Male BP off feed?

[VereMyth]

So I have this male Axanthic that won't feed F/T, I have tried OVER & OVER again using the Hairdryer method I typically blast until I get a read of 120 on the temp gun then grab and try and wiggle a bit. But I am getting nothing.

The BP(Umbra) Continues to just move past the rodent and go towards my hand, there is no striking or anything just tongue flicking and moving every other snake(BP) on the rack enjoys that same husbandry and are champ eaters. None have missed a meal since I acquired them except this one(I should also mention everyone else has had near perfect sheds including the aforementioned picky eater). I am only now posting because he is getting a bit thin I acquired him at about 74g(barely a hatchling according to the picture chart everyone loves to share for feeding lol. He receives the same rodents as everyone else except my two larger BPs get the weanlings because of the size difference. I did call the breeder to make sure he ate for him and he stated he ate live as he was in the process of switching them over. He also mentioned that if I had any other problems to go ahead and call him again and he would try and help as much as he can(Pretty nice guy since I waited 3 weeks after purchase)

The rodents don't seem to be much of a problem quality wise.

So far I have noticed that when he gets too close to the rodent(When it is dangling he is almost afraid of it. or the Feeding tongs. Yet he will show ZERO interest if placed in the enclosure and left alone.

His tub is large enough for two Pangea hides that he fits in nice a snugly along with his water bowl and then some room to roam at nights, Speaking of which he only roams when the sunlight in the room dims enough (Around 4-6pm) Which is about dusk here now. Once it gets later in the night he settles down.
If I am correct on this that should be the "I am Hungry." roam. but he won't eat!

I fed him a couple live rodents when I first received him to get his weight up. Which got to about 134g from 74g, he is now 133g and is now a bit longer and has a "slim" look to him.

Is this just the normal male being off feed with females nearby(Of which there are a couple(Two confirmed one assumed needs probing.) I am worried now because of the single gram lost combined with the fact its been almost 3 weeks no food and he is so young I don't think he would be affected by mating instincts(PLEASE tell me I am wrong.)

Of course, I could just be the next super over worried ball python parent. but this is the second 3 week strike in a row the last time he took an F/T I thought I had victory apparently I did not know my enemy enough. hehe.

[pretends2bnormal]

Honestly, at that size and age (assuming <1 year old), I'd be shocked if any of the breeders on here suggested it was breeding interest... most males don't until they're 2 or 3 years old or at least 500-600 grams from what I've seen explained hefore. He just isn't sexually mature enough to have the urges yet...

It could just be he's picky and hoping to wait you out to get live rodents. It sounds like he has only taken frozen once? Is there possibly anything you did differently that one time from the rest? (Him in a hide rather than roaming, specific level of darkness in the room, warmer weather or ambient temps that day, wet vs dry rodent, etc.)

It sounds like you are feeding mice (weaned rats would be way too big for a 133g snake) and you just say rodents rather than rats or mice in the post. Is this the same as the breeder fed? And are the frozen the same species (mice & mice vs live mice & frozen rats)?

I had an adult male, fed live for years before me, who refused frozen entirely for a while and I managed to get him to switch to frozen by scenting with gerbil bedding on the first one. That may be worth a try if you can get some from a store.

Though, losing only 1 gram is basically a non-issue. I wouldn't even begin to worry unless he dropped below 110g, so I'd just wait him out on the frozen since he has taken before. Just don't offer constantly... if he refuses, wait a week.

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[VereMyth]

Honestly, at that size and age (assuming <1 year old), I'd be shocked if any of the breeders on here suggested it was breeding interest... most males don't until they're 2 or 3 years old or at least 500-600 grams from what I've seen explained hefore. He just isn't sexually mature enough to have the urges yet...

It could just be he's picky and hoping to wait you out to get live rodents. It sounds like he has only taken frozen once? Is there possibly anything you did differently that one time from the rest? (Him in a hide rather than roaming, specific level of darkness in the room, warmer weather or ambient temps that day, wet vs dry rodent, etc.)

It sounds like you are feeding mice (weaned rats would be way too big for a 133g snake) and you just say rodents rather than rats or mice in the post. Is this the same as the breeder fed? And are the frozen the same species (mice & mice vs live mice & frozen rats)?

I had an adult male, fed live for years before me, who refused frozen entirely for a while and I managed to get him to switch to frozen by scenting with gerbil bedding on the first one. That may be worth a try if you can get some from a store.

Though, losing only 1 gram is basically a non-issue. I wouldn't even begin to worry unless he dropped below 110g, so I'd just wait him out on the frozen since he has taken before. Just don't offer constantly... if he refuses, wait a week.

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The weaned are for my larger BP.

The smaller ones are getting rat pups.

As for the sexual maturity that is also what I thought but at this point, I think this is more of a self-assurance thing and rechecking my facts and such. He was in a hide. That is about all I can remember it was also probably warmer as being in Florida we only get a couple weeks of weather that hits the 30s.

Thanks for the fast reply I will end up waiting another week or so. Picky, Picky.

[PitOnTheProwl]

So how many f/t did he eat with the breeder?
I would be live would go down every time.

[VereMyth]

So how many f/t did he eat with the breeder?
I would be live would go down every time.

Breeder stated live went down every time. When I fed him live to get his weight up from 74g he ate well too. He ate live with the breeder. \

My fault for forgetting to ask individually for each snake. As the other one I got from that same breeder was fed F/T.