My Boa Wont Eat!!!

Slytheren · 12-12-03, 12:59 PM

Fellow boa enthusiasts, I need your advice/help. My six year old columbian boa will not eat. we recently moved and she was given time to get used to her new surroundings. however, she has simply refused to eat a f/t rabbit and is now in a stare down contest with a live mouse! What could be wrong? Temps in the cage are ideal, she has adequate water and a good hiding spot. She has begun hissing a lot which is really uncommon for her.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

SDSnakes · 12-12-03, 01:03 PM

not to be rude or anything...
but she went for a rabbit to a mouse?
theres a pretty large size difference there,
sometimes they can't even be bothered with
a small food item. Also, Dont feed live!
How long has it not been eating for?
what are the cage temps, humidity, etc...
need a bit more info to help you out.

UpscaleBoas · 12-12-03, 01:10 PM

first off a mouse is too small....in my experince when a boa gets big enough to eat f/t rabits a mouse is more of a nusance then food.
how long ago did you move?
When was the last time she ate?
What kind of move has she been part of....how long? is she now kept in a high traffic area? Too much noise/vibrations?
how long do you give her to eat the rabit?

Personally..if the move was fast for her...she has a had a couple of weeks to settle in...in the same type area as before in the house..then good job..or doing great. I wouldn't worry too much. I would remove the mouse adn get a large rat...smaller then the rabits she usally gets....keep with the f/t or resently departed rat and leave it just out side the hide (when she's in) over night....i should be gone in the morning....if not keep tring...if she is in good condition still no worries....they can fast for so long the only health scare is to the owner from over thinking.

keep me post please...good luck

Slytheren · 12-12-03, 04:52 PM

Thanks for the advice folks. I just got home and the mouse appears to be gone(yeah!). hopefully it didnt escape.

SD - your not being rude with the comment on food size. I would normally feed it a rabbit but because it had rejected one recently, I wanted to feed it something live to stimulate the feeding instinct. A mouse was the conservative option I felt as it would not try to eat/nibble on the snake causing more damage.
The last rabbit it ate was over a month ago and it normally has two 2-3 pound bunnies a month then its shed. I held off on feeding it the second time as I didnt want to move it while it was digesting its food and she is more fisty when vulnerable like that.

Cage temps range from 31-26 celcius across the enclosure. night time the temps are usually 27-23. Humidity is about 30% preshed, raised to 55-60% inshed.

Upscale- normally I give her 5-6 hours to eat the bunny from the time she coils it to actually beginning to swallow it. She's pretty consistent that way in the past. I normally only do the f/t food method of feeding. this was only a drastic step I took in an attempt to get her to eat.
She's not in a high traffic area and we moved on November 30 so it's been 2 weeks almost. Your right I am probably worrying for nothing but when your pet does certain things like clockwork then all of a sudden changes the pattern you tend to freak out.

time will tell. thanks for sharing you views.

Slytheren · 01-30-04, 03:45 PM

Ok. It's now been almost 2 months since my boa ate a proper meal. She recently refused a 1.5lbs bunny that was left alone with her in her enclosure. When I first put this post on I was worried because she has been running on autopilot when it comes to feeding/shedding/crapping schedule. Now she almost tries to hide from the food when it is put in front of her face. She has recently shed and pooped, although it was quite smaller than normal. I dont want to try another mouse and I dont want to waste bunnies if she is not going to eat. Is the consensus out there that a vet visit is my only solution? The vet in (cowtown) is alright but not very specialized in herps in my opinion. More of a salesperson pushing antibiotics and other costly procedures on the owners who just want their pets to be well.

I welcome all suggestions or tips to solving this mystery.

Pixie · 01-30-04, 10:29 PM

Hmmm... Tough call!

The only thing I would do vet wise would be to get a fecal at this point. It could be some internal parasites and your snake didn't necessarily have to come into contact with an infected source. The stress of the move could have unbalanced her to cause this type of thing. A fecal would rule out any problems in that respect and won't be too costly.

Otherwise, if your snake is in good shape I would wait it out another few weeks for the spring changes to see if that would be it also. The days are already starting to get longer and it could be a seasonal thing although it isn't as common with boas.

Unless your snake is losing a considerable amount of weight, there is no need for a big panic. I understand it is stressful when they don't eat but lets not forget that snakes are experts at conserving energy

Good luck,
Pixie

snakey · 02-01-04, 02:47 AM

It is possible she has a respritory infection. Was she exposed to cooler temps. during the move? Is she salivating , hissing, holding her mouth open? This time of year we aren't the only animals to catch colds. If yo do decide to take her to a vet, here is where to find one...www.arav.org it's the association of reptile , amphibian vets. Good luck!

Slytheren · 04-01-04, 01:55 PM

Hello folks

Just a quick update to let you know that my boa ate(finally) last monday. A good sized bunny that she practically ripped from my hands before I could get it all the way in the cage. As I type this, she is roaming the cage and quite active. Which tells me she will be leaving a HUGE Easter egg for me real soon.

thanks for all your suggestions and I hope I can return the favor in the future.

MouseKilla · 04-04-04, 06:37 PM

I'm terrible at converting Celcius to Fehrenheit but those temps seemed a little low and it sounded to me as though there wasn't a thermal gradient.

The most desirable conditions are to have an ambient temperature of about 80 F (day and night) with a hotspot at about 95 F available at all times as well. This arrangement isn't a simulation of nature by any means but what it does is allow the snake to choose from a range acceptable temperatures according to it's metabolic needs. Doing that should keep the food moving at both ends of the animal.

Enjoy your easter egg, though I doubt you'll have to search for it if it came from a 3 pound rabbit. lol!

Jeff_Favelle · 04-04-04, 07:06 PM

Your temps are too cold. Try 90-92F on the warm side, and 80-82F on the cool side 24 HOURS A DAY. You're not breeding your boa right now so the night time drop is not needed.