not feeding

[bulldogdanny79]

ok i have a spider ball python. not sure of the age. sometime late 09... sence the day i got him, he would eat with nooo problem. the last two week he hasnt wanted to eat, and the week before that his feeding responce was poor i guess you can say.. i read all the time that they will go for a while at times not eating, and to watch their weight.. he still looks healthy, but how much weight can he lose before i should be worried.. he dont look as fat as he was.. i think he was about.. 480 grams. now about 420 grams hes about 28" long. so how much weight till i should be worried or is it by the way he looks and muscle tone also..

[Vypyrz]

Your snake may not be eating because he doesn't feel secure in the tank, or your temps/humidity is off, which is causing stress.
The first thing I would do is:

1) Make sure you have 2 identical, snug hides. One on each end and the water bowl in the middle. This will give him a way to thermoregulate without having to choose security over comfort.

2) cover 3 sides of the enclosure with something like construction paper, poster board, colored foam board, aquarium backing. Anything to make the tank feel smaller, more secure, and not so open.

3) cover most of the top with something like Aluminum foil, or foil tape. This will keep your humidity up. I cut pieces of cardboard and wrapped them in foil, making little panels that I could lay on the screen, then just add or take them away depending on the humidity.

What is your heating set up and how are you monitoring it and controlling it?

[Kaorte]

2 weeks is really not that long. Is the snake hiding during the day? Do you have two identical hides that are tight fitting for him?

[bulldogdanny79]

the lil chap just wont eat rats it seems, he ate one.... i picked up some more adult mice .. and nooo problem.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Uh oh....