boa eating problem

[erantheking21]

Hi
A month ago i bought Boa Constrictor , he 4 months old ..now he finish shedding in 18 march, than i fed him on 20 March a mouse, today i put him another mouse and he refused to eat him, the mouse was close enough to the snake, he looked and go back the mouse try to bit him but the snake move back, so i took him out from the cage so he will not bit him again..i looked his skin he looks murky and grey a little bit, he was un his dish water, its possible that he start a shedding process again? Every 2 weeks? I am very nervous about this situation please look on the pictures if someone know about it thanks

[Snakes&Fish]

Snake could be starting to shed. Its always hard to tell early signs in pictures. Many snakes won't eat during shed cycles.

Two things I'll mention. Why are you feeding it mice? Boas outgrow mice very quickly, he should be on rats from birth, 99% of people agree with me on this.

Secondly, do not feed your snake live prey items. Make sure its prekilled or frozen thawed. This way the snake cannot be harmed by its food. A snake attacked by a food item can change its behavior to be afraid of things it should be eating.

[Zcorpshea]

Feeding live is your choice, i dont do it personally but to each there own. If he continues not to eat what you can do is buy him an african soft fur rat. (not cheap and not a long term solution) and house it in a secure critter cage for two or three days with some sort of bedding. Thrn feed it the soft fur. Make sure you keep the bedding and place future mice into that bedding for a while. It will pick up the scent from the soft fur and you can ween him off the scent as he conditions himself to eat other prey items.

[Albert Clark]

Well, first of all what type of enclosure are you keeping him in? Anytime a snake stops eating you have to look at the environment it is living in. What are your temperatures at? What is your humidity %? Does the boa have adequate hiding spaces so he can feel secure within the enclosure? If he feels too cold or too hot he wont eat. Maybe he doesn't really recognize mice as food! He should be eating rats. More likely than not it's your husbandry though. How are you heating the enclosure? :suspicious: