Rescued Amazon Will Not Eat

[miss.eliza]

I've just acquired an Amazon Tree Boa from a pet store who was giving their reptiles away, and this is one they were treating abominably. It's water dish was miniscule, there was no hide or perches, and the enclosure offered no special heat or humidity. When I got this snake, it had a very bad shed, and the old skin was still attached to it's eyes/body. I brought him home and soaked him in warm water, which removed about 99% of the dead skin, and he looks better. He just will not eat. I've tried warming the mouse, gutting, braining, and otherwise making it look enticing, but he's shown little to no interest in the food at all. The people at the pet store I got him from said that he hasn't eaten in about 4 weeks, and I can feel his fibs through his skin. Does anyone know of anything else I can try? I'm reluctant to attempt force-feeding unless I absolutely must. Its been a little over 24 hours since I brought him home.

Thank you,
-Eliza

[Will0W783]

Did you try live? Also, don't be surprised if he doesn't eat for a week or two. Often snakes will not eat right away when brought to a new environment. Give him a week to settle in and make sure you have the cage environment set up properly, which is sounds like you know what you're doing. Then try feeding him. If you want to, you can try live prey sooner- it's possible they were feeding him live at the store and that's all he's used to.

[siz]

If you have only had him for 24 hours it is unlikely he will eat right away anyway. Give him some time to settle in, and wait a few days in between feeding attempts, to cut down on stress. Good luck!!

[bads15]

if the store took such poor care for him. i wouldn't be surprised if they took poor care of all their snakes. are you confident that he is mite free? or free of any other parasites it could have obtained in their care. if you have other snakes i hope that you quarantined him. maybe he is due for a vet check. if you got him for free it should be a little more financially feasible to bring him in. you could try treating him with nix to start off with if he doesn't seem to have a respiratory problem. i don't have any boas ( and nor do i consider or pretend to be an expert on them), just ball pythons but these are some of the things i would consider if i brought one home under those conditions.