im stumped

[susan]

i hope someone can help me,
i just rescued a rainbow boa and the previous owners said he hasent eaten in 5 monthes,now hes very healthy looking,good muscle,great coloring,no mouth rot or anything,very freindly and active.hes or she is 3.5 feet,can anyone give me input?

[Linds]

How long have you had him for? What kind of rainbow boa is it? What is your setup (temps, humidity, etc.)? We need more specific details if we can help you. There can be many reasons that a snake may go off food. Also, do not expect your snake to start eating right off the bat, although msot rainbows are great feeders, some may still want a little time to settle in ;)

[susan]

i just picked him up last nite, like i said i got a call and went over expecting to see the worse, ive had snakes all my life but never a boa, i set up a smaller tank than i normally would have(as a hosp tank) temp is about 78 to 80,have a bowl of water in there but havent misted ,im not sure what kind but hes very irridescent
which leads me to believe hes some type ofrainbow,from the info i got from my cousin is that they had him for 3 monthes and the previous owner for 2 yrs and he was original owner

[DataRipper]

could be off feeding for breeding

[susan]

Here's a pic of the new snake. Does anybody have any idea what kind it is?

http://www.hurricanejane.net/Frank/snake.jpg

[Jeff_Favelle]

LOL! That's a Dumeril's Boa, NOT a Rainbow Boa.

Boa dumerili

[Jeff_Favelle]

And 78-80F is NOT warm enough. No wonder it won't it. Its basically being hibernated. Try 80F on the cool end, and 90F on the warm end, with a TIGHT hide on either side and water dish to soak.

[Matt_K]

defiantly a dumerils and from the looks of it, a very nice one too!!

[tHeGiNo]

Damn, why don't I get rescues like that? I agree with Jeff though, up the temps to what he suggested. Also, how big is this "hospital tank."

[Piers]

When did they change the latin on the Dumerils ?
Piers

[Jeff_Favelle]

Over 2 years ago I think. I haven't seen Acrantophis used for a while now.

[susan]

thank you for the advice, like i said i never delt with boas. i had thought that when a boa had that irridescent sheen to them they were rainbows.thank you again

[Piers]

They never tell me anything anymore, that or the senility is kicking in.
Piers

[susan]

Maybe this is something, this morning i came down and in his tank was a huge dump. should i try to feed now after i clean tank?

[KingFfaj]

as long as the tempreture is steady, that should be fine.
Although its normal to leave a snake afew days in a new enviroment before attemting to feed it.

By the way, almost all snakes are a little irridescent:)

[susan]

thank you,

ive never seen that with my other ones but they've been garters,ribbons ,corns ect. :D

[Jeff_Favelle]

Yeah, but wait until night to feed for more success. Nocturnal snake and all.........

[susan]

.Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you know my guy shed last night.(he still hasent eaten ,but I think thats cause he needed to shed) now we will see .Thank you all for all of your advice and help.
Susan

[dcboas]

Susan, you are so lucky.Why cant I find a rescue like that.You have a very nice looking dumeril there.Let us know your progress.

[susan]

thank you, i will.

[susan]

hi all,
wanted to update you,
i didnot want to do this, but vet suggested i force feed him since
he couldnt find out a reason for him not eating
i then force fed him a pinkie once a week for 4 weeks, today i put in a pinke next to him and he grabbed it on his own and then ate 3 more pinkies on his own. so i must say im thankful and happy.

[thunder]

judging from your pic, that boa is way to big to be eating pinks. move him up. it is better to feed only one prey item of the appropriate size than several smaller items.

[bistrobob85]

Yeah, it would be big enough to eat at least 14 days old rats...

[Jeff_Favelle]

Maybe a WHALE pinky, but a rat or mouse pinky would be a joke to a snake that size, LOL!