BP Won't Eat - very nervous

My 1 yr. old BP (male) hasn't taken food for 2+ months.

After the first month, I decided to stop trying to feed him to give him a break. I waited one more month, but he still won't take food.

Husbandry is all good to my knowledge, 90F hot side and 70% humidity on cool. I'm feeding frozen and make sure they're heated up before.

I know he's probably just on a seasonal feeding strike but I'm starting to panic - he's getting somewhat tiny. Any advice would be very helpful

He'll be attentive to any mice for long enough that my arm will fall asleep and then just slither away.

It's really frustrating because I've wasted upwards of $20 on food in the past few months. What am I doing wrong?

Have you only tried mice?

How often are you trying to feed him? It adds stress to offer too frequently, so don't try to feed him more than once a week. You might even want to ignore
him for 2 weeks, just to see if that perks up his interest.

Are you trying to feed in the evening/night-time? Is he in his hide, & peeking out when you offer? (that's usually best, they like to ambush prey) If a BP is
cruising the cage they won't usually want food, because they feel too exposed...they feel safer to grab prey when in their hide.

After offering him the prey, have you tried just leaving it over-night, lights out & without hovering (watching) him? Some snakes prefer that privacy.

You might want to try a different prey: if you're feeding him mice, try a rat-fuzzy. What size prey have you been offering him? Now & then it turns out the
wrong size food is being offered, & that can also matter; his prey should be roughly equal to the size of his unfed-midbody.

Don't panic, it's normal for ball pythons to go off feed for months at a time occasionally. Some of mine do this every year. Keep an eye on his weight, they can go for a few months without food with no problem but if he starts to lose weight then you may need to take new measures to get him feeding again. For now just try to offer every other week so you don't waste too much food and be patient, when he gets hungry enough he'll start eating again. If you do get to the point where he is losing weight, you may want to try live just to bring his interest back and usually once they eat once, you can switch back to f/t again and continue feeding as before.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

What size prey have you been offering him? Now & then it turns out the wrong size food is being offered, & that can also matter; his prey should be roughly equal to the size of his unfed-midbody.

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Definitely seconding this bit, which I learned the hard way. My two BPs have very different personalities. Ravus is the garbage bin, and will eat anything, anywhere, including while cruising around his tub. Ignis, on the other hand, is the one with the gourmet palate. Even if he is hungry and interested enough to strike and wrap, he has ultimately abandoned f/t rats in any of the following conditions:
- not warm enough (I have to blast the blowdryer on his rats' faces for 5 seconds longer)
- not fresh enough (the last of a f/t supply from 2 months ago)
- any rat re-offered more than twice in the same 1-2hr sitting (see: "not fresh enough")
- too soggy (a leak in the ziploc bag when I was thawing the rat in water)
- pee smell on the rat
- slightly too big
- slightly too small.
That last bit stumped me for a while, but apparently his royal highness deems both oversized AND undersized prey as "not worth the effort." It always feels like a hard-earned victory when I satisfy Iggy's fastidious meal specifications.

I've tried rats once or twice, not his thing either.

If he was eating before, and nothing has changed since the last time he ate, he is just doing what bp do. Mine is also a year old and had not eaten for several months. I offer every 3 weeks and toss out the rat if he does not strike it in 10 seconds. Normally you will know immediately if it will eat once a strike happens in seconds. Leaving it overnight may work but I find that works for snakes that WANT to eat but too shy to eat, not those who don't want to eat at all. Mine is also active at night and barely lost weight.

Wild bp binge eats and fasts for months. Many other species of reptiles do something similar, like leopard geckos refusing or eating less around this time of year or some colubrids refusing food during winter. Even bearded dragons have their days where they eat less than usual. Save your worries for when your snake loses too much weight. If you are unsure, post a pic of your snake and provide weight in grams.

There are some tricks on getting it to eat but 2 months is nothing and it is best to let him be unless you must intervene.

Just wanted to add my encouragement. I have a 1+ year old male BP that just suddenly stopped eating and now hasn't taken food in a little over a month also. These things happen with BPs. I try not to let it get to me, but it does. I hate wasting rats.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

After offering him the prey, have you tried just leaving it over-night, lights out & without hovering (watching) him? Some snakes prefer that privacy.

