Refusing Food - What Next?

I'm hoping for some advice here, so I can figure out how best to proceed...

I have a Jungle Carpet Python who has been refusing food for quite a while (several months now). At first, I wasn't worried, figured it would start eating again soon enough, but it hasn't started eating again and I'm getting worried now. I purchased this snake about two years ago as a tiny baby. For the first year, it ate every time food was offered. It was only fed f/t by me, mice at first, and then rats (it took a rat the first time and many times after that). For a while after that, it would take food most of the time. But now it will immediately strike at a f/t rat, but does not ever eat it.

I'm still new to reptiles, this snake was my first one and I only have one other. This is the first problem that I've encountered that I could not figure out how to rectify immediately. I know that I obviously need to try something else - I'm just not sure what.

Should I place an order for f/t mice and see if it will take those? Should I try live food? Which is most likely to solve the problem? Live is easier to obtain (I have to have f/t shipped to me), but I'm nervous about feeding live as I've never done it before. Is there some reason that this snake may have switched to rats without problem but may now prefer mice?

Any advice will be appreciated. I really want to do best by all animals that I own and just don't know what "best" is in this case.

It is not unheard of for snakes to stop eating this time of year. Is it noticeably thinning? I'd check and make sure the temps are high enough. Do you know if it is a male or female? You could try mice again but unless your other snake eats mice I don't know if I would make an order. You could always get a live one and do it yourself before making an order. You could also stun a mouse and see if that triggers an eating response.

All of my adult male carpets go off feed at this time of the year. Its breeding season. If there is no noticable thinning then you should not get to worried. Do you know what sex it is?
Jim

I don't know the sex - I've no intention to breed and therefore never learned how to sex. How long is it normal to be off food?

Thanks for the responses!

And I should probably answer all questions before hitting the reply button: I've double checked the temps, they hold steady and the heat panel is hooked up to a thermostat. Humidity is less stable - the air is extremely dry in the winter around here, so the cage is dry not long after I mist it; I do mist a few times a day. Sheds are still perfect, though. The snake is active and often looks to be hunting, which is part of why I'm worried - if it were off feed would it still be hunting? The snake does not appear to be losing weight, but it could stand to gain some weight (it just seems to have grown long without fattening up much at all).

Again, thanks for the advice.

I think it's hunting for something other than prey. It sounds like it is hunting for the opposite sex.