Snake hasn't eaten for 4 months?

[Sammiebob]

I started pairing my male and female and my female has been taking food every offering without fail, but the male that I'm pairing to her has refused every time for the past 4 (almost 5) months. He is looking a little thin, but he's only lost about 130-160 grams. Started the season a little over 1200 g and today is at 1073. I've offered frozen and live, small rats and medium rats, inside and outside of cage, and just won't take it. He's a pinstripe, but seems to sort of be doing a weird thing where he turns his head upside down and tries to find a way out if his tub. Should I be worried? I stopped pairing a few weeks ago to try to get him eating again. Is it safe to continue pairing? This is my first year breeding. Any help is appreciated! I've attempted to take pictures that show his spine. It's really not that bad, I just worry easily. Thanks!

[lorenhavens]

First thing that came to my mind is the 1000g wall. Personally I wouldn't be that worried yet but I am no expert yet. Just my thought.

[steve_r34]

He looks fine .. BUT I'M NO EXPERT LIKE SOME WOULD SAY ON HERE .
When mine go off feed for a while I offer mice it works almost every time . I know some are scared cause the mice rat thing but I never have a problem switching back

[BumbleB]

I'd say he's fine he looks healthy and is still at a good weight. Alot of adult males go off feed during the breeding season and 4 months seems like a long time but from what I've read alot of snakes can and have gone longer.

[Albert Clark]

Going off feed for males during breeding is normal. Sometimes you have to pull them from the females to give them time to recover. Try giving him three to four days off in between your pairings with the females. Keep offering food but make it smaller meals. Be persistent but if he doesn't want to feed try during his next break from the females. It will be up to you to make the decision to pull him from the breeding rotation. It will take time for him to recover but be patient. As long as he doesn't lose too much weight you should be ok. Place a large bowl in his enclosure for him to soak. Large enough for his whole body to fit into. Stay in peace and not pieces. Good luck.

[Kibbleswhites]

My longest fast was a male spider that did not eat for 13 months. I had a male pastel that refused food for 8 months. If he is loosing weight, I would pull him from your breeding schedule. Offer food every 10-14 days. Switch from live to frozen. Don't zombie dance the frozens just warm them well and lay them in the bin with him overnight. My males always go back on feed this way.

[Sammiebob]

First thing that came to my mind is the 1000g wall. Personally I wouldn't be that worried yet but I am no expert yet. Just my thought.

He has well passed the 1000 gram wall. He was eating perfectly every feeding and was already passed that wall. When he stopped eating, he was around 1200 grams already.

[Sammiebob]

Going off feed for males during breeding is normal. Sometimes you have to pull them from the females to give them time to recover. Try giving him three to four days off in between your pairings with the females. Keep offering food but make it smaller meals. Be persistent but if he doesn't want to feed try during his next break from the females. It will be up to you to make the decision to pull him from the breeding rotation. It will take time for him to recover but be patient. As long as he doesn't lose too much weight you should be ok. Place a large bowl in his enclosure for him to soak. Large enough for his whole body to fit into. Stay in peace and not pieces. Good luck.

He hasn't seen the female in over a month. I left them 4-7 days in between each pairing, then it slowed down to every 2 weeks, and now I haven't paired them in over a month because I wanted to see if he would eat. He has a large water bowl in his tub 24/7, large enough to fit his whole body into; he just doesn't use it very often if at all.

[Sammiebob]

My longest fast was a male spider that did not eat for 13 months. I had a male pastel that refused food for 8 months. If he is loosing weight, I would pull him from your breeding schedule. Offer food every 10-14 days. Switch from live to frozen. Don't zombie dance the frozens just warm them well and lay them in the bin with him overnight. My males always go back on feed this way.

He's been off the schedule for a while. I always use frozen unless I get a case like this where they just don't take it. He won't even take the live.

[bcr229]

He should be fine, a drop from 1200 to 1073 grams isn't really that much. Heck one good bowel movement could account for a substantial part of that. Also his body condition looks fine.

If he's only being paired with one female you could just put them together every 2-3 weeks instead of every week to ensure he has sufficient recovery time.

I have one male normal that is six years old. He's not being bred but he goes off food every season between Halloween and Easter.