Snake Not Eating and Getting Thin! Help!

[FireStorm]

While there is a possibility that genetics are the issues, there are a few other things I'd suggest before jumping to that conclusion. The first suggestion would be to ditch the tank. Tanks are really not ideal housing for BPs. They seem to make them feel much too vulnerable. If you're not willing to get rid of the tank, at least try covering it completely 24hrs a day for a while. Leave the snake completely alone, other than to give water or clean and give him lots of hides and crumpled paper/vines in the tank. Also, make sure your temps are stable (you will probably need to replace the hot rock with a UTH and thermostat). Then offer a live, appropriately sized prey item (whatever he normally eats when he eats) after a week or so of leaving him alone. Offer it in his enclosure, preferably at night. Put the prey in the enclosure, and cover the enclosure up with a towel. Leave him alone for 15-20 min. If he doesn't eat, wait a week before trying again. Offering prey more often than that is just stressful. If he continues to refuse after a few weeks of this, then take him to have a fecal done since he's never had one.

I would strongly recommend against feeding gerbils, especially live. For one thing they're expensive if the snake imprints on them. Also, they're fairly aggressive and capable of doing some damage. I bred them as a kid, and my chow used to knock over the tank and try to get the gerbils. One day I heard a crash, and yelping. When I walked into the room, I found the gerbil hanging off the dog's nose by his teeth...