royals not feeding

[Buntin]

hello, i have got 2 royals that i cant get to feed my male is just over a year old i have had him since he was a hachling and he has allways ate like a pig up untill about 6-8 weeks ago he is still very active and alert (for a royal) and he seems as healthy as ever i keep him in a 3x2x2 with a uth on a temperature stat... ive also got a normal house hold bulb connected to a dimmer stat the temperature in the hot end is about 32-33 and in the cool end its 27-28... at night i turn the light off and set the uth so he has a warm end of about 27 the humidity is between 60-70% i use forest bark as substrate and he has 3 hides and obviously a water bowl ..i havnt changed anything recently in his viv so i dont know what could be wrong he weighs just over 650grams and he doesnt seem to be losing any weight(yet) is there anything else i could of overlooked?
my other royal is only a hachling about 4months old i have her setup in the same way as monty the male except she is in a 2x1,1/2x1,1/2 the temps are the same and humidity is just a bit lower 50-60% she seems healthy and active i got her about a month or so ago and i know she was feeding before i got her when i offer her food she does seem very interested but she just wont take it i have left it in the viv over night but that didnt work she weighs about 75 grams i cant think of much more to tell you and i know u are proberly gasping for air as you havnt had chance to take a breath lol sry about the puntuation

[Oni5000]

Hi Buntin,

It's fairly common for bp's to go off feed at this time of year. If your husbandry has remained constant like you said, that's probably what it is. They can go quite a while without food so try not to worry. You might want to weigh them both now and keep an eye on their weight.

As for the hatchling, did you just get her? Was she eating frozen rats before you got her? Has she fed at all since you've gotten her? If she hasn't fed at all, you could try giving her a live rat fuzzy and then work your way to F/T rats once she's feeding.

[Buntin]

thanks for replying oni i was hoping it was "the time of year" for him... as for her i have had her a month or so she definatly was eating before she came to me she was eating small mice but hasnt eaten since ive had her which is worrying me a bit... like i said in my previous post she is very active at night and i sometimes even see her in the day she is alert and does look generally healthy she doesnt seem to be losing any weight either do hatchlings go off food this time of year? or is it just when they mature a bit

[Oni5000]

It's not as common as with older balls but it does happen. How long have you had her? If it's only been a short time she may just need time to get used to her new home...make sure shes in a quiet low traffic area and try not to handle her while she's not feeding. If that doesn't work there are a few alternatives you can try like feeding live under supervision, using the brown bag trick or making a rodent hole.

For descriptions of those methods and more info, check the thread at the top of this forum named Ball Python FAQ Sheet.