boa hissing at food

[Jay]

hey need help went to go feed my boa and he is hissing at his food striking it but not eating and its not to big its the same width as the widest part of him

[Reptile_Reptile]

what are his temps. it may be to cold for him to eat and so he just see's the food as a threat instead of food.

[Jay]

91 basking 87 hot end low 80 cold end yea hes tame as heck tho i took him out to put him in his feeding tub then offered the food and he is not impressed lol

[Reptile_Reptile]

just wait him out for a month or 2 then offer him if no success wait another month or 3. captive bred snakes are overfed as some members on this forum say.

[Jay]

lol probably... but hes only 6 months weird well ill wait till next week my Savannah chomper loves when my snakes dont eat then he gets a treat lol

[Lankyrob]

Is he due to shed?maybe why hewont eat?

[shaunyboy]

hey need help went to go feed my boa and he is hissing at his food striking it but not eating and its not to big its the same width as the widest part of him


have you changed anything recently ?

is he coming up to a shed ?

some of mmy carpets wont eat going into and out of shed

they do however strike and constrict for a while

my theory is they dont want to eat

but see the prey item as a danger to them

so they kill it (they maybe dont differ of opinion from live to dead and see it all as a threat )

this is just my humble opinion and its based on carpet behavoir

cheers shaun

[shaunyboy]

91 basking 87 hot end low 80 cold end yea hes tame as heck tho i took him out to put him in his feeding tub then offered the food and he is not impressed lol


try him in his vivarium as he will feel most secure there

cheers shaun

[Ch^4]

just wait him out for a month or 2 then offer him if no success wait another month or 3. captive bred snakes are overfed as some members on this forum say.

I may be mistaken, but it sounds like you were suggesting he wait 1-3 months to feed his 6 month old boa?

In my humble opinion, I feel that 1-3 months is an excessive wait at best, especially for a young and growing boa. If any of my snakes decide to pass on their dinner, I make sure they show no signs of early-stage shed (i.e., dulling of the skin, discoloration, attitude change, etc.).

If they are not going into shed, I give them a "week off", with minimal handling, just in case the rejected meal was stress-induced.

The only time I go more than 3 weeks between meals is when my snakes decide to "hibernate" (or brumate--<sp?>). Again, just my opinion.

[Jay]

yea hes still young 6 months so he needs as much as possible but i re heated the rat put it on the opposite side of the tank because he only hissed when i was dangling it maybe he was scared that it could be a predator who know but he ate !

[Ch^4]

yea hes still young 6 months so he needs as much as possible but i re heated the rat put it on the opposite side of the tank because he only hissed when i was dangling it maybe he was scared that it could be a predator who know but he ate !

Glad to hear he ate! It's always a relief.

Now, if you could only help with my JCP....she hides in a location I can't get too (a "special" perch for complete isolation) without essentially pulling her off, which I won't do. Anytime she thinks I'm going to handle her, she goes straight there! Stubborn little bugger....hopefully she will associate me with "the hand that feeds her!"

(sorry for the digression)

[Reptile_Reptile]

jcp are smart just get her off it so she stops going there and associating it with a world with less you and becomes tolerant of you. (just my opinion)

[Ch^4]

jcp are smart just get her off it so she stops going there and associating it with a world with less you and becomes tolerant of you. (just my opinion)

Thanks....the problem is getting my large hand back into this little area. I have a plastic cage and a radiant heat panel (pro-heat) mounted to the top. She decided to make a perch out of the 2 inch piece of wire that is in the cage.

As such, I don't have an easy way to get a hand on her and don't want to force her off the perch as that could easily damage her 1-2 millimeter diameter tail that is thoroughly wrapped around the cord.

She has been getting much better with associating that I am not a predator...I haven't been tagged for nearly a week.

(additional apologies for the digression).

[Reptile_Reptile]

I may be mistaken, but it sounds like you were suggesting he wait 1-3 months to feed his 6 month old boa?

In my humble opinion, I feel that 1-3 months is an excessive wait at best, especially for a young and growing boa. If any of my snakes decide to pass on their dinner, I make sure they show no signs of early-stage shed (i.e., dulling of the skin, discoloration, attitude change, etc.).

If they are not going into shed, I give them a "week off", with minimal handling, just in case the rejected meal was stress-induced.

The only time I go more than 3 weeks between meals is when my snakes decide to "hibernate" (or brumate--<sp?>). Again, just my opinion.
baby snakes goes up to 6 months before their first meal dude a snake is way overfed in captivity it could easily make the wait and maybe even wait more untill its hungry my friend feeds his retic one adult rabbit every 4th month and a chicken every 8th and its still slightly obese and he has done this for about 6 years so i think a baby with all that yolk protein from the egg can easily and i really stress the easily make 1-3 months

edit- especially if its eaten since its first meal

[Ch^4]

baby snakes goes up to 6 months before their first meal dude a snake is way overfed in captivity it could easily make the wait and maybe even wait more untill its hungry my friend feeds his retic one adult rabbit every 4th month and a chicken every 8th and its still slightly obese and he has done this for about 6 years so i think a baby with all that yolk protein from the egg can easily and i really stress the easily make 1-3 months

edit- especially if its eaten since its first meal

Again, I was merely expressing my own opinion. I do agree with you fully that snakes in captivity are more likely to be obese because of poor husbandry than their wild counterparts.

However, if a snake exercises regularly and is fed modest portions, I see no reason why it cannot be fed every 7-14 days. Again, only my opinion and experts please feel free to correct me.

I have 5 healthy, lean, constricting machines, none of which are obese (nor underweight :) ). In the past, my BP has gone 6 months between meals, which was his choice, so I am fully aware that 1-3 months can easily be done.

And a retic that is eating adult rabbits is likely not the best analog to use; jay0133's boa is only 6 months old.

Again, only my opinion, and not trying to rude or confrontational in any way, shape or form.

[TeaNinja]

try him in his vivarium as he will feel most secure there

cheers shaun

yea, when i first got my dumerils the guy said he eats in a big cardboard box but he didnt seem to want to eat for 3-5 days. then i woke up one day and went, ehh ill drop it in his tank, and he IMMEDIATELY perked up and made all his movements super rigid and stiff, got a wiff and blam, lunch time. also it could have been him settling into the house move and my heat lamp and whatnot, he may have just needed to adjust.
http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/rat001.jpg

[Will0W783]

Most snakes do need time to adjust to new environments. With the exception of hatchlings, it is always good to give new snakes a week or so to adjust before offering food.

[Reptile_Reptile]

Again, only my opinion and experts please feel free to correct me. real subtle... i get my Facts from real experts