Off-feed

[metalsmoker]

Hey guys,

to begin with, I know that there are already loads of threads on topic of BPs going off-feed. I went through quite a lot of them, however, I did not find anything suitable for my case.
So, my BP (male, 620 g, nearly 1 year old) has never had any troubles with eating (I offer him f/t rats). I thawed the rat and warmed it up with a fan and he immediately went out of his hide and within a second took the rat when I offered it to him. His cage setting has not changed since I got him, the temps and humidity are as should be.

Well, here is my problem. After his shed (I do not feed before or during shedding) I offered him his traditional meal. Again, he looked very impatient, went out of his hide, but when I put the rat into his enclosure he just smelled it and then went back to his hide. The same thing happened a week after that, seemed very interested by the smell and the rat but did not take it. And again, it also happened this week. I am out of ideas as I tried heating it up warmer then usual, offering different sizes of rats, left it there over-night, "danced" with it in his enclosure for like 20 minutes and nothing helped (seen also this thread http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...uble-shooting)). What also confuses me, that he is pretty active at night even though he has not eaten for a while.
I am thinking of getting a live rat to maybe boost up his interest and hunting needs but not sure if it is a good idea since the rat could possibly hurt him.

Could you guys tell me if there is something I am doing wrong, or is it just my boy that decided to go off-feed for a while.

Thank you for your responses and suggestions.

[T&C Exotics]

3 weeks is nothing to worry about. At a year old most males are becoming sexually mature and will generally rake a few weeks to a few months off of food. If I were you I would offer once a week on normal schedual and leave it in over night. If you notice and drastic weight loss there should be concern but until then there is no need to worry at all.

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[Pythonfriend]

im absolutely not sure about this, and its just a remote possibility.... could it be that your FTs have somehow gone bad? maybe for the next feedeing attempt in 1 week, you could try a new frozen thawed or buy a fresh pre-killed or something. that is, if you are trying with the same batch of frozen rats all the time.

but then, sometimes they just go off food for no reason.

[metalsmoker]

I was thinking about this as well, that is why I also offered him a different rat from another batch. Still did not work, but thanks anyway. Hopefully he'll take his prey next week

[metalsmoker]

Well guys, tried feeding him f/t rat today and he took it without hesitation. I guess that he just wasn't that hungry for three weeks. Anyway thanks for your help