is my rainbow boa in shed?

[erantheking21]

Hi
I got a week ago baby rainbow boa i put 29 celcius like i heard she needed, but she stil didnt ate ..she is small, do you tgibk she is at shed? To try ro feed her again this week?

[Justinbolleurs]

Sometimes new rainbows just need some time settling in that could take up to 2 weeks, the best way to detirmine if she's in shed is waiting for like 2 days and see if it gets a slight milky colour. I have 2 brb's that I check on every day and my one female shed without me knowing she was in shed, started to look a little bit dull but not very noticeable and one day I just woke up with a shed in the cage.. My male baby boa is going to some type of colour change where it got more darker and more red after its previous shed even right after he shed

[Tiny Boidae]

I don't THINK she's shedding (key word, think). The colors are bright and the eyes are pretty clear. Then again it's hard to know without seeing the animal when it's not in shed.

So long as she's not losing a significant amount of weight, I wouldn't worry. Especially since you just got her. It took some of my animals a month or more before they took their first meal with me- the key is patience.

I also wouldn't be handling the animal excessively until it starts to eat. You don't want to worsen the stress it's going through and it'll slow the adjustment process. I know it's tempting- but you'll have many years from now to baby her. Just give it some time- snakes don't like change and tend to be very routine in their behaviors. The new smells and the long shipment process and new enclosure has to be traumatic for her, so the best advice I can give you is try to be patient and offer a meal every week until she takes.

If push does come to shove, however, a trick that's never failed for me is to simply press the snout of the mouse gently against the snout of the snake and hold it there for a few moments. The animal will reluctantly take it after a little bit of fussing. Try not to do this unless as a last resort, however, as it won't do her any good if she's still stressed.

Btw, you have a lovely girl right there. Good luck!

[erantheking21]

how many days can Rainbow Boa can stay without food?
i had the same problem with my Yellow Anaconda, but now she is eating very well.(5 Rats or Cavia)
but the Anaconda was fat and the Rainbow is a baby, i read about them that they had to be setteld quickly.

1.to feed her in breeding box?(this is how i tried)
2.how many days she can storve her self without eating?
3.how many days do you think the stress will past, not to touch her even she loves to go out?

[Justinbolleurs]

1. I prefer feeding all my boas and pythons outside the cage, definitely helps not getting mistaken for food at anytime. When my carpet was a baby I couldn't afford feeding him inside his cage more then one's before it started to become a problem.
2. Can be more then a month before it gets serious but as a baby I would get abit stressed at 2 weeks, keep an eye on it and as long as the snake isn't losing to much weight.
3. I'll say about a week but it really depends for example my two baby boas were settled in and eating in about 2 or 3 days, actually the first time I tried feeding them.

[Snakesitter]

If I'm doing my math right, 29C = 84+F. Too warm! Drop it down by two degrees. That, plus the need to acclimate to new surroundings, are probably the two issues causing a non-feed response.

She does not seem to be in shed to my eye.

[erantheking21]

She was shedding , today she shed, but still didnt eat, i put her in a bredding box with cable heat under half of the box with water and spray it with some water for humidity, so she will not get stress in the large tank i put her baby rat and small mice but she still didnt took other of them, i try to it after dark but still no result she open her mouth its ok? Maybe some of her shed stuck in her had side?

[Tiny Boidae]

If she held it open, there's a problem, but if the snake seemed to be yawnig that's normal. Do you hear any wheezing/clicking from the snake when you hold her to your ear? Any mucus? It'd also help if you give the humidity in the enclosure.

[Snakesitter]

Ah, she was in very late shed when you took the photos then -- thus it did not show.

I'm unclear on your current temps, but make sure you lower them from the last answer if you've not done so already. They do not tolerate heat of that level well.

Offering food too much can actually stress them more. Try once a week, no more.

Humidity should be at 90%. If he shed was in one piece, than she probably was sufficiently humid.

Ditto what Tiny said on the mouth opening.

