My BCI Won't Eat

BOA68 · 10-04-04, 09:44 AM

Well my new BCI Sox turned down food a couple days ago. I brought her home last Monday and she proceeded to go to the bathroom 3 times in 5 days. I think this is because she was being way over fed by her previous owners and was a little clogged up due to low temps in her old tank. She soaked for several hours before two of the movements. She looks much better now because before she looked very overweight. By the looks of her i think she has emptied herself out. I tried to feed her on Friday and she refused. She seemed interested at first and smelled the rat for a few minutes, but wouldn't take it. She was being fed Guinea pigs by her previous owners, could it be that she wouldn't eat the rat just because it didn't smell like a guinea pig??? Or is it possible that it was too early and she still wasn't ajusted to the new surroundings. She isn't showing any signs of sickness and the temp. and humidity in the enclosure are perfect. She also ate 3 days before i brought her home, so i know she has eaten recently and this wasn't a problem before.

djc3674 · 10-04-04, 09:58 AM

Just leave her alone for a while and let her adjust. Don't try to feed her for atleast another week. Overdoing it will most likely cause more stress. Be patient she will come around.

Invictus · 10-04-04, 10:02 AM

I have heard of snakes, especially boas, getting addicted to guinea pigs. When I worked at an evil pet store, we had a customer who we had to special order pigs for because of this. It's sad too... GPs are nothing but fat. Great for breeding females, not great for the average pet. Do leave it alone a while though, but also take a fecal sample in to a vet and have them check for worms. A complete checkup wouldn't hurt either.. not all snakes wheeze when they have an RI, but they will usually turn down food. Good luck.

BOA68 · 10-04-04, 01:25 PM

I am definatly going to wait about a week before i try again. Hopefully then she will be settled in and take a rat. I am pretty sure that she doesn't have a RI, but if she refuses food again she will be taking a trip to the vet to get checked out by a professional. For the time being i pushed the temp. in her enclosure up a little bit. If she does have a RI the heat will help until she sees a vet and if not it will speed up her metabolism a little. Thanx for the advise.

PS. if she is infact "addicted" to guinea pigs i was thinking of throwing a small live rat in just to entice her into eating. Do you think thats a good strategy?? This way it will be running around, i think she will have a hard time resisting it even though it doesn't smell like a guinea pig.

HetForHuman · 10-04-04, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BOA68

PS. if she is infact "addicted" to guinea pigs i was thinking of throwing a small live rat in just to entice her into eating. Do you think thats a good strategy?? This way it will be running around, i think she will have a hard time resisting it even though it doesn't smell like a guinea pig.

here this may help you to decide.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showt...threadid=54742

djc3674 · 10-04-04, 02:08 PM

ummm....him trying to entice his snake with (and I quote) "a small live rat" is completely different then leaving a live rat overnight in the enclosure. BOA68 seems to have a good idea what to do, I hightly doubt he would make that kind of mistake.

BOA68 · 10-04-04, 02:12 PM

Ok i don't need horror stories about feeding live rats. I'm not an idiot i have been keeping snakes for years. I know it isn't the safest thing to do. However it would be a very small rat and i would closely supervise the feeding and if the rat is not killed and eaten immediatly i would remove it. People that leave a live rat in a snakes tank overnight are idiots. i was just asking the question to see is one of the people who had previously answered my post thought the snake would be more prone to taking a live rat. This way he could get the smell and take them dead from then on. I refuse to buy guinea pigs for a spoiled snake.

P.S. Thanx, djc for reading my post and understanding it and giving me a little credit.

djc3674 · 10-04-04, 02:17 PM

ooops...somehow I double posted..sorry

HetForHuman · 10-04-04, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BOA68
Ok i don't need horror stories about feeding live rats. I'm not an idiot i have been keeping snakes for years. I know it isn't the safest thing to do. However it would be a very small rat and i would closely supervise the feeding and if the rat is not killed and eaten immediatly i would remove it. People that leave a live rat in a snakes tank overnight are idiots. i was just asking the question to see is one of the people who had previously answered my post thought the snake would be more prone to taking a live rat. This way he could get the smell and take them dead from then on. I refuse to buy guinea pigs for a spoiled snake.

P.S. Thanx, djc for reading my post and understanding it and giving me a little credit.

Did i say you were an idiot????????

All i did was post a link in case you had'nt seen it thats all..

There is other methods to try first before live. Go buy a guinie pig and just use it to scent the dead rats. Have you tried this?

There is other things you can try, but if you want to try to feed it live right away go ahead.

BOA68 · 10-04-04, 05:48 PM

Using a guinea pig to scent a dead rat defeats the purpose enitrely. Then the snake still smells guinea pig. So i will have to rub a guinea pig on every rat i want to feed my snake? That doesn't make much sense. And when feeding a snake pre killed food, sight is almost a non existant factor in the feeding process. So its not like the snake will recognize a rat the next time you feed her without the guinea pig scent on it. And on top of that i am not catering to a spoiled snake. She'll eat the rat when he gets hungry enough.

HetForHuman · 10-04-04, 07:45 PM

i have used mice to scent rats on a number of occasions.

Usually after a few feedings with the scented rat, the snake will end up taking the rat without being scented. See where im going with this?????

If you dont want to use tried and very well used method so be it, let your spoiled snake starve i guess.

BOA68 · 10-04-04, 08:47 PM

She will if she doesn't eat. But she will eat. When hungry enough she will eat. I have been through this before with some pythons. No healthy animal will starve themselve to death. I'll keep you updated, but i promise you that she will be eating within the next two weeks.
Do u keep a lot of snakes?

HetForHuman · 10-04-04, 08:51 PM

I have been keeping snakes for a little over 4 years.

Right now i have 11 boa constrictors and 1 ball python, but used to have a bunch more ball pythons. I also used to have rainbow boas, and at one time had a corn snake.

The thing i have found with all the boas i owned, is once i got them swithched over they were eating machines, so once you get yours over to rats i'm sure she will do great for you.

BOA68 · 10-04-04, 09:03 PM

Yes i know that. Switching should not be a problem however. I have been keeping snakes since i was 8. I am 21 now and i have never had a problem with my snakes switching to larger food items. I only have a Ball Python and a BCI now due to the fact that i have limited space. I also have a Blizzard corn that i bought for my little brother but i don't count that as a real snake. My Ball is 5 years old and my BCI is about a year and a half. I am having trouble with this boa because i got her from a pet store that was not caring for her properly. She will be back on track in a week or so. If i came off nasty before it wasn't ment like that. I just get frustrated because i know that feeding live isn't good. But i guess some don' t realize that. I feel that i am very knowledgeable when it comes to snakes. After she takes that first rat she'll be fine.