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View Full Version : Sand Boa Hasnt Eaten in 3 Months


Omniarc
11-26-17, 11:40 AM
So a friend bought a Sand Boa from a breeder roughly 3 months ago and hasn't been able to get him to eat since getting then, and roughly 3 weeks ago she gave him and his set-up to me so I could try.

His set-up is kind of basic, and Ive since then replaced things in hopes of solving the problem but still nothing. I'll list below what he had and what he now has

-Had black sand, Replaced it with ZooMed Aspen Snake bedding
-Had a 50w light producing bulb, Replaced it with a 75w Ceramic bulb

I've tried feeding him f/t pinkies and I've done everything I can think of with them. I've wiggle'd it, brained it, bled it, fed him outside his container, fed him inside his container, dipped the pinkies in both chicken broth and tuna, offered smaller parts of the pinkie.

I'm at a loss for what I should do. This is my first snake and I'm not sure what else can be done, though I'm sure there is plenty more.

TRD
11-26-17, 06:20 PM
Just some info;
Sandboa's are not desert species.. so no pure sand/other inherently dry substrates.. they require about 40-50% humidity. They love to dig, a mixture with about 25-30% playsand, 15% clay (dry), fir/orchid bark pieces, topsoil will do just fine. They also like hot temps, hot side can be at 90-95F surface temps, but they need cooler retreat to 80F.

They aren't too easy feeders, especially the little ones, but fear not - they can go long without food and 3 months is nothing unheard off.

They don't like disturbance one bit, so getting nervous and keep trying to feed it, is not going to help. If he doesn't eat leaving the pinkie in overnight, just try again a week later and don't do anything else but adding water if you need. When feeding just leave the pinkie on a piece of bark, or whatever he has on the surface. And about that surface - make sure it has enough clutter (cork bark pieces, branches laying across, a fake plant or 2-3 will help giving the impression of 'cover overhead'). Remember that they do not come out 'in the open'.

CK SandBoas
11-29-17, 05:57 PM
One question, do you have any sort of undertank heating, such as flexwatt tape or an undertank heating mat? The bulb does the snake absolutely no good when they need to digest a meal....Oh, and how old is he? how big? Its possible the prey is too small for him to be interested in

regi375
11-30-17, 06:13 AM
The one trick that worked for me in getting my sand boa to feed is putting him in a container with the pinky. The container has to be fairly small so he can't just avoid the food entirely. My enclosure was large enough to where I placed the container inside. I left him alone for a half hour and he ate. Just make sure he's left undisturbed with no activity around him at all as it may discourage feeding.

kazz
01-10-18, 05:17 PM
My carpet eats frozen quails and mice only at night in completely dark.