New Rosy Boa (2 months old) Won't Eat

[mgallagh4]

Hi sSNAKESs community,

We brought home a young Rosy Boa (Bay of LA locality) for my 8-year-old son. He named this rosy boa “Mars,” and we’re all amazed by it.

Was hoping to pull from the community for some advice / expertise, though, …

Our boy is incredibly respectful with animals, and he is fascinated by reptiles, so we felt a Rosy Boa was perfect for him, and he had been longing for one for a couple of years now.

On the second day that we had this young snake home, we noticed that in the afternoon, Mars was 100% NOT willing to be handled. He’d jerk aggressively if touched, almost like he was posturing himself to strike.

Best guess is that this poor young snake was just burnt out / stressed out between a new home + handling in the first few days.

Anyway, our thought was to give the snake some space / alone time for a few days while he got used to his habitat (without getting handled 2-3 times/day). In fact, none of us have handled him since those first couple of days.

Here’s my main concern, though: Mars hasn’t eaten for about 14 days now. He has never eaten since we brought him home. He is simply uninterested in the live pinky mice that we’ve put in his enclosure. Most of his day has been spent burrowed down under the aspen shavings (as expected), and we notice that he comes out to explore his enclosure for about 90 minutes each late afternoon. When he is exploring, though, he has ZERO interest in the live baby pinky.

Yesterday, I decided that I’d put him in a small, ventilated container / feeding tub with the live pinky and place the container in a dark room for a few hours, but still no luck. Even more concerning, he jerked in that same startled/aggressive way (sort of shaking me off) when I went to slowly pick him up out of his habitat to put him in this smaller container.

Anyone have a guess on this? His enclosure / husbandry has been consistent with what all Rosy Boa "care-sheets" seem to suggest (warm side / cool side / two hides / etc.).

Are young Rosies just really, really jumpy? This poor guy just can't seem to settle in, or something.

... and it boggles my mind that a young Rosy Boa has gone 14 days without a meal. We're worried about this guy.

Any advice / suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[toddnbecka]

Did you get the boa from a private breeder or a pet store? Was it eating before you brought it home? Was it previously fed live or frozen/thawed items? What sort of setup do you have for heat? A good heat mat (not the stick-on type) regulated by a thermostat is the best option for a rosy boa.