How long can a little guy go without starving?

[CornBoy]

Our little male named Snoopy hasn't eaten in 13 days. He's about 14 inches long. Since getting him, he has eaten for me 5 times without too much trouble. He had been eating a F/T pinky every 5-7 days, but last week he refused it because he was in blue. Last month he ate the same day he shed. Now it's the third day since he's shed and he's refused the pinky 3 times.
Last night I tried it in a small container alone with the pink for about an hour. Today I dabbed a little sardine water on it as an experiment, it has been in his tank for hours, still no interest.
If I leave the food in a dish in his tank, he seems to be more interested in climbing about than stopping for food...
Should I just wait a couple of days and start over?
Thanks for any advice!

[Dakota314]

He will be fine if it's only been 13 days. You might be offering food too often. If you offer too often, it could stress out your snake. Wait a couple of days, then try again. As long as he has eaten reliably in the past, I wouldn't worry.

[CornBoy]

Thank you, that makes sense to me! :)

[Lennycorn]

That and try feeding it a f/t that's really warm.

[CornBoy]

You know, that is probably what I neglected to do this time.
I'll try him again in a couple of days with a really warm fresh one!
I will post the results! :)

[bitsy]

Also the next time you feed him, try offering the food just before you go to bed and leave it with him all night. Sometimes if they get nervous, the absolute quite and dark makes them feel more secure.

You can put the feeding container back in his usual tank (at the cool end) to give him some background heat and guard against him getting out of the container.

[CornBoy]

Thanks for the good advice!

[proileri]

How do you thaw the food? The smell might wash off if the mouse is in contact with the water. Thawing in a plastic bag on top of warm water keeps the smell.

[CornBoy]

Yes, good advice people! I waited 2 days then I carefully followed my normal procedure: made the glass dish warm, made the pinky really warm, popped it in his 2-1/2 gallon viv, and he was clamped on it within 30 seconds!

It was the first time he ate one the back way, but that's the little guy's prerogative, I guess. :)

Thanks again for the support!
Rob