[erantheking21]

In the terrarium he his under a tree trunk in the cold part, and doesnt move from there, i sprying a couple of time water and put some cup under the heat light, he also has exo terra heat wave..the temperature in the heat is like 27.5 but now i put him in a breeding box with a cable heat under it and fresh water in a bowl, and spray it, what else should i try? He last ate at 4.12 before the shedding cycle, he took it today..maybe to try tomorow?

[Tiny Boidae]

No sense in stressing her out, and if it's only been a few weeks since her last meal, I would honestly wait a few days and kind of leave her alone. Prolonged stress is a silent killer.

Do you have a hygrometer in there at all? Knowing the humidity is crucial for these snakes, and too little humidity tagged onto stress can lead to some serious infections. If you don't, you can get an anolog hygrometer from a pet shop real cheap. That's what I use for my lizards, I've heard the digital ones can be inaccurate at best.

[bigsnakegirl785]

No sense in stressing her out, and if it's only been a few weeks since her last meal, I would honestly wait a few days and kind of leave her alone. Prolonged stress is a silent killer.

Do you have a hygrometer in there at all? Knowing the humidity is crucial for these snakes, and too little humidity tagged onto stress can lead to some serious infections. If you don't, you can get an anolog hygrometer from a pet shop real cheap. That's what I use for my lizards, I've heard the digital ones can be inaccurate at best.

The opposite is actually true. Analog hygrometers are inaccurate, digital ones are not. For a multitude of reasons.

[Tiny Boidae]

Really? I know that's true for the thermometers (which I use a temp gun for that), but I've heard awful things about the digital hygrometers being off by 20% or more, the ones with probes that is. When I got my water dragons I'd been recommended an anolog over a digital, repeatedly. Peculiar. I'll have to look into that. Ignore what I said about digital vs analog for now, but still you need a hygrometer.

[erantheking21]

Really? I know that's true for the thermometers (which I use a temp gun for that), but I've heard awful things about the digital hygrometers being off by 20% or more, the ones with probes that is. When I got my water dragons I'd been recommended an anolog over a digital, repeatedly. Peculiar. I'll have to look into that. Ignore what I said about digital vs analog for now, but still you need a hygrometer.

I have a digital one, but the % are not clear only if you spray water around it, it will give you information ..if the humidity in the other parts of the terrium is high in this part of the hygrometer is low, he will produce only this part i have the trixy one

[bigsnakegirl785]

Really? I know that's true for the thermometers (which I use a temp gun for that), but I've heard awful things about the digital hygrometers being off by 20% or more, the ones with probes that is. When I got my water dragons I'd been recommended an anolog over a digital, repeatedly. Peculiar. I'll have to look into that. Ignore what I said about digital vs analog for now, but still you need a hygrometer.

I've never heard anyone recommend analog hygrometers over digital before. Analogs can be off as much as 50%. Put like 3 analogs together and you could get readings of 20%, 80%, or 50% from any one of them, when the humidity could be more like 40%. They can be calibrated I think, but a lot of times they seem to fail and become unable to be further calibrated. This is especially true of the generic ones sold at pet stores, although cigar-type analogs may be better. Analogs also do terrible in higher humidity over 70-80%.

I've been in pet stores where the hygrometer was reading 80% but the snake had bad stuck shed, so there's no way it was anywhere near accurate.

[Tiny Boidae]

I'm reiterating myself on the basics of reptile keeping right now- and will probably test a digital against my anolog so I'm not just taking other people's word for it. Until then, I'm not going to argue for either or.

That is still a problem though. Do you have a screen lid or a solid lid? What substrate do you use? A bit of spagnum moss does wonders if the hygrometer is reading accurately.

bigsnakegirl785-

I don't remember exactly who recommended it- it was several years ago and it'd require me to do some Google searching for the guy. Some awful reviews on digital hygrometers deterred me and when I pried a little more into analogs, inquiring about them, I'd gotten mixed results, but the more convincing side was for analogs.

