Boa not eating - Page 2

Terranaut · 08-08-12, 12:47 PM

A boa can go months without eating or pooping so have no fear. Jay has the best advice so far IMHO. Just offer food once a week and he will eat sooner or later. Also, time of day can affect feeding responce. Get a rat ready and offer it when the snake is active. Normaly in the evening or early morning works with my 2. Make sure it's low light and your not casting shadows over the snake. Good luck.

thecrazycoop · 08-20-12, 12:27 PM

Update: The snake is way more active. I'm assuming he is getting comfortable in his setting, but we tried feeding last night and he didn't eat. So I will try again after waiting unless you think there needs to be something else done. Thanks all for the input so far!

Jendee · 08-25-12, 04:27 AM

looking at that picture you may have purchased a boa that hadnt been eating already he she looks emaciated any poo?? since youve had him force feeding is always last resort and can do more harm then good. i ive had baby boas go 4 months without a meals before then jump right into it

thecrazycoop · 08-27-12, 11:00 AM

No Poo. I think he looks a little emaciated too but I really have no experience with baby boas and so I have nothing to compare it to. I tried feeding again last night and he didn't eat it. Getting nervous again.

rmfsnakes32 · 08-28-12, 09:19 PM

I have had my boas go off feed for 5 months during the winter they seem to do this pretty consistently every year! Baby boas can be fussy eaters if in doubt take the snake to a certified vet and find out if he is healthy my baby boa was scrawny like that he filled out in the last few months males tend to be smaller and I have noticed with mine and a few other friends that their males are also less aggresive eaters as well

thecrazycoop · 08-29-12, 10:53 AM

Thank you. My fear with the vet, is that the few that I've found in my area, have almost NO experience with reptiles. I took a different snake in a couple years ago and they were zero help. My question now is, won't he eat before he just lets himself die of starvation?

rmfsnakes32 · 08-29-12, 11:38 AM

He can but I don't think you have to worry about that just yet try calling different towns near bye and see if you can find a vet and see about getting him tested for a parasite or bacteria also vet may have reccomendations on getting him to eat and worse case scenario force feed if he thinks its needed but I would only do that if vet thinks its needed good luck and keep us posted on how he is doing

mark24 · 08-29-12, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Awesome. I'm sure the mouse butcher in the wild makes a wicked lean filet cut for all the problematic snakes.

Personally, I just stick to whole prey, consistently offered.

I had a snake hatch out last year, it went about 3 months without a meal and it lived purely on the yolk it absorbed. I tried a few tricks and gave up and went back to the basics. Live hopper, every 5 days. She finally ate and is a great feeder now. Being consistent is key.

For me I tried f/t mice an live mice nothing worked then I had I fresh killed mouse cut so pieces for my garter snakes then I tried to feed my bull snake an he finally ate if it worked for me I don't see if it worked for me why it wouldn't work for someone else

thecrazycoop · 08-29-12, 02:38 PM

I will do that. @mark24, I did try that because I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get him to eat, even if it means I do something that doesn't necessarily happen in the wildO

I'm gonna try a live fuzzy or something again and see. Will definitely keep you posted. I will feel so much better after he eats! It's hard to enjoy his awesomeness when we are worried and also not handling him because we don't want to complicate matters more. Thanks again!

thecrazycoop · 09-10-12, 03:42 PM

Update,
After one last attempt and he didn't eat, and noticing he was losing weight and looked smaller and less strong, we decided to go ahead and force feed. I know most of you are against this and we really didn't want to have to do it, but we tried a lot of things to no avail. We've now had him for 3 months. I possibly could of waited longer, but he didn't look right or very healthy. Too thin. My son and I read up on all we could and watched numerous videos. We used a pinky mouse and my son pried his mouth open with it and gently inserted it 1/2 way, then set him down and he finished it. We feel better knowing he has some nutrients in him. I'm not writing this to offend anyone, but if anyone is interested in the outcome. I hope this triggers his desire to eat and if not, we will repeat this process until it does. Hope to see noticeable changes in his weight.

SleepySleazoid · 09-10-12, 04:56 PM

Thanks for the update, I've been wondering how your little guy was doing. I'm sorry you felt like you had to do something I know you or anyone never wants to do, I really hope that this did it for him and he will eat and be a happy little guy for you

Good luck.

rmfsnakes32 · 09-10-12, 09:10 PM

Force feeding sucks to do but when they are obviously losing weight it must be done just be happy he isnt the size of my 7 foot boa who after 3 months still refusing food I am not looking forward to force feeding her she is a very big girl so we have quite awhile before I need to worry

Terranaut · 09-11-12, 02:18 AM

When I see threads like this I always wonder if snakes will starve themselves in the wild for no apparent reason. The answer is probably not. So why are so many people having trouble feeding their snakes? Or are they. Is it part of your snakes wild behavior to go months without food? Some adult carpets will only eat 4 meals a year in the wild. Or is something else wrong? Slightly wrong husbandry? Something is not right other than you having an anorexic snake. Now I am not "being cheeky" here or " having a go" at anyone , I am just trying to point out that some part of these non eating snakes care is not right. Keep looking at it until you find the root cause of not eating rather than stuff food into the snake. Again no offence intended. I just had to put that out there.

thecrazycoop · 09-11-12, 10:40 AM

No offense taken. I wondered the exact same thing. I asked people if the snake would die from lack of eating. If it would actually get to that point. I find that interesting as well. In the wild, it may happen and maybe it would just die. I don't have an actual answer but would love to know the facts. After talking to the breeder, who still seemed to think he "had to of eaten" but was rather vague, and a couple other breeders, the few said that they have about 1 out of 100 snakes that is a "problem feeder." Not sure. Our husbandry seems correct. I even bought an additional humidity gauge and thermometer to be on the safe side. So I now have two sets on one side and one set on the other. But I agree, something has to be off, just not sure what that is. ANd until we figure it out, I can't have him losing weight. I do hope this triggers his appetite. Thanks for the kind words as I do appreciate them. I feel like we did the right thing.

Ivanator · 09-11-12, 10:51 AM

Are you feeding him inside or outside of his cage? I had a boa once that would not eat if you touched it. It would only eat live mice inside of his cage.