I'm not entirely sure how this thread turned into an argument. I could have asked this question on the BP forum, but every time I go there, I feel like someone is talking down to meyour just reading it wrong, its a very tight knit group over there, and some people just spit out what needs to be said, and sometimes the person reading it see's it as a negative tone, when its not intended, so I decided to ask here. I respect everyone's opinions, but since David works with ball pythons daily, I don't understand why everyone is fighting about the feeding live thing. Ball pythons do eat live a lot more consistently than not, I just wanted to know if the amount of time my ball has been off feed is normal,yes, it is normal for them to go off feed this time of year, if he's not eating by late march, or loses noticable weight, i'd consider a vet visit to see if their are any underlying problems which could explain why hes not eating and if I should continue offering f/t, or try live to elicit a feeding response.
as for what to do:
you can try a few techniques for feeding them F/T, you can sent the room for a day before hand, just thaw out a rat, place it on top or next to the enclosure if you can, or simply leave it in over night.
if that doesnt work, scent the room again next week, and offer a brained rat, i just take a knife, poke it through the skull, and squeeze out some brain, the extra stink sometimes makes them go crazy lol.
you can try with a rat that has been frozen, thawed, and re frozen multiple times, it will stink more that way, but may result in an explosion.
or, instead of doing the floating rat dance, grab it mid body on the back, with some tongs, and "drive" it around the cage on its belly, as if you were playing with a toy car.
if none of these work, there is a very safe way to feed live, grab the rat by the tail with tongs, and dangle it over the snake like you would with a frozen. from my experience in doing this, the rat will be so busy being curled up attacking the tongs, that you can put the back of it facing the snake. and if you really want, you can take a pair of wire cutters and snip the spinal cord right at the base of the skull as soon as the snake strikes. this should paralyze (in most cases kill) the rat instantly, making it harmless.
thats all i can think of, so good luck, and remember to not worry yourself if he still refuses to eat