My animals haven't had humidity problems since they were babies and I was still trying to figure out the trick to humidity. My dragons spend more time outdoors than they do indoors, only coming in at night, during bad weather, or in the winter), so this could probably be contributed to their health. I'll be sure to change over to a digital one then. Or at least run it with my analog and see how far off I'd been.

[erantheking21]

Ok he still didnt ate, i put him back to his cage, probebly he will hide agian under the trunk tree to settle agian in his secure place.
I am doing something wrong but i am not sure what
the digital hygrometer tells me the humidity is like 85%, the temperature in the worm place is 27.3
And in cold one is 24.5 ..he has in is cage a cave in the worm place, a trunk so he can hide in the cold place..a stick hot wave under is warm place who work all the time, a heat light that working with a timer so i can play with it if its hot in the or cold( i read in israel they recommended like 29 in an articale, this why i put this type of heat)
I am hadling him from the breeding box to his cage only for not giving him stress, but he was already use to be handle before from the farm.
I am more stress from the snake i think, couse he is a baby, even if he last ate in 4.12, i want him to be settle when i am feeding him, if he will not eat until the 24 i will take him to check. What date it will be critical?
He was shedding yesterday, i help him a little bit with it, it can be becuse of that? Put him in a warm bath and the skin was peeling out , full from the top
Even he looks healthy and moving in my hand.
What to do now? If i will try to put him a couple of days in the breeding box i affried he will not eat agian..i put a cable hot under the breeding box, small hiding place and water dish
What else ?

[Tsubaki]

Leave the animal alone, you're fussing with it way too much. You're probably just stressing it out.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I'm reiterating myself on the basics of reptile keeping right now- and will probably test a digital against my anolog so I'm not just taking other people's word for it. Until then, I'm not going to argue for either or.

That is still a problem though. Do you have a screen lid or a solid lid? What substrate do you use? A bit of spagnum moss does wonders if the hygrometer is reading accurately.

bigsnakegirl785-

I don't remember exactly who recommended it- it was several years ago and it'd require me to do some Google searching for the guy. Some awful reviews on digital hygrometers deterred me and when I pried a little more into analogs, inquiring about them, I'd gotten mixed results, but the more convincing side was for analogs.

My animals haven't had humidity problems since they were babies and I was still trying to figure out the trick to humidity. My dragons spend more time outdoors than they do indoors, only coming in at night, during bad weather, or in the winter), so this could probably be contributed to their health. I'll be sure to change over to a digital one then. Or at least run it with my analog and see how far off I'd been.

At this point, I only really use hygrometers as a base point to start my humidity. I've found over the past several years, each individual does better at different humidities. I mostly look at the skin condition more than humidity readings nowadays. If they have even the smallest sign of dehydration, I bump the humidity. Hygrometers are most useful to me when starting up a new enclosure and just checking in every once in awhile so I can give a range for husbandry monitoring reasons.

[Wingbeats]

I've discovered whatever hygrometers I get, they always break in my rainbow boa's enclosures. So, instead of keeping them in there at all times, I keep one just nearby. I just stick the probe in for 10 minutes to check the humidity, then take it out again.

I've gotten good at telling how much condensation is healthy on the cage, but I still just check it once in a while. So far, this hygrometer hasn't broken yet! :D

[erantheking21]

I put him in a breeding box, put inside a small box i put some fresh water, and some cable heat under..i dangle him throw is face somtimes he comming close but go back
I left the mouse near him its ok?
Hope he will eat by hinsalf

[bigsnakegirl785]

I would honestly stop taking the snake out of its enclosure to feed it. You're unnecessarily stressing the thing out, and it's already refusing to eat. Leave it in its enclosure. If you keep stressing your snake out like this, you're going to lose it.

You also seem to be offering food rather often, are you giving it 7 days before you offer again?

[Snakesitter]

Avoid screen lids…they are horrid for this species.

[erantheking21]

How much can baby boa survive without eating? He looks fat in my opinion but i will give him to rest 5-6 days from now in the breeding box and only give water and humidity ?

