my ball python will not eat. he ignores the mice. I had this issue with him last winter as well but this year I'm a little more concerned. Hes staying on the cool side of the tank. I actually have to check on him every so often just to make sure hes alive because he is NEVER out. I'm up all night and he never leaves his hide. I know ball pythons are sometimes bad eaters but .. is this okay? will he survive with not eat for much longer?

First, if you changed his hides/tank/etc that might be the issue. Also, you said he stays on the cool side, you need to check your temps and make sure they are correct. The warm side should be high 80s low 90s, not above 95, and the cool side should not go below 70, I don't like mine to get below 75. If your warm side is too hot that would be the reason he's on the cool side. Or if you have two different hides he will chose the one he likes better regardless if it's not good for his health. If you have two hides, make sure they are identical.

Once you make sure all those things are ok he could have stopped eating for natural reasons. Two winters ago I had a 6 month old male quit eating on me for 3 months, and he was totally fine. Had he gone much longer I would have begun to worry. As for your guy, since you said it happened last year I know he's at least a year old. Because of his age he can go for quite awhile without eating as long as you have been feeding him correctly (ie he's not thin). Ball pythons should never be thin unless they are hatchlings, they are a short heavy bodied snake. It's fairly common for some males to go off feed during the breeding season, which started October/November-ish. Three weeks is nothing to be concerned about, if he gets to 6 months and has been losing weight, then you can worry. Just keep offering him live food once a week and take it out if he doesn't eat it. If he's shy you might want to leave the rodent in there for 5-10 minutes and leave the room.

And yes ball pythons still eat during the breeding season even if they are breeding. All of my boys are eating just fine. They do tend to take a 1-3 weeks off when they are breeding, but they get back on track and continue eating pretty quickly. Last year that happened late in the breeding season for me, February. (I start in November).

Me http://www.slitherinsisters.com/

Male ball pythons will not eat during the winter. They will get ready for breeding so they do not eat. I have 5 male ball pythons and only 2 of them are eating. Also i have 1 female adult ball python that hasn't eaten since june 25th 2010. And she still looks ok she hasn't really lost much weight. When i got her she weighed 1700 grams now she weighs like 1580 grams and that is 6 months so she hasn't suffered to much.

This is what Ball Pythons are known for, no worries. Loads of Ball Pythons go off feed for a while in the winter because it's breeding season. My Ball Python went like 5 months last time. He will eat when he is ready, don't worry about it. Just keep offering every week or two.

sometimes it takes them a long time disgust

they eat every 4 weeks