Boa refusing to eat... help?

[hylia]

Hi everyone. I am need here and seeking some tips/advice on how to entice my snake to feed. He is a ~20 inch Hog Island Boa, weighing about 82g. I got him in November, and up until now he has had a great feeding response and has not missed a meal. l

Last Sunday, I did not offer his his regular meal since he was still "in the blue". He has since shed nicely, but still refuses to eat. Today will be 2 weeks since his last meal. I feed him f/t every 7 days and he eats in a plastic tub.

Maybe I made a mistake in trying to switch him from mice to rats after a shed. I had read that rats are much more nutritious and so I wanted to switch him. I figured that is why he refused the first time. So, I tried offering him a rat defrosted with a mouse, to transfer some scent. No go, either. finally, I just defrosted a mouse and he won't even touch that either.

He shed Thursday and I started offering him food Friday, when he did not eat I waited until the next night. I don't know what to do, he is still small and I worry about him going off food for weeks.

Is it common for Boas that previously fed very well to go through a picky please or what? How long can a Boa of his age/size go without food before I start worrying? If he does not feed in x amount of time, what can I do? I don't feed live, but would that be a solution to get him back into the "groove" of eating again?

Thanks for any advice. Worried...

[infernalis]

sSnakeSs.com - Rules

[hylia]

Hi thanks for the welcome.

Sorry, I just realized I made some type-os. I don't know how to edit.

I also wanted to specify that each meal is being offered fresh, I am not re-using any defrosted/uneaten prey.

Also, I forgot to ask, how long should I really be waiting in between offering another meal if one is refused? Is going the next day too fast, stressing him out more?

Thanks again.

[Jay]

He will be fine.
What's your husbandry?
Offer a nice and hot rat in 14 days.

[Hillsberry]

Make sure your humidity and temps in his enclosure are correct. Snakes can go off feeding for over a year with out losing weight. I wouldn't offer him food so much. You could be stressing him out by always pushing food in his face. I would try offering once a week. To get him to smell the rat better, cut open the head alittle so that blood comes out. Also really rub the mouse and the rat together. I would recomend you feed your snake in his enclosure. Most snakes feel more comfortable feeding in their tanks. I would not panic about him not feeding. If you want get him to eat a mouse before showing him another rat just so you feel better about him eating. Like I said cut the head open a little and let it bleed out that will make it smell more intense. Good luck!

[Skumbo]

Originally Posted by Hillsberry

Make sure your humidity and temps in his enclosure are correct. Snakes can go off feeding for over a year with out losing weight. I wouldn't offer him food so much. You could be stressing him out by always pushing food in his face. I would try offering once a week. To get him to smell the rat better, cut open the head alittle so that blood comes out. Also really rub the mouse and the rat together. I would recomend you feed your snake in his enclosure. Most snakes feel more comfortable feeding in their tanks. I would not panic about him not feeding. If you want get him to eat a mouse before showing him another rat just so you feel better about him eating. Like I said cut the head open a little and let it bleed out that will make it smell more intense. Good luck!

i dunno about an 82 gram snake living a year without feeding though, definitely a big healthy adult though.

[KORBIN5895]

Originally Posted by Skumbo

i dunno about an 82 gram snake living a year without feeding though, definitely a big healthy adult though.

Shaunyboy had a carpet hatchling go ten months without feeding.

@op

I usually feed my snakes in a separate enclosure but one of my boas would skip meals. I started feeding him in his enclosure and he never missed another meal.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by chloro

Hi thanks for the welcome.

Sorry, I just realized I made some type-os. I don't know how to edit.

I also wanted to specify that each meal is being offered fresh, I am not re-using any defrosted/uneaten prey.

Also, I forgot to ask, how long should I really be waiting in between offering another meal if one is refused? Is going the next day too fast, stressing him out more?

Thanks again.

Yes wait 14 days. I wouldn't brain the rat now, it may not need to be done.

[Skumbo]

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Shaunyboy had a carpet hatchling go ten months without feeding.

@op

I usually feed my snakes in a separate enclosure but one of my boas would skip meals. I started feeding him in his enclosure and he never missed another meal.

yeah but I'm sure it lost a little weight lol.

I had a hatchling as my first snake (breeder finally got him feeding recently!) and he went 6 months without feeding and lost a good amount of weight in the process

[hylia]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

I think I'll try going with a rat rubbed with a mouse next time and hope he takes it. If I just give him a mouse, I may have to deal with this all over again, lol. I was not aware that young snakes could go so long without eating, I thought it only applied to larger ones, hence my worry.

He is used to eating in a tub, and I think I'll try to keep that habit going if I don't have any more problems. This is the first time he has not jumped on prey and it happens to be the first time I messed around with prey species, so here's to hoping that was the only problem and things will go back to the way they were once we get over this hurdle (fingers crossed). I think maybe he refused the mouse because I had already bothered him too much with the rats, he was really flicking his tongue at first (unlike with the rats) but never struck it. I left him with it for 2 hours, is this too long or not long enough?

I'll let you know how it goes in 14 days.

BTW, in response to one poster, the humidity is about 55-60% (I try to raise it higher when in shed) and the ambiant air is about 27c and the warm end with the light and heating pad about 35c, give or take, depending on if he's way up on his branch or under it.

Okay?

[Ridge Runner_20]

Welcome! I have a young Hog Island as well, and despite a typically great feeding response, she refused our first attempt at a rat as well. It was suggested we try scenting the rat pup with bedding from a mouse cage, and it worked like a charm. We just put the rat in a small paper bag with about a half-cup of mouse bedding, and she took it immediately. Since then we've not had to scent at all, and she's eating like a champ.

Best of luck!

RR_20 (Mike)

[Trent]

Hi and welcome!

[Swany]

Hi and welcome to the madhouse ;-)