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And this advice is coming from the person who says thawing out in the air for 2 hours causes bacteria? And they don't eat carrion? But it's alright to leave it overnight??? :O

I’ve had ball pythons eat like garbage cans, and then had some that won’t eat for months.

I thaw them out in the same room, so they snakes can smell them. The hungry ones are usually active and ready to ambush. If they are just curled up ignoring the scent, I don’t even offer them lately, ask find it’s a waste of time.

Sometimes they won’t eat if there is bad environment/husbandry of course.

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

I’ve had ball pythons eat like garbage cans, and then had some that won’t eat for months.

I thaw them out in the same room, so they snakes can smell them. The hungry ones are usually active and ready to ambush. If they are just curled up ignoring the scent, I don’t even offer them lately, ask find it’s a waste of time.

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I also thaw out my feeder in the room belly up (on the top of the enclosure even) using around a 2 hr thawing then checking for a soft belly then quick heating up time. I find doing that is a great tool for making the snake hungry. How would you like sitting in front of a restaurant hungry for 2 hrs, wouldn't it make one even more hungry. My snake knows now when she is getting fed and has her head out the hide door most the time and makes a quick grab.

But when fellow posters say we shouldn't thaw out in air but only use water because of bacteria build up then the same say to leave the feeder in all night it makes me shake my head wondering why they would turn down and advise against a good feeding tool and then say to leave it out all night is ok. Bogertophis is very vocal about air thawing but all night is alright I guess to her. But she isn't the only one. I figure to each his own but I want people to know I believe that thawing in air carefully timed is a great tool or method. I will continue to do it because A. I don't think it harms the snake or causes turn downs at all in fact it is the opposite and B. the ones who say 2 hr air thaw is bad give WORSE advice and say all night is ok.

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Originally Posted by ballpythonsrock2

And this advice is coming from the person who says thawing out in the air for 2 hours causes bacteria? And they don't eat carrion? But it's alright to leave it overnight??? :O

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Lol, I find this funny and you do make a good point. But in all fairness, when you leave the prey in there for 'overnight' it's not so they can eat it six hours later, they basically eat it in the first hour of being left alone or they don't eat it. The point of saying to leave it overnight is more so meant to just give the snake some privacy and let them take it on their own without interrupting which may lead to a shy snake abandoning the prey.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ballpythonsrock2

And this advice is coming from the person who says thawing out in the air for 2 hours causes bacteria? And they don't eat carrion? But it's alright to leave it overnight??? :O

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Why are you "shouting"? :rolleye2:

First off, I assume you are feeding in the evening (usually works best for BPs), and by leaving the prey 'overnight', that basically means you should turn out the lights
& leave the snake alone in the dark room, no disruptions. Many are too shy to eat with human presence, and IF they're going to eat it after it has been presented the
usual way, some will take the opportunity in a dark, quiet room, once the owner stops hovering & leaves. Once you have the prey thawed out you shouldn't be re-offering
or re-freezing it, so why not take the chance & leave it. A few snakes like to be drop-fed, this way you'll find out, rather than just wasting it. Very doubtful that your BP
is going to wait until 3 am or the next daylight to eat the now-funky rodent...so bacteria is not an issue. Get it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Why are you "shouting"? :rolleye2:

First off, I assume you are feeding in the evening (usually works best for BPs), and by leaving the prey 'overnight', that basically means you should turn out the lights
& leave the snake alone in the dark room, no disruptions. Many are too shy to eat with human presence, and IF they're going to eat it after it has been presented the
usual way, some will take the opportunity in a dark, quiet room, once the owner stops hovering & leaves. Once you have the prey thawed out you shouldn't be re-offering
or re-freezing it, so why not take the chance & leave it. A few snakes like to be drop-fed, this way you'll find out, rather than just wasting it. Very doubtful that your BP
is going to wait until 3 am or the next daylight to eat the now-funky rodent...so bacteria is not an issue. Get it?

