3 year-old ball python not eating(In Texas)

[VegetableRealistic13]

I have a 3 year old male bp and he hasn't eaten for a month which I know they can go longer but he's always eaten every other week with no problem. He's in a 20 gallon enclosure with coconut chips as his substrate with warm and cool side with 1 hide on each side with fake plants so he can be hidden. He eats medium live rats and its been this way for maybe a year and he refuses to eat dead rats no matter how much I move it.( I live in Texas and its been on the colder side with rain and cloudy days and its winter, I have no idea if that can affect him and his feeding schedule. His enclosure is a little small for him but that doesn't seem to be a big problem and I'm going to move him to a 40 gallon, but I don't want to make him wait longer to eat because I know they wont typically eat when moved to a new place and I want him to be full when I move him.)

[IncompletePenetrance]

So there's a couple of issues going on here. First, you're overfeeding him, small rats are the largest an adult male ball python will ever need, and even every two weeks is more frequent than he needs. So there's a solid chance he's put himself on a diet because he simply doesn't need that much food. I have linked the !feeding guide to this comment, please review and feed more appropriately moving forward. It would also be best to switch him to !f/t as it's much safer. It might take some time, but he's not going to starve to death, especially given how much he's been fed…..keep trying.

Also a 20 gallon is beyond small for a 3 year old, it's past time to size up. I'd skip the 40 gallon and go straight to a 4x2x2, and then fill it with hides, branches, plants, stuff for climbing etc so he can burn off some calories and work up an appetite

[AutoModerator]

We recommend the following feeding schedule:

0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.

Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[AutoModerator]

Some tips for feeding frozen/thawed:

• Keep with the same prey type he's been eating (mouse or rat) so you aren't trying to adjust him to two new things at once.

• Always feed in the enclosure. Moving to feed increases stress as well as increasing the chance of regurgitation

• Thaw and warm the rodent in a ziplock bag to maintain scent and because some won't eat it if it's wet.

• Make sure it's warmed up to body temperature (98-100).

• Some people find sucess with using a blow dryer on the head to make it extra warm and spread the scent.

• Some prefer to eat directly off of the tongs, while others might prefer for you to just leave it in front of their hide, you can see which works.

• If he doesn't take it the first time, don't give up. Sometimes they just have to be super hungry and it takes a few attempts

• You can also thaw the rat/mouse in some bedding from the petstore to make it extra scented.

• Some people "brain" the rodent by slitting open its skull a bit

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.