Still Having Feeding Problems.

JoleneVissers · 04-15-12, 06:40 AM

Hello everyone.
I have a lovely boa who is about 24" long and a real sweetheart. But shes started to cause me a big problem, she won't eat. I have managed to get her to eat 1 mouse pinkie, I tired to get her a f/t pinkie after that and she refused to eat it. I have tried everything I could think of and nothing has worked. Its been about 3 weeks since she ate something that is the proper size for her. I have tried cutting them open, braining them, frozen/thawed, live. I've given her mice, rats (pinkies) and tried scenting the rats, I've also locked in in with her food over night and she still wont touch it she would just rather look at it than eat it and she still wont eat anything more than one mouse pinkie. If anyone has any suggestions I'll be grateful. I really don't want anything to happen to this little gal.

Lankyrob · 04-15-12, 07:56 AM

It sounds you have tried quite a lot of different things over a three week period, how often are you attempting to feed her??

You should really only try one feeding attmept every 7 days, otherwise teh snake will start to associate prey items with being stressed and harassed.

Personally i would leave her be for 14 days from now, just changing water and nothing else and then offer her a f/t prey item that is nice and hot and the right size for her.

shaunyboy · 04-15-12, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

It sounds you have tried quite a lot of different things over a three week period, how often are you attempting to feed her??

You should really only try one feeding attmept every 7 days, otherwise teh snake will start to associate prey items with being stressed and harassed.

Personally i would leave her be for 14 days from now, just changing water and nothing else and then offer her a f/t prey item that is nice and hot and the right size for her.

^^^^^
robs advice is spot on

cheers shaun

marvelfreak · 04-15-12, 07:59 AM

Just leave her only for a week then try a rat pup. If she don't eat leave her only and try again in another week. When she gets hungry she'll eat. Also make sure the food is really hot.

I was typing as you guys were posting.lol

JoleneVissers · 04-15-12, 08:18 AM

I offer her food every 7 days. The food I was feeding was all F/t till the live last night.
The first time I went to feed I thawed it and made sure it was really hot since I thaw all my feeders in boiling water and let them cool so it can be touched and not burn the snakes. I went to feed her it and gave her a few hours and she never touched it so I tried braining it and left it over night and left her alone for about 12 hours and still nothing so I tossed it. The next week I brained it and heated it up and gave it to her and left her for a few hours and nothing so I cut it open and left her again over night. Then last night I offered her live mouse pinkie and a rat pinkie both live and both were scented in mouse bedding for about 2 hours. Then offered them to her and left her over night. I got up this morning and the rat pinkie was still moving and she hadn't touched it what so ever but she did eat the mouse pinkie. So Harley ended up eating the rat since it was suffering and I just wanted it dead.
So that's what I've tried over my 3 week period with her, like I said I always leave her alone with food over night and always make sure everything is hot and I always feed them Saturday between 4-6 pm that way I'm sure its been 7 days every time.

shaunyboy · 04-15-12, 08:31 AM

3 weeks is not a long time for a snake to stop eating mate

some snakes will stop eating coming up to and during the whole shedding proccess

i've had snakes stop eating for no apparent reason,for up to 8 weeks,then start eating again

i've had a hatchling carpet not eat until it was 10 months old,with no ill effect

try not to worry too much mate

give the snake complete peace and quiet,only going into its tank to change the water roughly every 5 days

don't handle the snake during this time,don't handle until its back eating regular

are your hot end temperatures ok ?

a snake won't eat if its too cold,as it cannot digest its food at low temperatures

let us know how it goes

cheers shaun

JoleneVissers · 04-15-12, 08:38 AM

Her tank is always between 85-90. I don't really handle her much, I usually handle Harley since hes eating good for me. I have a huge water dish for her so that shes able to soak when needed and I usually add fresh water every 4-5 days depending how much is left in it.
I'll just leave her be and wait I guess.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Lankyrob · 04-15-12, 09:13 AM

Wait her out and ONLY offer f/t rats, if she wont eat dont offer her a mouse or she is "winning" and will learn that if she refuses a rat she gets her mouse.

Only time to be concerned is if she starts to lose weight or condition

JoleneVissers · 04-15-12, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

Wait her out and ONLY offer f/t rats, if she wont eat dont offer her a mouse or she is "winning" and will learn that if she refuses a rat she gets her mouse.

Only time to be concerned is if she starts to lose weight or condition

Whats the best way to weigh a snake. It seems to me that she lost a bit of weight but I'm not 100%.

lumpbump · 04-22-12, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoleneVissers

Whats the best way to weigh a snake. It seems to me that she lost a bit of weight but I'm not 100%.

When i weigh my boas i turn on my digital scale and let it set to 0 grams, put the snake bag im planning on putting the snake in then hit the tare button (it zeros out the weight of the bag), place the snake in the bag and then place the bag with the snake on the scale.

lumpbump · 04-22-12, 07:42 AM

[QUOTE=JoleneVissers;717805 I thawed it and made sure it was really hot since I thaw all my feeders in boiling water [/QUOTE]

I read that snakes can't digest cooked food. Boiling water cooks even frozen meat. I leave my frozen rats out for about 6 hours before feeding them to my boas to make sure they are completely thawed. When im in a rush or just plain impatient i put the rats in an plastic bag, tie it off so they dont get wet, and submerge them in room temp water. Think about it like trying to melt an ice cube. How long does it take to melt an ice cube in a glass of room temp water? Not very long. Meat is just frozen water with protiens, bone, fat, and fur.

lumpbump · 04-22-12, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

3 weeks is not a long time for a snake to stop eating mate

some snakes will stop eating coming up to and during the whole shedding proccess

i've had snakes stop eating for no apparent reason,for up to 8 weeks,then start eating again

One of my ball pythons did not eat for seven months! I keep great records so i dont worry when something like this happens. My snakes get measured and weighed with each shed. Their food is weighed before feeding. Their poop and pee dates are also recorded. Sammy the ball python on the hunger strike eventually ate. It was challanging to control myself and not offer live while the process of switching to frozen thawed was on going. I did not quit. He did not win. We both won through our testnot of patience and diligence

KORBIN5895 · 04-22-12, 08:29 AM

I would avoid boiling water as the mouse smells different when boiled. I found that out the hard way. I will contact you later today.

JoleneVissers · 04-23-12, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

I would avoid boiling water as the mouse smells different when boiled. I found that out the hard way. I will contact you later today.

We discovered she wasn't eating because she was sharing a tank with Harley. I found a great home for her with a girl who has 6 Ball Pythons and this is her first boa, she had a tank and everything all set up for her and shouldn't have a problem feeding her.