Feedings

[TeamSlitherin]

Hello, friends!

I am the proud mama of a lovely 7 month old Dumeril's Boa. I know they are notoriously finicky eaters, so I am thinking a change of approach might be in order. I've not kept a snake in many years (since I was like 14, actually), but I've never had one that did not go into immediate feeding response upon being offered food. I have had her for about 11 weeks now and she has only eaten 4 or 5 times.

This may not be a cause for concern at all, as maybe she's just not hungry and only wants to eat every 2 weeks. It just seems the general expectation for a snake her size is that she should be offered food about every 7 days. I don't want to feel like a horrible mom who is starving her child, but it would be way easier if she could just tell me when she's hungry:)

I have always fed my snakes live prey, but it seems like a lot of people these days are feeding f/t prey. I know there are a number of valid reasons to choose either approach, but it does seem like it might be easier to offer her f/t prey if she will make the switch. That way, I can leave it in her enclosure for a couple hours and let her eat alone in the dark as she prefers. And then, I wouldn't have to house her cast-off mice until she feels like eating them:laugh:

Anyone have a preference regarding live/frozen food? Or tips for making the switch? Oh yes, last thing! When I bought her, the store owner told me all three Dums he had on hand were good, consistent feeders who had never refused a meal. In fact, after I held her, he put her back in her tank and tossed in a hopper to show me that she would eat. She attacked it immediately. I have never seen that response in her while in my care. Not even close, actually.

She doesn't really show other signs of being stressed (though perhaps I'm not keen enough to pick up on it yet?). Her cage is definitely bigger than the one she was in at the store, but not tons bigger. Temps are about 91 degrees on the hot side, about 86 on the cool side, humidity is usually around 40-50%. She has 2 hides, a branch, and lots of coconut mulch to burrow under.

[EL Ziggy]

I don't keep boas and I'm not familiar with their husbandry requirements so I can't offer much in the way of advice. I'm sure some of the boa keepers will chime in soon. Generally speaking I would double check my temps and humidity. If they're dialed in I would scale back on offering her food. Try feeding her every 10-14 days as opposed to every 7 days. This way you'll waste fewer feeders and your snake is more likely to be hungry and hopefully eat. I'm a big fan of feeding f/t. I don't see any reason to feed live if your snake will take f/t. Sometimes it's as simple as just offering a frozen prey item and some snakes will take them immediately. Other times it takes a little more patience and tough love. Best wishes with your critter and please keep us posted on your progress.

[TeamSlitherin]

Well, the good news is she ate her first f/t mouse on Friday! That is going to make life SO much easier, since she's a drama queen and has to eat alone in the dark (and I'd obv never be able to leave a live mouse in her viv all night).:rolleyes: A guy at the store I buy my feeders from has seen my Dumi and mentioned they have slow metabolisms and that he'd be surprised if the peanut would take food every 7 days. So I'm switching her to a 14-day schedule and we'll see how that goes. Otherwise, she's a dream and I'm basically obsessed with her.:)

[Scubadiver59]

This is a similar situation with my Dumeril...I tried to get it to eat a few days after I got it, about 7 days after it last ate, but it didnt take food. So, a week later this weekend, I will try again. I thought it a bit strange to wait two weeks for a juvenile boa to eat, and that's what the sellers feeding schedule was, two weeks, so he was apparently correct with the long wait between feedings. Go figure...


Well, the good news is she ate her first f/t mouse on Friday! That is going to make life SO much easier, since she's a drama queen and has to eat alone in the dark (and I'd obv never be able to leave a live mouse in her viv all night).:rolleyes: A guy at the store I buy my feeders from has seen my Dumi and mentioned they have slow metabolisms and that he'd be surprised if the peanut would take food every 7 days. So I'm switching her to a 14-day schedule and we'll see how that goes. Otherwise, she's a dream and I'm basically obsessed with her.:)

[dannybgoode]

Dumerils are infrequent eaters. Every 10-14 days at 7mo is fine. As an adult a few weeks between feeds is sufficient.

[Scubadiver59]

Now you tell me!!! :rolleyes:

Dumerils are infrequent eaters. Every 10-14 days at 7mo is fine. As an adult a few weeks between feeds is sufficient.

[TeamSlitherin]

Thanks for putting my mind at ease, guys!!

[dannybgoode]

Now you tell me!!! :rolleyes:

Well I do mention infrequent feedings in just about every post that asks about feeding! :p

The only snakes of mine that get frequent food are the babies (18mo and younger) and the P obsoletus because colubrids are frequent eaters. Even then some of the babies are on 10-14 day feeds.

The obsoletus is a pig though. A machine for rapidly turning rats into s**t!

[TeamSlitherin]

This is a similar situation with my Dumeril...I tried to get it to eat a few days after I got it, about 7 days after it last ate, but it didnt take food. So, a week later this weekend, I will try again. I thought it a bit strange to wait two weeks for a juvenile boa to eat, and that's what the sellers feeding schedule was, two weeks, so he was apparently correct with the long wait between feedings. Go figure...