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Not really shouting, just like larger print (about the no. 3) my eyes aren't the best, please don't take it as shouting. And I see more clearly ( no pun intended) why you stated the over night statement now. I wasn't mad I just don't agree with you about the air thaw verses water thaw reasoning and I hope we can agree to disagree hopefully about that and respect each others opinion. I don't disagree with you about the drop feeding but to tell you truth that has never worked
for the snakes I have had but your right it's worth a try. And I personally don't like to re-freeze anymore either. One shot is enough I figure too. And I agree with many of your feeding tips, like at night or dim light and the walking past, playing it coy, etc. Your spot on with myself with those ideas.

As far as re-offering, I have re-offered after another re-heating with the hair dryer and that has worked more than once. And sometimes sticking the head and body in the hide has worked the second or third attempt. But if it don't work after a couple re-heats or a drop feed, then one should wait 7 days or 5 being the soonest before trying again. My snake now usually comes out the hide and eats on the first attempt lately.

The more snakes you have kept, the more you realize how many different ways there are to get some to feed. They truly don't all follow the same playbook.
Drop-feeding shouldn't work for BPs...by the time they get to it, the rodent has cooled off...yet some here have posted success with just leaving the rat or mouse.

My only intent was to offer alternatives to try, & thanks for explaining you need larger print...yes, I did think you were ranting. As far as re-offering, you're talking
about re-warming & doing so right away, & that's perfectly fine...I really meant it's best not to either re-freeze for another day, or to re-offer to another snake, which
is a "good way" to spread diseases thru-out your collection. I hope that never happens to you...it seems safe, but just like us, snakes can be ill without showing
overt symptoms until later, like after you've already given the rodent they bit or touched & left uneaten to another snake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

The more snakes you have kept, the more you realize how many different ways there are to get some to feed. They truly don't all follow the same playbook.
Drop-feeding shouldn't work for BPs...by the time they get to it, the rodent has cooled off...yet some here have posted success with just leaving the rat or mouse.

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This is so true. I am so glad that this forum is here as a resource and that people with experience are willing to help those just starting out. I never would have even considered drop feeding if I hadn't read about it here, and it is the only way one of my BP's will eat. He won't strike with me standing over him, but if a leave the mouse at the door of his hide it's gone within 5 min of me closing the doors. Most of the time he strikes it from inside his hide and drags it in.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kthoms104

My 1 yr. old BP (male) hasn't taken food for 2+ months.

After the first month, I decided to stop trying to feed him to give him a break. I waited one more month, but he still won't take food.

Husbandry is all good to my knowledge, 90F hot side and 70% humidity on cool. I'm feeding frozen and make sure they're heated up before.

I know he's probably just on a seasonal feeding strike but I'm starting to panic - he's getting somewhat tiny. Any advice would be very helpful

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Few Questions...

1.) Has this snake ate for YOU in the past and just started having this issue?

2.) Have you upgraded / moved him to a different size enclosure recently?

3.) How much does this snake weigh?

4.) Have you tried feeding him a LIVE mouse? Rat?

Two of mine are just coming off fasting since October. One decided to eat just as suddenly as she decided not to and is back to her normal greedy self.
The other, who has always been a great eater, had one small rat in January, and another in March, but nothing since. He IS starting to get a few wrinkles, which tells me he's losing weight so felt it was time to do something that might pique his appetite. Last week I broke down and bought him a live small rat (he's always eaten f/t) and he immediately came out of his hide, tracked it down and nailed it.
I REALLY don't want to switch him to live full time, but am hoping this was enough to "kick start" his appetite.
When I got my first snake, I'd panic if he didn't eat every week, now that I have several b.p's and a little more experience, I'm a lot more relaxed about the whole eating thing. Mind you I don't LIKE that these two went almost 7 months without eating, but I'm not losing sleep over it either. :-)

Good luck with you noodle, I'm sure he'll eat again for you soon, try not to worry. :-)

Yeah ball pythons aren’t the best when it comes to feeding. Hopefully you have other snakes to eat rejected food otherwise they can waste rats. I’d be patient and offer every week to two weeks. He’ll eat eventually :)


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