feeding problem

[mark129er]

My girl wouldn't take the prekilled rat. Put it in the freezer and thawed a mouse, she didn't take it right away, although she did strike at it. At present I'm going to leave the mouse in there overnight, is that the right strategy?? If the mouse is there in the am, I'll throw it away and offer the rat again later in the day. Her last meal was a live adult mouse, is there any possibility that she will only want live now???

Thanks, mark

[mykee]

Mark, it's a great possibility that she will only eat live. With regards to your snake striking at it and not taking it, from my experience, that is a defensive strike. They are trying to scare away the food item, and chances are they won't eat it. Try again in a few days. If you are going to feed live, I would highly recommend rats, just easier once they get big.

[mark129er]

silly me, she is a boa.

[Linds]

Wrong strategy. You don't want to go back and forth between prey items. If your snake has taken a rat, don't look back. If your snake gets another taste of mouse it may want to stay on mice... which is no good for a big boa to be stuck on mice. As mykee said, sounds like the strike may have been a defense bite. Is it possible your snake is going in to a shed? Snakes may refuse food for many reasons.

[BurmBaroness]

99% of boas WILL take f/t, it's just in how you present it. Mine are different. One wants it moving, so I make it "dance". The other wants me to lay it down and go away. She will the slide up to it and begin swallowing, no strike, no constriction. Your best bet would be to switch to f/t. less danger of the snake being bitten, less chance of parasites from the prey item. Feeding live in some cases cannot be avoided, but only as a last resort.

[Linds]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the snake in question was consistently feeding on f/t, and the last live meal was sort of a fluke when it escaped and found its way in to the mouse cage...

[Invictus]

One great thing about boas is, they will almost always eat anything warm and fuzzy that is dangled in front of their face. Birds, chickens, rats, mice, rabbits... the whole gambit. I would seriously doubt that if a boa is refusing food it's because they are "addicted" to live. Boa Constrictors are machines. I've never once seen a problem feeder.

[Linds]

Originally posted by Invictus
Boa Constrictors are machines. I've never once seen a problem feeder.

How many have you seen?