How long to be worried about refusal of prey?

[Superpop]

We have had our BP Snickers for over 2 and a half years and he/she(we don't know the sex) did have feeding issues off and on for the first few months due to our husbandry and not making the F/T mouse(and now medium sized F/T rats) "dance" for her with the grabber. We corrected all husbandry problems thanks to this website and Snickers struck the prey and ate like a champ for a long time now until recently!

Timeline:

12/20/12: The last time Snickers ate.


1/3/13: We did our usual rat dance with the grabber for Snickers and Snickers quickly latched on and did the usual constricting bit with it for a few minutes but then didn't eat it so the next morning we threw it in the yard for the scavengers.


1/17/13: We did the usual rat dance again but this time Snickers followed the rat on the grabber over and over but refused to actually 'strike' at it and eventually we just gave up and left it to see if Snickers would eat it even though my boyfriend and I were both skeptical and Snickers didn't eat it so we threw it out in the yard again for scavengers the next morning.

Snickers is much larger now and I think is probably a male who has probably reached sexual maturity and it is their breeding season so I do think that is why Snickers is suddenly doing this(correct me if I'm wrong though)

I have 2 questions:

1. Is Snickers probably a sexually mature male going through typical food refusal during the breeding season?

2. When should we offer Snickers prey next?

[rlditmars]

If you have a scale then start monitoring it's weight just so you can see that it is not losing too much. Most times they won't lose more then about 10% even on a long fast, depending on the size of the snake. Obviously if the animal is only a couple hundred grams, then it has less to lose and that can be more problematic. We had one go 110 days last year and towards the end it was down about 12% in total weight.

It's impossible to know the sex without probing or popping. That being said, you should have someone with experience do it for you so as not to injure the snake.

You can try and offer food every two weeks until he/she starts back up. That way you aren't just getting tons of refusals. Don't forget you can refreeze prey items once, but after that pitch it. As long as all your husbandry is correct, it will just start back up whenever its ready and there probably won't be much rhyme or reason as to why. Welcome to the wonderful world of ball pythons.

[RetiredJedi]

Hey Super, I feel your pain. Here's what my BPs have been up to:

Cody 1.0 (1452g): Started refuse November 6, 2012. Ate 77g rat 6 Jan, 2013 and hasn't eaten again since.

Pixel 0.1 (1023g): Started refuse Jan 6, 2013. Ate 67g rat Jan 15, 2013 and hasn't eaten again since.

Nibs 0.1 (1507g): Started refuse Dec 11, 2012. Ate Dec 18, 2012 and hasn't eaten again since.

Memphis 1.0 (993g): Started refuse Nov 27, 2012 and hasn't eaten since.

It makes me mad that they keep refusing but I am just waiting them out, monitoring their weight, and just offer every other week until they start back up. This is the first time it's happened for me because before this they ate like champs and nothing has changed husbandry wise nor anything else.

[Superpop]

It's impossible to know the sex without probing or popping. That being said, you should have someone with experience do it for you so as not to injure the snake.

I know this and I don't want Snickers to be sexed for that very reason.

Don't forget you can refreeze prey items once, but after that pitch it.

We would love doing this because we are very frugal but MANY people on here say not to "re-freeze" and honestly I feel a little uncomfortable with the idea based on what other people say.

[KatStoverReptiles]

I would offer every 2 weeks like has been suggested.

I refreeze once and have done so with no problems. After that, though, the prey goes to someone I *know* will eat it.

I had a male go 6.5 months last year without eating. Only lost <200g. Drove me nuts but he came back around.

Just keep up on your husbandry and he'll eat when he's hungry. If you're getting desperate in a few months or he seems to be losing weight quickly, you can cave in and try offering live. However if you don't have a pet shop that will take returns, you don't have anyone else to feed it to, or you don't have a humane way to dispatch it, you may end up with a new pet.

[Superpop]

I would offer every 2 weeks like has been suggested.

I refreeze once and have done so with no problems. After that, though, the prey goes to someone I *know* will eat it.

I had a male go 6.5 months last year without eating. Only lost <200g. Drove me nuts but he came back around.

Just keep up on your husbandry and he'll eat when he's hungry. If you're getting desperate in a few months or he seems to be losing weight quickly, you can cave in and try offering live. However if you don't have a pet shop that will take returns, you don't have anyone else to feed it to, or you don't have a humane way to dispatch it, you may end up with a new pet.

1.) As far as re-freezing goes....

This is the second reply on here in a row that states it okay but everything but every other post I have read on this site pretty much say it's not a good thing to do.

If Snickers is going to be okay I certainly wouldn't mind re-freezing a rat ONE TIME and then offering it again but I'm scared to do so.

2.) I could NEVER feed live because first and foremost I would be scared of Snickers being bitten but I also know if I feed live Snickers will never eat F/T again. I also don't feel like hearing a rat scream as it is strangled to death.

I would sooner seek out a person who owns many snakes and reptiles and give Snickers and all of the equipment away for free rather than feed Snickers live prey because I while do care very much about Snickers but I just CAN'T cope with feeding Snickers live prey.(That being said I don't think it will come to that...I'm guessing Snickers will eat again soon enough.)

[piedplus]

Sounds like you've tried everything else, consider a nice firm stroking down the ventral side. Long, firm strokes for several minutes. Kind of like probing for eggs. They usually like it and sometimes it will get them going again.

[BoostedMX3]

Let one of those lil rodents bite u on the finger n u will feel a bit diff about feeding live.. As long as your there to supervise to make Aite the snake doesn't get bit and I don't leave it in there alive for more then 15/20 min u won't have m e thing to worry about.. Personally I feed live based on the fact that no one is out there cooking rats for the snakes in the wild.. If I have it captive then j want her to to feel as natural as I can..

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[Annarose15]

There are actually quite a few threads on here that debate whether it is "ok" to refreeze, and the camps seem fairly evenly split. I refreeze once and have never had an issue. Note: This does NOT apply to prey left overnight - those get tossed if they aren't eaten.

As per your original post - Get a scale and monitor your snake's weight. That and body condition are the only indicators that can tell you whether you should be worried about a fast. Also, depending on your definition of a "medium" rat (standard is ~80-120g), you could actually be feeding larger prey than is necessary, which can lead to refusals also. My 3000g girl still only gets one small (50-80g) rat per week and she's a beast!

[elbee]

First thing I suggest is like others said, get a gram scale. This will help you keep track of weight and more than likely put your mind at ease. My het pied girl didn't eat for a few months but didn't lose anything so I just gave her time and she has eaten the last 2 weeks. I just put her in a smaller tub and offered food every couple weeks. I have also refrozen rats one time with no issues.