Quote Originally Posted by blackorchid77 View Post
I got my ball python from classifieds in the Summer. I was told he was a breeder and that is why he hasnt been eating well when i bought him, and they also fed him live rats. Two months later of owning him, he got a RI, and I took him to the vet for a shot and he and got better, although vet said he was a bit underweight. Since the summer he barely eats anything (i feed him FT). He only feeds on adult mice maybe once or twice a month. He is supposed to be eating Medium rats once every 2 weeks b/c he is full grown male.

the temps and humidity should be fine.
basking side is 90 and cool sides btw 70-80
i always keep the coco soil moist and give him water.

He is male and he has been losing weight since i got him. He is 4 years old.

I have tried feeding him at night, feeding with a blanked over tank, blow-drying the mice.

He seems to always strike the mouse but doesnt eat it, or will stare at me dangling it for half an hour. I've also left the FT mouse for hours with him alone but he still wont eat.

im almost worried there could be somthing wrong with his jaw, maybe not able to swaller bigger pray items? a few times ive fed huim two adult mice in a row, but he doesnt always take the second one.

I dont know how much he weighs unfortunately. his body is still pretty thick but a lot thinner than when i first got him. i dont have an updated pic yet.

does anyone know what to do? should i go to the vet again?
thanks
I have a male who has been off feed since october. He's loosing some weight but i'm not really worried about it due to us being in the midst of the breeding season. It's possible that he wasn't eating often for you because he was stressed with the move which brought him over to his RI which brought him to his breeding season fast. It makes sense that you would have issues with feeding. If anyone asks if they should take them to the vet i always say yes. It never hurts to get a professional opinion. However, Adult BP's can live without food for up to a year, its not healthy but it happens sometimes. I would say you don't have anything to be to concerned about until breeding season is over. here are some questions to consider.

1) how often are you attempting to feed him? you said that he'll only eat mice once or twice a month but how often are you offering?

2)70 degrees is much to low for a cool side. anything bellow 75 is unhealthy, but realistically you want it to be around 80 degrees.

3) what was he being fed by the previous owner? If they were feeding live animals your going to run into resistance with feeding f/t.

cheers.