Well folks, I have had this problem not too long ago. I have had geronimo for just over 2 months, he has eaten once. I try feeding him once a week but it never works. I am feeding frozen/thawed rats(which he has only ever eaten according to the breader), I have tried every colour that the pet shop has and nothing changes. Geronimo is about 25 inches in length, I am feeding him rats that are about 3 inches long. I thaw the rat ontop of his screened enclosure then pop it under the heat lamp for a couple minutes to get it nice and warm. With tongs I wiggle it around, sometimes for up to 20 mins, on and off. He just sits there and watches, as soon as it stops moving he comes over and checks it out, will do the yawn, then shys away and sits on his log watching it, so I wiggle it again then he does the same thing. I have tried a seperate feeding box, but no luck there either. He is visably loosing wieght, has no parasites, looks healthy. Temps are good, humidity is pretty good. I am lost, stressed and thinking I may be in over my head here... Any advice would be appreciated...

Honestly, if he's visably losing a good bit of weight, and still refusing food, it probaly means a vet visit, granted, ball pythons are known to go months withut eating. But before taking him in i'd first try feeding a prey size smaller, a smaller rat, or a large adult mouse, it does'nt sound like the problem, but you want to make sure.
If that does'nt work, or maybe even before you try that,
Get a box, a sturdy box, if theres a petco or maybe a petsmart near you see if the'll give you one of the larger of the boxes they use when they sell animals, like the guinea pig boxes.
Place the box somewhere warm, or put a heat pad set on low by, or under it. if your house is warm enough it may not matter where you put the box though.
Thaw the prey item out, i put it in a waterproof plastic bag and drop the bag in very warm water (too hot you can burst the stomach of the rat) you may have to change the water if it cools a few times, then when completely thawed, warm a bit more with a hair dryer with heat on.
Once the rat is warm, (you can even try checking it with a thermometer if you want, your going for above 90F, 95F is better), try opening one corner of the box, and lower the rat in with tongs, you can try moving it around if you want, i don't. Just drop the Rat in the box.
Close the box, securely, And leave him alone, come back and check on him in about 15 minutes, but dont open the box, just peek through one of the corners, if he still has not eaten it, check in another 15 mins.

When I started at the pet store I work at, all the ball pythons would'nt look twice at pre-killed food, someone had fed them live, and thats what they wanted. Now Every one of them there eats frozen/thawed mice.

This is how I feed them there.

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

or you can get the same effect with a rubbermaid container. He may not want to eat in front of you, Give him some time and space. Heck, give him an hour even.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

I am leaving the rat in there over night, usually a 12 hour period, last time he ate this is how it worked... I will give it a couple of days and try again in the feed box, i'm using a rubbermaid sweater box with holes poked in the top.

That will work. He may be a shy eater. I have a frog for the first time in the 3 months I have had him, ate off the feeding tongs.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

I used to put the rat in withthe ball python in a rubbermaid container then cover with a towel or blanket and left it for a couple of hours, when I removed the cover the rat would be gone. Sometimes they dont like to be disturbed when eating. Other than that, if he is not losing weight,,the only thing to do is wait.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

It sounds like your getting it too hot. just room temp or a little warmer.Try a mouse too.

I always heat the rat up to at least 90F Body temp of a live, or recently deceased animal is warmer then that.

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

The normal body temp of a live rodent is about 100F. Warming them up does help some snakes to be more in interested in feeding.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I know how you feel. When I first got Roxy she was eating a jumbo rat about every 2 weeks. She hasn't eaten in a month. She is definately a shy eater. No matter what I did or when I put it in her tank, she ate late at night when she was left alone. I didn't know about burning the stomach of the rat, I may have done that. I'll have to thank Ryanpb for that heads up. Let me know if the feeder box works. I don't think I am ready for that. But I like to keep my options open. I hope Geronimo eats soon for you.