hmmmm....Good Idea, Bad Idea?......What Do You Think?

[HumphreyBoagart]

I got a 6 1/2 ft Female Surinam about a month ago. I was planning on "powerfeeding" her for a while, then cycle her. However, powerfeeding her is out of the question, because she isn't feeding at all. I know Ball pythons quite often go off of food around this time of year, do Surinams do that too? Because I've never even heard of a Surinam that is a problem feeder. All my other ones will eat whatever moves, or doesn't move too for that matter. Anyways, I need your guys (and gals) opinions:

Should I keep trying to get her to eat (by the way I've tried EVERYTHING), or should I hibernate her in hopes that when I bring her out of cycle it will trigger her feeding response and she'll start eating again. Or will this have a negative effect and make her not want to eat even more? No I don't want to cycle her so I can still breed her this year, I just want her to start eating again. Please help, any and every opinion matters.

Thanks

[Todd]

I would say it depends on the body weight of her?

If shes good and solid thickness than I would say yes cycle her and see what happens.

Just make sure shes in good health and of good body size first.

Any pics of her?

Good-luck...

Todd.

[Linds]

I find Bcc can be all types of feeders, from sporadic and finicky to outright piggies. I actually know of much fewer piggies than other :p Boas do not hibernate or brumate, cycling is generally just slight drops to stimulate breeding behaviour (which often means no food for a lot of snakes). Only one of my Bcc is a pig and will snatch whatever you offer right off the tongs, the rest only eat on their terms, which means quite secrectively. One of my females needs to have a hide and have her cage covered in order for her to feed, and until just recently, would only eat one prey item once a month (which was a real pain trying to get her up to breeding weight at that pace :p). The worst I would say was my male breeder... for the longest time he would only eat (in private of course) a rat that was killed, left outy overnight, frozen for a few days, then thawed and left in his cage overnight :rolleyes: Stinkiest crap ever, but he loved it. Took a few years, but finally he's been weaned on to freshly killed items (but still needs his privacy).

Has she eaten at all for you since you've had her? Is she an established snake, or is she relatively new to captivity? Patience is key with these snakes, as they can be quite timid sometimes, especially those that are not established.

[HumphreyBoagart]

She has never eaten for me before. The guy told me she will eat whatever's thrown in front of her. Rabbits, Rats, Guinea Pigs, Alive, Prekilled, F/T, whatever, didn't matter. Obviously he was lying. He said that he had her since she was a baby but who knows. I don't think it is WC because there's not a scar on her other than her moustache is worn off from trying to get out of her ridiculously small (1'x1 1/2') rubbermaid "home". So if she is wc, she's long term captive. She filled the whole bottom of the rubbermaid so I don't know where the water bowl would have fit.
She is 6 1/2 feet and only 11 pounds. I don't want to breed her this season I just don't know if cycling her might trigger feeding or make her not eat even more. Thanks for the responses. Keep 'em comin.

[Todd]

If she is in rough shape dont breed her.
Sounds like she was kept in not the greatest conditions.

Your job now will be to just get her settled into her new place.
You can always breed her later.

Good-luck
Todd.

[BOA68]

How long have u had her? I got one of my BCI a couple months ago, she is 5 1/2ft long (year and a half old) i was also told that she would eat anything and that she never gave the guy any problems, but when i got her she wouldn't eat anything live or dead. I just let her sit without touching her for weeks and she finally ate 5 weeks after i got her. Yours might just need time also. From my experiences with boas, unless they r sick they will eat when they r hungry enough. You might wanna c a vet if she doesnt start eating.

[HumphreyBoagart]

Like I said before, I don't want to breed her this year, I just want her to eat. I have let her settle in for a month. Haven't even touched her because she's not feeding. Thanks for the responses. Keep em comin.

[Bruce]

Good afternoon,

Getting her settled in is the right move. You've probably looked after the basic husbandry concerns, heat, water, hide box, etc...
Make sure the cage is in a low traffic area of your household to minimize disturbances. If she has any bowel movements maybe think of sliding a fresh sample to your Vet or hospital for parasite load.

Bruce

[HumphreyBoagart]

Yep, she's got heat, water, and hide box, although she doesn't use it. She hasn't had a bowel movement yet. No food in her to digest.
Thanks for the responses.

