Another BP not eating question...

I purchased a male pastel ball python last April. His weight was 1100 grams. By October his weight was 1386. He has not eaten since about October. His weight today is 1308 grams. I do clean urates from his tub. He has always been a mouser for me. I've tried ASFs and rats, but he likes his mice. I am not breeding him. The rest of my balls are yearlings. He is 2009 (maybe 2008) BP.

He's kept in a 28 quart tub in a AP rack that maintains temps about 87-89. His previous owner kept him in a 40 gallon breeder tank.

I was offering mice weekly, now I offer every 2-3 weeks. He shows no interest. I am concerned and have scoured the internet (mainly the BP.net forums) and have read similar stories.

Is there any advice you guys have? 8 months seems like a long time, but he's not really losing weight... Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Shanna

Mouse then small rat, it tricks mine every time. Mice have a higher heat signature than rats so if you give him a mouse, it might get him in the mood... Let him go ahea and swallow it all the way... Let him realign his jaws, then open the tub and if he's still interested in more give him a small rat let me know if it works. It always has for me

What's your hottest and coolest temps and what's the temp where he is spending most of his time?

I'm guessing he wants a girl friend. October is about when breeding season starts. I have males that have just started eating again and one that has still not started eating again. It's not uncommon for males to quit eating during the winter even if they are not breeding. If he is not losing weight you are in good shape.

Focal wrote:

What's your hottest and coolest temps and what's the temp where he is spending most of his time?

The hottest is about 89/90 and he tends to stay on the hot side. He'll push the aspen aside and lay on the tub, I have bottom heat.

I have a Wal-Mart Accurite thermometer and a zoo med hand held mini temp gun I use.
My thermostat is a Helix set at 88.

Bobbykaizer wrote:

Mouse then small rat, it tricks mine every time. Mice have a higher heat signature than rats so if you give him a mouse, it might get him in the mood... Let him go ahea and swallow it all the way... Let him realign his jaws, then open the tub and if he's still interested in more give him a small rat let me know if it works. It always has for me

I tried a live mouse today and he was not interested.

zues wrote:

I'm guessing he wants a girl friend. October is about when breeding season starts. I have males that have just started eating again and one that has still not started eating again. It's not uncommon for males to quit eating during the winter even if they are not breeding. If he is not losing weight you are in good shape.

I hope that's only the problem. When should I start to worry about his fasting? 8 months seems like a long time, but he's not really losing weight.

As long as he is not losing weight I wouldn't worry. Continue to offer his perfered meal every 2-3 weeks.

when you clean the mice out keep some of the litter and put a rat or two in there. The rats take on the smell from the mouse litter and the male goes for it.

Has worked for me with every snake i tried to convert from mice to rats.

And by the way, i have a male that ate about 5 or 6 small rats since LAST YEARS BREEDING SEASON (2011 - 2012). He keeps his weight, is not sick and actually breeds as well..

I wouldn't worry too much..

I agree they will go off feed in the colder seasons. Some just start eating out of the blue, some never stop. It may just be coincidental, but I've offered mice (instead of the usual rat) or bumped the temp up a few degrees to raise the ambient temp (to mimic full out summer) and they have started eating. Some will even refuse during the extreme heat and start as soon as temps fall. I just watch the weights and offer every week or two until they start back up.

All are true, but breeding and feeding are trial an error, there's people that will swear by one thing then you realize it's exactly the opposite. Whatever works for you is what you should do. If a bunch of people tell you to try something and it's not working for you try something different! Good luck though keep us updated!

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'll update once he's eating again. As long as he's maintaining his weight, I'll let him be and continue offering meals every other week.

Guess who finally ended his 9 month hunger strike?

 

Yay! 

When he is eating, how many mice does he normally take each meal? Unfortunately I have a 2011 male that is also a confirmed mouser, purchased that way unfortunately.

bcr229 wrote:

When he is eating, how many mice does he normally take each meal?  Unfortunately I have a 2011 male that is also a confirmed mouser, purchased that way unfortunately.

Before the food strike, he'd usually take 2 large mice or sometimes one mouse, once a week.  The rest of my BP's aren't picky, they'll take ASF, mice, or f/t rats.

derpinah wrote:

bcr229 wrote:

When he is eating, how many mice does he normally take each meal?  Unfortunately I have a 2011 male that is also a confirmed mouser, purchased that way unfortunately.

Before the food strike, he'd usually take 2 large mice or sometimes one mouse, once a week.  The rest of my BP's aren't picky, they'll take ASF, mice, or f/t rats.

Ok, that's not too bad, I've heard of some big mouser girls that will take 8-10 mice a week. I'm still going to try to change all of mine to rats or ASF's though. Fortunately I have a supplier ten minutes from me who breeds all three.

[quote="bcr229"][quote="derpinah"]

bcr229 wrote:

Ok, that's not too bad, I've heard of some big mouser girls that will take 8-10 mice a week.  I'm still going to try to change all of mine to rats or ASF's though.  Fortunately I have a supplier ten minutes from me who breeds all three.

That's insane, I can't imagine feeding 8-10 mice in a sitting!  I have a pet store nearby that sells all three, but the prices are too high, so I breed mine.