Snake not eating

Tazzimus

As in the title, I recently got a dwarf boa off a friend as she got puppies so had to get rid of her.

I was told that normally she doesn't eat between November and January, I got her Mid Jan so didn't pass any heed. It's now March and she still won't eat. I have been trying to feed her every week since the start of Feb and she will not eat. I'm giving her rats, supposedly better for her than mice, although I've tried mice as well but she won't eat it.

I know snakes can go a good while with out eating but should I be worried now? It's been about 4 months since she's eaten. Hasn't affected her though any time I take her out she's full of life and alert and her skin looks fine too, no dry flaky patches or anything, also she doesn't look to have lost any weight.

Hellrazer

This post should help--Its for Royal Pythons but should apply to Boas aswell.



http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=73407694&postcount=35

Tazzimus

That should help thanks. Don't fancy the braining idea though, that's a bit nasty haha.

Bluefoam

Are the rats/mice that you are giving her live? if so, what do you do with them when she doesn't eat them?

Tazzimus

No, frozen. My mother would have a heart attack if they were alive.
Also heard it's a bad idea to use live food due to claws/teeth and the ability to do damage.

antocann

hi , what size is the food , and is it cold or warm when your feeding it to the snake , what is its setup like , (temps ect...)

Tazzimus

Em food is about 4 or 5 inches long although I've tried smaller as well, she's 4 and a half feet long.
Defrosted but usually room temperature before it's put in the tank. Temps in the tank are 20 degrees at the cool end and about 28 ish where the heat lamp is.

antocann

Tazzimus wrote: »

Em food is about 4 or 5 inches long although I've tried smaller as well, she's 4 and a half feet long.
Defrosted but usually room temperature before it's put in the tank. Temps in the tank are 20 degrees at the cool end and about 28 ish where the heat lamp is.

try heating the food up , in some hot water for a minute , or braining it should help

CyberJuice

is it a hog island boa or which species is it??

i would usually boil some water then add a little cold water to it so its not too hot,then put the mouse into a water proof plastic bag of some sort leave it lying in the water for about 20 mins till its nice and warm..


also do u just throw the food in a leave it there? you might be better off picking the mouse up with some sort of tongs and move it around the snake as this might stimulate the snake to grab it if the snake thinks its alive and moving around.

if all else fails your best bet is get a scissors and cut a slit in the mouses head to get the smell of the blood and such in the air for the snake..


if all this fails then you could also try buying a frozen chick and try that or else just buy a live small mouse from a pet store throw it in but keep your eye on it,if the snake doesnt eat it after 39 minutes remove it,if at any time it looks like its nibbling on the snake or clawing at it then remove it immediately

Degsy

I had a snake taht wasnt eating before..i fopund taht if you waggled the mouse near the snake and touched it off his coils it wouold often provoke him to strike.

Sometimes though they just dont like a particular kind of food..my friend has a cornsnake which will wolf down pinkies and white mice with no problem but wont touch black mice or baby rats.

You might wanna try a couple of different types of food but try to present it the same way..ie waggle it near the snakes nose and touch it off him occasionaly.

Tazzimus

CyberJuice wrote: »

is it a hog island boa or which species is it??

i would usually boil some water then add a little cold water to it so its not too hot,then put the mouse into a water proof plastic bag of some sort leave it lying in the water for about 20 mins till its nice and warm..


also do u just throw the food in a leave it there? you might be better off picking the mouse up with some sort of tongs and move it around the snake as this might stimulate the snake to grab it if the snake thinks its alive and moving around.

if all else fails your best bet is get a scissors and cut a slit in the mouses head to get the smell of the blood and such in the air for the snake..


if all this fails then you could also try buying a frozen chick and try that or else just buy a live small mouse from a pet store throw it in but keep your eye on it,if the snake doesnt eat it after 39 minutes remove it,if at any time it looks like its nibbling on the snake or clawing at it then remove it immediately

I think she's a red tail dwarf boa? I know she has a lot of red markings around here tail so guessing that's what she's called. First snake so not too up on breeds etc yet haha.
Tried the heated food and that didn't work so might have to try braining, as much as I don't want to cos it's nasty. I wiggle the food about a bit, touch it off her face etc to try provoke a reaction, mostly she pulls away though. I'm going to try different colour mice/rats as so far they've all been white

Peteemax

I would also try her on a chick. Have you checked her for mites?

There is two excellent irish reptile forums.

www.herpireland.com and www.reptilecommunity.com

Tazzimus

Peteemax wrote: »

I would also try her on a chick. Have you checked her for mites?

There is two excellent irish reptile forums.

www.herpireland.com and www.reptilecommunity.com

Might give the chick a go. Just wondering actually seeing as she's not too small.. Would the food size have anything to do with it? Like if it's too small would she ignore it?

Must register on those sites later on, nice one.

antocann

check the link out in my sig ,
always plenty of keepers online , in the group chat