Boa hasn't eaten in 3 months

RandomMistakes · 10-13-13, 11:17 PM

I'm getting concerned and am looking for some help on what my next step should be. My 3 year old, female, Hogg Island Boa hasn't eaten in about 3-3.5 months. I would say it's been about that long since she last defecated and shed as well. The temps and humidity in the cage are perfectly fine, as they always have been. She has hides and more than enough room to move, stretch, and climb. The only thing that has changed recently is that I installed a MistKing misting system about a month ago so that I wouldn't have to hand-spray everyday.

I've had her for a little over a year and she has never refused a meal in the past, so this is concerning me as she now appears to be losing some weight/have some loose skin.

I attempt to feed her every 12 days with thawed rats which I wriggle in front of her (as I always have before) and I've tried to bleed them/brain them a little. Tonight I tried a fresh killed rat and left it in the cage for several hours with her having zero interest.

Should I take her to a vet? I've taken her before and can't find a good vet for snakes, which you'd think would be easy in Los Angeles.

ErikBush97 · 10-14-13, 02:45 AM

Try live. My adult Dumeril's Boa prefers live. I'm trying to get her onto frozen, but it may take some time or may never work.

**lady_bug87** · 10-14-13, 08:01 AM

If she isn't losing any weight I wouldn't worry. 3mos is not a very long time. especially since she's old.enough to be sexually mature.

unless you plan on feeding live permanently or she's really losing weight there is no sense in offering it to her.

Make sure your husbandry is correct and stop any and all handling and interactions unless it's for upkeep. Still offer food maybe every 3 weeks.

If she starts losing tons of weight then take more serious action

Terranaut · 10-14-13, 10:22 AM

I also agree to avoid live for now. No weight loss = no worries.
They do that sometimes.

RandomMistakes · 10-14-13, 07:40 PM

Thanks for all the responses guys.

At what point/time should I be concerned? I'm not able to measure her weight so I can't say for sure if she's losing any, but as I mentioned, she appears to have more loose skin than I remember her having when she would eat. It's noticeable when she is bent/coiled up at a sharp angle.

MDT · 10-14-13, 08:16 PM

it may be worth grabbing a $30-ish electronic scale from Office Depot or similar. You'd be surprised at how handy they are to have around....

Terranaut · 10-15-13, 04:14 AM

Sounds like your boa is about to shed. This doesn't explain the amount of time off food but the skin sounds like a shed.

**lady_bug87** · 10-15-13, 06:36 AM

What are your temps And humidity like?

forza_inter · 10-28-13, 06:26 AM

longest my Dumerils Boa went without eating was 7 months and 2 days...talk about stress

i tried everything imaginable, then while buying more substrate i randomly asked one of the employees if they had any advice...suggested i try a mouse because their scent is stronger. Next day she took the mouse without hesitation. Stuck with mice for the next 3 feedings, then went back to her regular sized rats, no issue at all. Hasnt skipped a week since