Dumb boa

[FireFoz]

My boa is dumb! She keeps eating preys sidewards, whcih takes ages! Is there anything i can do about it?
She just strangles them first (she's baby) and then tries to eat the prey in the middle...in the end she sends up with the prey twofold and a HUGE head...lol

[FireFoz]

o yeah another thing, everytime she tried like 2 minutes, she strangles the prey again(while its already died) and then tries again.
she does this over and over again like 3-4 times, then the prey (usually a baby rat) is so weak, soft and truncked, she finally can get it inside

[Colonel SB]

LOL thats cute, it's nothingto worrie about, she is a baby and it might take him a wile to get the hang of it, I had a BP that was like that but after a month or two he was a normal feeder.

[FireFoz]

she is a baby and it might take him a wile to get the hang of it


lol :p

[FireFoz]

here is a example, i just fed her
sorry for the bad quality

[Kyle Walkinshaw]

thats a nice looking snake :) any more pics?

[FireFoz]

yes check out

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15181

and

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15362

[Zoe]

FireFoz - you might want to try a slightly bigger food item. In that picture, the item is pretty small even for the strictest standards. Try something a little thickers than the biggest part of the snake's body. At that size, the snake would be inclined to eat it the right way. On the off chance she doesn't, she can probably still manage it sideways, my boa eats hers sideways sometimes.

Zoe

[reptile gallery]

I agree..nothing to worry about! Quite often it is the result of a prey item that is to small. She could eat much larger items now, and I am sure that would solve it!
Good luck

[Jeff_Favelle]

Baby boas START on fuzzy -----> popcorn mice. I have no idea why you are feeding it pinkies.

[Zoe]

Jeff, I think it is because it was all he had at the time and just wanted to see if they might hungry. Small size keeps the gag reflex to a minimum, if on the off chance he had gotten really stressed and vomit-ready snakes.

I do agree, though, that bigger prey would be ideal.

Zoe

[Jeff_Favelle]

Snakes don't have a gag reflex.

[Zoe]

i know i was joking. i meant that stress can cause snakes to vomit, and why not increase ods of the snake holding in the food by offering something small?

Zoe

[C.Marshell]

Nah man,..your boa is not dumb..lol..But as Jeff said a biger food item would be a good idea.
You mention that he/she is constricting leting go and then atempting to constrict again,..well,the smaller the prey item,the harder its gonna be for the little guy/girl to throw coils arround em,cause after it strikes and bites...there's nothing else left to hang on to!

Try hopper/weanling mice or rat pups that are starting to get a bit of hair growth.

PS:Jeff F,how are the baby boas doing man?

[FireFoz]

Well im currently feeding about 3 baby rats per week. I also have semi-adult rats but they are way too big. I also got fuzzy mice so i can feed those soon.
The boa is only 22 inches long and weights 100 grams, so she/he (i think she!) isnt that big yet.
Anyway those fuzzy mice are larger than the baby rats so i will feed those from now on, and feed my new baby boa which i will get within 1 or 2 weeks the baby rats i have left (he/she is smaller).

I'll get the one i currenctly have sexed and then i pick the opposite sex and i have a couple :)
Will post pics when i have the new boa!

[Zoe]

OOPS. Sorry, I just realized that I posted my replies to the wrong thread! I was thinking all along that this was the thread about the albino boas eating small prey... Ignore all replies but my first :)

Zoe

[FireFoz]

lol no problem :)

[Jeff_Favelle]

Hey FireFoz, is that a Salmon/Hyop? That is one sweet-looking snake. I meant to mention that before. :D

Chris, those boas you sent are eatin' and growing' like mad!! They are doing 100x better than the ones I received before that from someone else. ;)

[Invictus]

Old thread, but my adult corn snake does the same thing!! He often bites the prey sideways, and ends up taking half an hour to take it down, but he does succeed. It's quite a spectacle!