[bigsnakegirl785]

How much can baby boa survive without eating? He looks fat in my opinion but i will give him to rest 5-6 days from now in the breeding box and only give water and humidity ?

Leave him in his enclosure. There is no reason to put him anywhere else but in his regular enclosure. Leave him alone unless absolutely necessary, and just leave him to his devices when you change water unless he's in the bowl.

After 7 days offer him another meal. If he refuses, wait 7 days again. Rinse and repeat until he eats or loses significant weight.

A baby BRB should be able to make it several months at least, 6 months is within a reasonable time frame, but if they're an older snake that had been established and is healthy, I don't see why they couldn't go longer.

[erantheking21]

Leave him in his enclosure. There is no reason to put him anywhere else but in his regular enclosure. Leave him alone unless absolutely necessary, and just leave him to his devices when you change water unless he's in the bowl.

After 7 days offer him another meal. If he refuses, wait 7 days again. Rinse and repeat until he eats or loses significant weight.

A baby BRB should be able to make it several months at least, 6 months is within a reasonable time frame, but if they're an older snake that had been established and is healthy, I don't see why they couldn't go longer.

hi
1.i put him in a smaller exo terra breeding box(46cm to 30cm) cause he wasent moving in his terrarium, he was stuck and stress, in is new box he moving more and more active, yestarday night he was moving the first time from his cave out... so it probebly he will get less stress and better and better...i put him a cable heat(in his terrarium he has a sticker that better i think, but the cable making the same work).......
i will wait for 2-3 months or give him to eat first 3-4 mices and then i will try to return him back to his terrtium.
i can put alot of humitidy their its better all the time on 90%
2.so i dont have to worry, if he can 2-3 months without eating..couse last time he ate was 2 weeks

[Justinbolleurs]

Why would people make an analog hygrometer with a 100% humidity rating and it actually can't do high humidity? Yes over the years it might need to get re-calibrated and it gets inaccurate. annual average temperature in the region is 22 to 26 °C (72 to 79 °F), with not much variation between the warmest and the coldest months. The hottest part of Brazil is the northeast, where temperatures of more than 38 °C (100 °F) are frequently recorded during the dry season between May and November. Heres a chart bellow of Venezuela. This should be where they are in the wild so that's the best indication of their true temperature they should be in.

[Justinbolleurs]

Why would people make an analog hygrometer with a 100% humidity rating and it actually can't do high humidity? Yes over the years it might need to get re-calibrated and it gets inaccurate. annual average temperature in the region is 22 to 26 °C (72 to 79 °F), with not much variation between the warmest and the coldest months. The hottest part of Brazil is the northeast, where temperatures of more than 38 °C (100 °F) are frequently recorded during the dry season between May and November. Heres a chart bellow of Venezuela. This should be where they are in the wild so that's the best of their true temperature they should be in.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Why would people make an analog hygrometer with a 100% humidity rating and it actually can't do high humidity? Yes over the years it might need to get re-calibrated and it gets inaccurate. annual average temperature in the region is 22 to 26 °C (72 to 79 °F), with not much variation between the warmest and the coldest months. The hottest part of Brazil is the northeast, where temperatures of more than 38 °C (100 °F) are frequently recorded during the dry season between May and November. Heres a chart bellow of Venezuela. This should be where they are in the wild so that's the best of their true temperature they should be in.

Because there's no way to make a 100% accurate hygrometer commercially available atm. Analogs are still unreliable in lower humidity, but a good quality digital can stay pretty accurate up to ~85%.

[erantheking21]

Ok
I try every time to feed him a small baby rat he didnt want, after i put amice he jump om it and ate
My knowlage on rainbow boa is now better i put him with moss

[Snakesitter]

Two weeks is nothing. In fact, I have a little girl right now, one of 26 in her September litter, that has only eaten for me once. She is thin, but not wasting away, and acts like a normal baby.

[Snakesitter]

Rainbows have a genetic weakness for mice, especially live hoppers. Any time I have a non-feeder that goes too long, live mice solve the problem.