Dumeril not eating

blayze_1 · 10-10-04, 09:56 PM

Hey guys I need some advice from those of you that have experience with dumerils. This is the first one I have added to my boa collection. He's apx. 15 in. long. And this is also let me ad, the first boa I have bought from a pet store! ARGGG! Anyway, I tried to feed him a F/T fuzzy yesterday. He wouldn't take it. So today I tried to feed him live. And again, he wouldn't take it. I called the petstore that I bought him from and asked them if he had eatin since they had them. (maybe he had eaten already and wasn't hungry?) They had just gotten him in and their feeding day is on Saturdays, so...no, with them he had not eaten. Any suggestions guys? I would greatly appreciate it.

Big_V · 10-11-04, 12:36 AM

Let the dum settling in a bit more before rushing right into feeding him. At least a week, especially that the store had just received him as well. Try to limit all interactions with him for this time and focus on the husbandry and settling in time period then attempt to feed.

Puic · 10-11-04, 04:03 AM

many dumeril's owner contact me for same problems.
often young dumeril refused to feeding when change their environement, they need peace and quiet before eating. leave him alone and try in 4 or 5 days

Clownfishie · 10-11-04, 10:38 AM

Ditto what everyone else said -- give him some time to settle in (around a week, maybe even 2) and then try again. During that time, leave him alone and don't handle him other than for cleaning purposes. If he eats for you after that, great -- if not, give him another 4-5 days before trying again. Trying to feed him every day can actually stress him out more than he already is. You'll also want to check and make sure that you're providing proper temp gradients etc.

Hope that helps a bit, best of luck with him

Jen

ssscales · 10-11-04, 02:00 PM

Assuming your temps and environment are ok. Give it some time, try again to feed it in about a week. Don't handle it or disturb it.

Make sure your temps and humidity are good, I've never had a problem feeding my neonate on newspaper, but some baby dums will want some form of substrate that allows them to burrow. Leave the dead mouse in the cage over night, you can also try a rat pup.

blayze_1 · 10-11-04, 03:39 PM

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I did some more research on dums this morning and read about giving them time to adjust. His housing is the right temps on both sides and I have hide boxes on both sides as well. I also moved him into my bedroom where there isn't a lot of traffic. He may have been stressed as well because we have been handling him a lot, trying to calm him down. He was very nippy at the pet store. So I will stop handling him as well and just give him time to settle in.

LdyDrgn · 10-11-04, 04:49 PM

As ssscales said, many prefer to burrow. By nature they are ambush hunters and usually burrow in the leaf litter waiting for their meal (rodent, lizard, possibly a frog) to happen by and they snag it.

I have heard that many have trouble getting their babies established as many prefer lizards to rodents as their first meals. Once they get on to rodents regularly and stress is minimized they turn out to be great eaters. Good luck with your little one, I hope you get him to eat soon.

bistrobob85 · 10-11-04, 10:34 PM

I had the same problem for the first week i had my dum, and she just wouldnt eat nothing at all because that she wasn't addapted to her new home yet. After a week of leaving her alone, i tried her a live rat pup ( i had read that many prefer ambushing and would stress out when out of the substrate ) which was totally harmless and started her eating like that. Now she takes dead sometimes, when i'm convincing enough while i take the fuzzy rat and do like if it was alive around her...

phil.

blayze_1 · 10-15-04, 10:33 PM

Well today is feeding day for all my snakes so I tried again to feed my Dum. I haven't handled him or tried to feed him since Sunday. I tried to feed him live. I don't feed any of my snakes in their enclosures, so I removed him and put him a feeding tub (rubbermaid) and placed a live small hopper in there. He had nothing to do with it. However, when the hopper would approach him, or get near him..he would strike at him, as if telling him to "back off"...but still no attempts to eat. So I placed him back in his enclosure and haven't bothered him. I try not to worry, but he is so small.

Ryan and Katie · 10-16-04, 02:22 PM

With your dum you may have to resort to feeding him in his cage for the first little while until he is more comfortable and established. Taking him out to feed him is kinda defeating the purpose of not handling him for a week before the attempt to feed. Good luck!!

blayze_1 · 10-17-04, 12:22 AM

OK I will try that and see if that will work. (though I really don't like feeding them in their enclosures)...but I really need to get him established so I will try just about anything right now. Thanks for your advice!