB. Com Check that out as well. :gj:

Thanks, I have a buch of cypress mulch so I could easily try your suggestion. He still hasn't eaten since January and this past Sunday was his regularly scheduled feeding date so I tried again and he refused. A few thoughts, before he went off food he was a good aggressive striker, now when I present a heated Rat and do the ole zombie dance he runs back into his hide. I may try the black construction paper trick to the front of his tub and see if he's suddenly nervous. I don't have any breeding size girls yet, they are all subadults, and the husbandry has been fine. I'm thinking that perhaps this weekend I'll pick up a live mouse for him and see if it gets his attention. I have another that will only take live mice so maybe he's becoming picky too.

My spider ball has not eaten since october and he's been so active in his tank but sometimes he's "dead" for few days then become active again...
I tried to feed him last week, he did not want to eat and seems scared of the rat..(small rat like little bigger than pinkie)

So today I was at Petco getting a mouse for my Normal who just will not eat f/t rats and decided to grab a few extra mice. Then I checked on the Pied and he had his head out of his hide in ambush mode so I though it couldn't hurt to toss one of the mice in and within a Minute I caught the tell tale death squeak. I gave him a little while and then checked on him and he was downing the mouse, once he finished I tossed in the other and he took that one too. Guess I have two picky eaters now which sucks because Petco gets $4 each for these darn things. Oh well I'm not going to complain as he's eaten at least.

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Originally Posted by C2tcardin

So my male Piebald, who was recently weighed at 956g, seems to be starting a hunger strike. He ate a small F/T rat 4 weeks ago on 1/25, I offered two weeks ago per his normal schedule and he refused. Today I offered again and it would appear he is turning his nose at it. I'll leave it in his tub overnight and see if he eats it later. I've never had one go off feed before, I'm guessing it's customary to just wait another 2 weeks to his next scheduled feeding time and try again. The question I have is do you continue this pattern until they feed again even if it's many months later? Or do you try other tactics like offering a live rat at the next feeding interval or switching to mice?
What do others do?

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Check all your husbandry points and make sure he is not ill. Are you breeding him? And if so, its normal. He may smell breedable females in the vicinity. IMO, if he misses his scheduled feedings just wait for the next. Monitor his weight and make sure he always has fresh drinking water, and a bowl large enough for him to soak in. More than likely it wont go for many months! Consider a smaller prey item. Monitor his weight again. 956gms is a pretty good weight. Maybe he just isn't hungry! If you feel it's gone on too long and you want to try something visit www.darkmanreptiles.com His first page addresses "problem feeders". Be patient and good luck. Don't forget to donate to USARK so we can all band together to fight "the lacey act". :gj:

Thanks, his husbandry has been spot on and I haven't seen any signs of infection or other ailments. I had recently switched him to a medium rat every 14 days so I may try next weekend going back to a weaned/small rat every week and see what he does. I don't have any females breeding size yet but on an others suggestion I did switch his substrate to cypress from aspen last week.

That's true but now that he's back feeding you can try to gradually get him back on f/t. Congratulations on the success though!