[BOA68]

How have you tried to feed her, with tongs or leaving the food in the tank? Mine will not take food directly from feeding tongs. I have to leave the dead rat in the tank and when she is ready she comes out of her hide to eat it at her leisure. From my experiences BCI can sometimes be private eaters and refuse food while you are watching them. Try leaving the food item in the tank for a while. Make sure its dead and u put a peice of newspaper under it if u have bark substrate in the tank.(so she won't swallow any)

[HumphreyBoagart]

I have tried everything. Prekilled, alive, Frozen /thawed, rats, guinea pigs, she has no interest at all with dead stuff. She sometimes looks sorta interested with live stuff, but that is over in a hurry as soon as it walks up to her and smells her. That just makes her want to get outta there. So then a few days later I'll try dead food items and no interest at all.

[Jeff_Favelle]

It might not be the food that's offered, but the conditions/husbandry she's living in.

[HumphreyBoagart]

I know, I have all the nessecities (*sp?). Heat, water bowl, hide, etc. I'm starting to wonder if she maybe liked it in her 1'x1 1/2' rubbermaid. I was thinking about putting her back in a rubbermaid to see if that helps but didn't want more stress from another new home. I would put it in a bigger rubbermaid than she was in however. One that you could actually put a water bowl in. (she filled the whole bottom of it). Anybody think I should or shouldn't put her in a rubbermaid to see what happens? By the way she's in a 4' by 2' glass enclosure now. I already know certain species thrive much better in rubbermaids, so I don't need a thousand responses informing me of this, I just don't know if I should disrupt her from her "new home" and give her another "new home". Will this have positive or negative effects? thanks so much for all the responses. It is really appreciated. She's got me stressing so much, just cuz I have no idea when the last time she ate was. Buddy said she eats everytime and doesn't matter what it is. Now it really seems like he was selling it because it wouldn't eat. He gave me a guinea pig with her, probably one he'd been trying to get her to eat for months too. If this was the case, and he got rid of it because it wasn't eating, it really really shows how much he actually cared about the animal.

[Linds]

Definitely get her out of the glass tank. Aside from the fact that they cannot contain heat or humidity, they also provide zero security. For the most part, it is best to keep snakes closed in on 5 sides of the enclosure. It is very possible that that is contributing to her refusal to feed. I'd move her to a rubbermaid temporarily until you can get her setup in a custom enclosure ;)

[HumphreyBoagart]

The sides of it are blocked, it's a glass front. The temperature right now is exactly 92.4degrees in the "hot spot" and exactly 86.0 in the cool end. It holds humidity great but has good ventilation (partial screen top).
I think I'm going to see what she says to a prekilled rat in there with her overnight, and if that doesn't work, I'm going to try the rubbermaid. Thanks for the response.

[foman]

I have a female suri that I would have to leave alone with a thawed rat overnight the first few times I fed her, and now she whips the suckers right off the tongs with the quickness. I hope this is the case with yours, good luck with her.

[HumphreyBoagart]

Thanks! I hope this is the case too.
There's a prekilled rattie in there as we speak. My fingers are crossed. If she doesn't eat it overnight, she's going in a rubbermaid and i'll try throwing a p/k rattie in there in a weeks time.

[HumphreyBoagart]

YAAAAAY!!! SHE FINALLY ATE!!!
I came down this morning totally 100% expecting to see (and smell) a dead rattie still in there with her. I couldn't believe it, the rat was nowhere to be found and she had a big lump in her. : ) It instantly made my day. Thank you so much EVERYONE for all of your help. It is greatly appreciated.

[reptiguy420]

Congrats!Glad everything worked out for you!

[BOA68]

Good to hear that she finally ate. A lot of boas prefer to eat in privacy despite their reputation for being eating machines. I've had both, the ones that go into a frenzy and my big girl now who won't eat if i am in the room.

[djnzlab]

HI,
I am relieved she ate for you, I would run a stool by a vet to be sure she dosen't have any extra parsites from previous feeding many will make a snake go off feeding.
I keep my BCC +2 deg a little warmer than my BCI its a personal thing and it may not be required.
My BCC are less hungry than my BCI I have tried to increase frequency but they have settled in at a little longer cycle.
Good luck.
Hope she's stays well
doug