How did your next attempt go?! I totally caved at day 12 because she's been out exploring (i.e. probing her viv for escape routes) so much lately. I thought she might be hungry, but noooooope. She pretended to watch it for awhile, laid her head on it for awhile...I left it overnight so she could eat in peace. In the morning, she was guarding it, so I left it through the afternoon. No cigar😂

Please tell me you had better luck🙄

[TRD]

How did your next attempt go?! I totally caved at day 12 because she's been out exploring (i.e. probing her viv for escape routes) so much lately. I thought she might be hungry, but noooooope. She pretended to watch it for awhile, laid her head on it for awhile...I left it overnight so she could eat in peace. In the morning, she was guarding it, so I left it through the afternoon. No cigar😂

Please tell me you had better luck🙄


And the little boa said to mommy: "Thanks for the pillow, it's so soft and furry!"

[TeamSlitherin]

And the little boa said to mommy: "Thanks for the pillow, it's so soft and furry!"

Hahaha, my friends are always joking that I have a "vegan snake." I think she just does it to spite me.:rolleyes:

[bigsnakegirl785]

Yup, snakes, especially boas, have much slower metabolisms than you'd think. A meal that leaves little to no bulge every other week should be more than enough, even for a baby. :) Even missing a few feeds on that schedule here and there shouldn't hurt them. A snake fed less than the "conventional" way may grow slower, but they're a lot healthier.

And keep in mind behavior is not necessarily an indicator of a want OR need to eat, always give them the minimum amount of time in between meals, even if they start pacing before the time is up.

[TeamSlitherin]

Thanks, BSG! I'll stay strong next time, because it's way more annoying to fail an extra time.:rolleyes: I tried again today, on day 18, because I just got a scale! Now I can actually measure an appropriately sided prey item. I bought a few rat fuzzies and a few small mice and was shocked at how deceptive their size can be when compared to weight! This will also allow me to monitor her weight while she's crash dieting. She seems perfectly healthy aside from not feeding and she's a pretty lean 167 grams. No prey item has ever left a noticeable bump in her, but now that I have a scale, I can adjust more easily. Honestly, I have a feeling she may be going into shed soon. So maybe I'll get lucky and have a ravenous little monster after that.;)

[dannybgoode]

Don't get too hung up on prey weight. I am reasonably certain snakes don't gave scales in the wild. So long as it is not overly large or indeed too small it won't be an issue. I've weighed a prey item precisely once and it told me nothing my eyes couldn't so haven't done it since.

It is also often best to leave a finicky eater well alone except for routine water changes etc. No constant checking on it, lifting its hide etc. This adds to stress which can compound the lack of desire to feed.

Also make sure the snake has plenty of hiding options - at least 4 hides at different points in the enclosure.

Try offering food once a week and see how it goes...

[bigsnakegirl785]

Gonna agree with danny here, I only take prey weight into consideration to make sure that they fall within or close to the size I'm feeding them (some places mark their smalls as like 80+ grams when the most common is somewhere around 50-80 grams for example). (Except Morzan because one gram too much and he regurges. Dx)

[TeamSlitherin]

Don't get too hung up on prey weight. I am reasonably certain snakes don't gave scales in the wild. So long as it is not overly large or indeed too small it won't be an issue. I've weighed a prey item precisely once and it told me nothing my eyes couldn't so haven't done it since.

It is also often best to leave a finicky eater well alone except for routine water changes etc. No constant checking on it, lifting its hide etc. This adds to stress which can compound the lack of desire to feed.

Also make sure the snake has plenty of hiding options - at least 4 hides at different points in the enclosure.

Try offering food once a week and see how it goes...

Thank you, as always, Danny! She currently has only 2 hides, but I just realized that her main one is probably too large to make her feel secure. She only uses it about half as often as she just burrows underneath her substrate or under her water bowl. I think I will trade it in for a couple smaller ones and see if that makes her more comfortable. Thanks!

[TeamSlitherin]

As suspected, Nagini did go into shed (or, as I call it, "demon mode"). Once she sluffed her skin, I thawed a rat fuzzy and left it with her for a couple hours. When she ignored it, I decided to try my hand at this braining thing. It didn't impress her. I left it for several more hours and ALMOST removed it from the cage, as I didn't want to have to clean up 16 hours worth of rat brains putrefying in a hot-spot overnight....Luckily, I went ahead and left it and it was gone by morning! Hallelujah!! 32 days of food strike ended and we're starting all over again.

[TeamSlitherin]

And start all over we did. She's on Day 35 and counting now. Maybe I should try offering every 3 weeks instead of 2. I would feel like a horrible mother if I only offered food every month to a 166 gram snake, but maybe that's what she wants. WHY WON'T SHE JUST TALK TO ME?!?!

[EL Ziggy]

They know what they want and as long as she's healthy I say let her have her way. No point in wasting any feeders. :)