How long can ball pythons go without feed?

Long story short: I'm going to be leaving the country and leaving my snakes with my parents for a little while (2 months at most). Because I doubt my family and their abilities, how long can my snakes go without feed? I have a ball python and a red tail. Both of them are still pretty small. Ball python is year old and the red tail is only about 7-8 months old, if it matters. Please don't worry though. I will insure that they get fed at least once every two weeks. But, I was curious.

I think every two weeks for two months will be fine even for babies.

The record for non feeding is apparently held by a Ball / Royal python - 21 MONTHS !!

I had one go for 12 months once. Runner up was 7 months. 21 months. wowzers.:O

I had one go 8 months without food, ate like crazy for 6, then stopped eating for 9. Ever since she has been a pig. No clue what caused it.

My male spider has his years but usually only eats a couple times a year.

Ours (bp) went 7 months willingly. I would think that unwillingly they may be more affected.

They can go a lot longer than most keepers can last before stressing over them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by John1982

They can go a lot longer than most keepers can last before stressing over them.

---

Ain't that the truth.

Mine is 7

I've got one that went 11 months, big normal girl.

I've got a proven male lesser that feeds every couple of months real heavy for a few weeks. Rinse and repeat.

I've put mine on a 10 - 14 day rota and they feed much better than weekly . ...

My 2 year old Citrus Pastel BP male just went 5 months without eating. Fully active and looked great the whole time. Temp and humidity were fine. Went from 718g to 640g(pre-mouse). Shed twice. Just not hungry. First time he has gone a long time without eating, I started to freak a little at 3 months then I just got used to it. Kept offering food every 2 weeks. Showed some interest 2 weeks before this week but no strike. This week (at 4.9 months) it only took him 5 seconds to strike. Basically no hesitation. I forgot what a hungry snake looks like.

I feed frozen X-Large mice. Thawed overnight in the fridge then warmed them in a ziplock bag in hat water 15-20 min prior to feeding. Seems like he has 2 modes A: not hungry, B:Hungry!

I've tried warming the mouse in hot water without the ziplock bag. I does not seem to make a difference to his preference. May change to offering food every 3 weeks if every 2 weeks does not work. It seems his feeding really slowed drastically now that he is fully grown. He went from every 10 days to a 1 month fast then a 5 month fast. I'm curious to see if his feeding rate will stabilize.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rich Experience

My 2 year old Citrus Pastel BP male just went 5 months without eating. Fully active and looked great the whole time. Temp and humidity were fine. Went from 718g to 640g(pre-mouse). Shed twice. Just not hungry. First time he has gone a long time without eating, I started to freak a little at 3 months then I just got used to it. Kept offering food every 2 weeks. Showed some interest 2 weeks before this week but no strike. This week (at 4.9 months) it only took him 5 seconds to strike. Basically no hesitation. I forgot what a hungry snake looks like.

I feed frozen X-Large mice. Thawed overnight in the fridge then warmed them in a ziplock bag in hat water 15-20 min prior to feeding. Seems like he has 2 modes A: not hungry, B:Hungry!

I've tried warming the mouse in hot water without the ziplock bag. I does not seem to make a difference to his preference. May change to offering food every 3 weeks if every 2 weeks does not work. It seems his feeding really slowed drastically now that he is fully grown. He went from every 10 days to a 1 month fast then a 5 month fast. I'm curious to see if his feeding rate will stabilize.

---

I think that some Royals / Balls simply need feeding less often ... 3 weeks may work ..