dumeril boa...... help

[Eragonsowner]

ok so I got a dumeril boa about a week ago. he has not ate yet last night he was most active in his cage iv seen him since iv got him. I out the mouse in there and he just would show any interest at all i even covered the tank and left the room had his light on for some time then turned it off to see what he liked. he is in a glass tank with a heat lamp... good hide and water everyday....i don't know if he just ate once id feel a lot better because its my very first snake but not my girl she is used to ball pythons... i don't know what to do...... please help.... even if you have to tell me to calm down and have patience that's fine ill feel batter lol

[reptiletalk]

listen, the best advice is to have patience. is a fact that snakes need time to feel comfortable in their new environment. was the mouse alive or f/t maybe the snake was used to eat rats. dumeril boas as i read through my research in the past some times are picky eaters. try again after 4-5 days and try not to handle him.

[Eragonsowner]

listen, the best advice is to have patience. is a fact that snakes need time to feel comfortable in their new environment. was the mouse alive or f/t maybe the snake was used to eat rats. dumeril boas as i read through my research in the past some times are picky eaters. try again after 4-5 days and try not to handle him.

Ok and yes it was live... and i understand they are picky iv been reading about him ALOT..... And is it better to feed them at night or day i mean like i said its my first snake

[reptiletalk]

sometimes it matters some times not...depends on the individual snake....try it the next time and also try once you get him to eat to switch him to f/t . it is going to be easier for you at the end.

[Eragonsowner]

sometimes it matters some times not...depends on the individual snake....try it the next time and also try once you get him to eat to switch him to f/t . it is going to be easier for you at the end.

see that's what i was thinking... I will take it into consideration thank you. and also i know the whole 12 on 12 off with the light should i turn the light on at night or during the day since they are night feeders

[reptiletalk]

again this is not an absolute rule......just have a normal cycle of night and day...i have my snakes in my living room and usually after 10 i avoid opening the light of that area but sometimes i do it....nothing happens everything is ok....didnt have any issue with my snakes..

[Eragonsowner]

[QUOTE=reptiletalk;931155]again this is not an absolute rule......just have a normal cycle of night and day...i have my snakes in my living room and usually after 10 i avoid opening the light of that area but sometimes i do it....nothing happens everything is ok....didnt have any issue with my snakes..[/QU


ok I can do that thank you for the info

[Snakesitter]

^^ What he said. A meal is not urgent anyway: these animals can go for weeks without food if needed. So you have time.

You might try contacting the breeder/last owner and see what the snake was fed there, so that you can offer familar prey.

Good luck!

[Eragonsowner]

^^ What he said. A meal is not urgent anyway: these animals can go for weeks without food if needed. So you have time.

You might try contacting the breeder/last owner and see what the snake was fed there, so that you can offer familar prey.

Good luck!

Ill see what i can do thank you

[Dan84]

Also, don't bother with mice. Dumeril's can eat rat pinkies from birth, and judging bu the size of yours it might be ready for rat pups. Your snake may be used to rats and doesn't care for the small of mice. Trying to switch over to rats later on might be a problem so its best to try now.

For mine, I just leave the F/T on a paper plate in the tank and leave the snake alone for an hour or two. It's gone every time.

[Dan84]

I forgot to add, I don't see a proper hide in your setup. Although the deep substrate is nice, I would recommend that you switch to a heat mat on a thermostat and leave that on non-stop at about 88F. Remove the heat lamp and don't bother with any additional lighting unless you want to for looks. Snakes hide during most of the day so they don't care much for the light. Furthermore, place one hide over the heat mat and one on the cool side so it can thermoregulate while hiding. And finally, Dumeril's are grow to be big, heavy ground snakes, so that branch in the center isn't really necessary, however, if it doesn't block the placement of the two hides, keep it in.

Sorry for my rant. I am just trying to pass on what I learned when preparing for my own Dumeril's.

[Eragonsowner]

I forgot to add, I don't see a proper hide in your setup. Although the deep substrate is nice, I would recommend that you switch to a heat mat on a thermostat and leave that on non-stop at about 88F. Remove the heat lamp and don't bother with any additional lighting unless you want to for looks. Snakes hide during most of the day so they don't care much for the light. Furthermore, place one hide over the heat mat and one on the cool side so it can thermoregulate while hiding. And finally, Dumeril's are grow to be big, heavy ground snakes, so that branch in the center isn't really necessary, however, if it doesn't block the placement of the two hides, keep it in.

Sorry for my rant. I am just trying to pass on what I learned when preparing for my own Dumeril's.

thank you as soon as I can get the money I will thanks for the advise