Albino Sand Boa still not eating. AARGH
Surge is not eating and hasn't eaten since we got him a month ago. I put together this timeline to help get some good feedback from other more experienced snake owners. I'd appreciate any help you can offer.....
10/10/2013 5 or 6 month old Albino Sand Boa arrives. New name is Surge. Tank is 12" x 30". I'm told height is irrelevant. Tank is located in our living room. Tank temp was 69F. About 1 1/2" deep Aspen bedding. 1 bowl of water filled about 1/4" deep. 1 cave-like hiding spot. 1 ZooMed Repti-therm under tank heater (8Watts, size: Small, appropriate for 10 gallon tanks) placed under tank under Surge's hide.
10/17 Surge was offered a frozen/thawed (f/t) pinky per breeder's instructions. Breeder said it had been 8 days since last feeding. Put it on small paper plate. Surge shows no interest and quickly hides under Aspen bedding. Threw the pinky out the next morning.
10/18 Sent pics of tank set up to breeder. Breeder approved. Commented that it could be a little warmer. Put on a lid with airholes to trap some more heat. Currently temp is about 72 F. Breeder didn't seem to encourage or discourage the use of a heat lamp. Put Surge and 2nd f/t pinky in small plastic container w/ lid and air holes overnight to try and "force" it to eat. Threw away the pinky (although it did work for our other new snake, Columbian Rainbow Boa, in adjacent tank)
10/27 Can't remember exact date, but probably tried feeding Surge another Pinky on a plate. Left it overnight. Threw out the pinky in the morning.
10/28 Sent picture of Surge's top side and bottom side/belly to breeder upon his request. (SEE ATTACHED PHOTO) Never got a response. Not sure what he was looking for.
10/28 Posted "How long without eating before I become concerned?" on SSNAKESS.com forum. Feedback indicated that Surge may be stressed. Member Formica suggested ditching the separate feeding container and leave him unbothered for 4-5 days. Member CKSandboas said not to be too concerned and leave Surge alone for a week then refeed. So we didn't touch or disturb Surge or his tank for about a week.
11/3 Fed another frozen/thawed pinky to Surge on a plate. Dug him out of Aspen bedding to make sure he saw the pinky. He showed little interest and reburied himself.
11/8 Offered Surge a f/t pinky. Unburied him. He showed little interest and reburied himself.
11/9 Surge may be shedding?! He started looking "pruny/wrinkly". I HOPE HE IS NOT DEHYDRATED. I laid him in his water bowl just to make sure he knew it was there. I've never seen him explore the water bowl because he spends 100% of his time under the Aspen. He quickly retreated and hid.
11/10 Altered lid to fit a 75W bulb so we could turn bulb on for about 1-2 hours each evening (SEE ATTACHED PHOTOS). Ambient room temp is about 68. Tank hot side gets up to about 90 F with lamp. Surge still prefers to hide under water bowl on the cooler side of the tank. He never comes out to sunbathe though......
11/12 Still wrinkly. Skin is starting to peel away near his head. His eyes don't appear to be cloudy like I had read.
11/13 Posting on SSNAKESS.com asking for feedback
Is Surge in any danger? I'm wondering if I am screwing something up.
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