Should I try to feed when belly is pink?

[SSHanna]

New owner of a normal BP, adult male. He ate a f/t medium rat the first time we tried (3 wks ago), but has refused the last 2 weeks we tried to feed him. Otherwise, seems to be healthy and doesn't look stressed. We were planning on trying to feed him tomorrow, but when we took him out this evening, I noticed his belly is pink, which I've read is a sign of beginning to shed. Should we try to feed him, since it's been 3 weeks, or just wait until after he sheds? Last week when we tried to feed him, he struck the rat, but didn't coil or eat it. Yesterday when he was out he opened his jaw real wide a couple of times. Does that mean he's hungry?

Thanks for any advice!!

[WhompingWillow]

You can definitely try to feed when there's a pink belly, as that's the very first sign of impending shed. Actually shedding is still a little ways off. He may not have eaten because, depending on his size and the actual size of the medium rat, it may have been a big meal for him. Many keepers only feed adult males small rats. Hope he eats for you!

[Craiga 01453]

What I personally do in that situation is I offer once with each new snake. If the snake eats, I continue to offer while in shed. If the snake refuses, I never offer again while they're in shed. Of my snakes only my King eats while in shed. All the others are fed the day after they shed.

Since your snake is an adult, it definitely won't be an issue if he doesn't eat for another week.

As for the opening of his mouth, he was likely just yawning.

Oh yeah, and most males never need anything larger than a small rat. Since he's an adult, he'll be fine on a small rat every 7-10 days or so.