Boa wont eat

[billy]

Hi my boa hasnt eaten in two weeks. i tryed feeding her a couple of days early last week and she would not eat. after i came back form vaction her eyes were cloudy so i waited. Today i tryed again and she would not eat. She is going to shed tommorw. usally she eats right away, i tryed two different rats and she was not interested in either of them. What should i do?
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[Shadrach]

Nothing wait till after the shed to try to feed! There's nothing wrong with her some snake's do this from time to time! It's nothing to worry about!!!
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[BWSmith]

Wait until she sheds.
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[billy]

i can not remember if she has ever eaten during shed, so that may be way. however i am a little concerned she is looking a little thin and she has always been a real good eater.

How long can a boa live with no food?
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[ls1grrrl]

I wouldn't worry too much at this point. a lot of snakes don't eat while they're in pre-shed mode. Also, 2 weeks is not really enough time to start worrying. It will take a lot longer for her to start suffering from lack of eating.

I noticed you mentioned in another forum that you ordered from rodentpro. Has she been eating frozen/thawed before, or have you just switched her over?

Heather
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[trinitywolf]

A healthy boa can live for MONTHS with out food. A few weeks is certainly nothing to worry about. You mentioned that she is looking a little thin. Did you just get this boa? Was she thin when you got her? Did the person you got her from mention her eating habits? I would say from your first e-mail that she has eaten several times for you previous to this. Is that the case? If so and she really is looking thin, then you should think about a vet visit as weight loss when your boa is eating is an almost certain sign there is a problem.

Hope this helps.

Ted
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[XzyluM]

Take the others advice. A few weeks really isn't much to worry about. It's a good chance it's because he/she is going into shed.
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[billy]

I have had her for almost a year now, she really isnt that thin. I am just used to looking at her with a belly full of food. Also she took a huge dump last week and that is making her look a little thinner to. I used to always feed freshly killed rats and now i am trying to feed them frozen. I should have told you guys this in my frist post but i forgot, anyways after her shed i try to feed her a nice fresh rat.
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[MacGyver]

Don't be disheartened.. like you said, just wait til after she sheds. Switching her to frozen/thawed may take a few tries, but I think its definitely worth it. Our girl, Ayasha went straight from eating live to eating f/t with no trouble whatsoever. I feel much more secure feeding her frozen. No worries about parasites, or about injuries from the prey item.

We take the rat out of the freezer and put it in a baggy in the fridge the night before so it can defrost, then when we're ready to feed, we take the baggy and put it in hot water in a pan. We weight it down with a tupperware bowl filled with warm water also. Make sure the rat gets good and warm. Then we put Ayasha in her feeding box, and dangle the rat by the tail in front of her, or to the side of her head and jiggle it around a bit. She usually takes it from the tongs within seconds and constricts it a bit, then munches away. You may have to entice your snake to eat it by letting the prey item touch the head or neck lightly. Sometimes you kinda have to agravate the snake a little to get it in the mood to strike. Once it grabs on though, feed mode generally takes over and viola.

(Ayasha just ate a few minutes ago and we followed the above procedure...)

good luck. let us know how it goes [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Will & Heather
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[Billism]

HEllo Billie,

How did it go anyway? She eat OK after shedding?
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[billy]

after the shed i tryed frozen , no luck. So i gave her a fresh kill and she eat it right up. i tryed the approach of #$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^& the snake off, but she just sisses a little and go the other way.

Should i try not feeding her for a week or two, if she wont eat a frozen rat?
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[Relayer]

You keep saying frozen, you are thawing them out, right. I make sure the rat is good and warm, about has hot as a live one or my body temp at least. Leave it in the feed box with her for awhile, she'll eat eventually.
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[captainmorgan]

more than that but you're going to mess your snake up if you don't thaw the rat out first!! Something with the ice crystal's and them being cold blooded or something I heard. Sounds like you're power feeding. Your snake's not going to go thing over 2 weeks. Big dump or not. Make sure you exercise your snake so it doesn't become obeise. I did that to my snake when I first got it. Fed it, fed it, fed it. After a while I realized his mobility and quickness was going down so I put him on a diet and an exercise program. Anywho, don't worry, a snake will eventually eat, it doesnt' want to starve.

Another reason some snakes won't eat is internal parasites. Get a fecal sample (fresh) to the vet and have them look for worms and stuff. Just a thought.
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[billy]

i am not feeding my boas frozen rats. they are thawed in hot water, completly.

and i dont think that i am power feeding i go by the grith rule and offer food to them every 7 days.


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