hibernate?

unclebob · #1 (**permalink**) 04-04-2007, 03:08 PM

I am a fairly new owner of a colombian red tailed boa. Lately he has been staying hidden under the substrate and didn't even come up to feed on the freashly killed rat I placed in his area. I have had him about a year. He always eats freash kill and has a large home. Very friendly and enjoys his time out as well as rides on the Harley. I thought that they didn't hibernate. Am I wrong?

natas · #2 (**permalink**) 04-04-2007, 03:34 PM

Natas: Moved to Help section

SoberGuy · #3 (**permalink**) 04-04-2007, 03:49 PM

Could you help us out and describe your set up a little bit? How often are you feeding? What size are you feeding? When was the last time he ate? What are your temps like? Humidity? Last time he shed? Hides in the enclosure? thanks!

unluckyseventeen · #4 (**permalink**) 04-04-2007, 05:20 PM

To answer your main question: No, they do not hibernate.

It'd be easiest for us to help you if you could deliver the information that was asked in Soberguy's post.

unclebob · #5 (**permalink**) 04-04-2007, 06:19 PM

OK. He is about 5 ft long. His enclosure is 7 feet long x 2 ft wide x 2 ft high. He has a small pool on one end that he can bath in. Normarry he feeds every 2 to 3 weeks depending on the size of rat available. (he can swallow a jumbo but sometimes they are out and I get him a large or medium). Temp 70's to 80's. He last shed about 2 months ago. There is not a large enough rock/tree branch for him to hide behind, could this be the reason? I will get him one.

morti · #6 (**permalink**) 04-04-2007, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclebob

OK. He is about 5 ft long. His enclosure is 7 feet long x 2 ft wide x 2 ft high. He has a small pool on one end that he can bath in. Normarry he feeds every 2 to 3 weeks depending on the size of rat available. (he can swallow a jumbo but sometimes they are out and I get him a large or medium). Temp 70's to 80's. He last shed about 2 months ago. There is not a large enough rock/tree branch for him to hide behind, could this be the reason? I will get him one.

How long has he been without feeding?

TammyJamaica · #7 (**permalink**) 04-04-2007, 06:49 PM

You are going to get a lot of very good advice/help on this site, as you can see from the posts already on here.

What substrate do you have him on? You say he was hiding under it. Do you feed him on it? If he swallows the substrate while feeding there can be a problem there. Also I think the temps could be upped a bit to 85 on the warm side.

TammyJamaica · #8 (**permalink**) 04-04-2007, 06:51 PM

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I am glad he can talk, and tell you how much he enjoys the rides on the Harley.

unluckyseventeen · #9 (**permalink**) 04-04-2007, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclebob

OK. He is about 5 ft long. His enclosure is 7 feet long x 2 ft wide x 2 ft high. He has a small pool on one end that he can bath in. Normarry he feeds every 2 to 3 weeks depending on the size of rat available. (he can swallow a jumbo but sometimes they are out and I get him a large or medium). Temp 70's to 80's. He last shed about 2 months ago. There is not a large enough rock/tree branch for him to hide behind, could this be the reason? I will get him one.

Your temperature on the hot side (without water) will need to be up around 86, at least, just to assure he's actually digesting the food he's already eating. He could have some really old food in him that he cannot digest properly if it's not warm enough in there right now. Obviously if he already has a lot of food in him, he won't want more. When was the last time he pooped?

I'd put a hide right under the warm spot and possibly another on the cool end, if you can. Large boxes work good. Make sure you get the temperatures up, too. 86-88 hot, 78-80 cool.

Also, where in the house is he being kept?

SoberGuy · #10 (**permalink**) 04-04-2007, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclebob

OK. He is about 5 ft long. His enclosure is 7 feet long x 2 ft wide x 2 ft high. He has a small pool on one end that he can bath in. Normarry he feeds every 2 to 3 weeks depending on the size of rat available. (he can swallow a jumbo but sometimes they are out and I get him a large or medium). Temp 70's to 80's. He last shed about 2 months ago. There is not a large enough rock/tree branch for him to hide behind, could this be the reason? I will get him one.

Alright, making some progress. Before we go any further, pics are a must! We'd love to see some shots of your guy. Feel free to post them here of just show them off in the Post Your Pics forum.

I'd up your temps, as previously stated. My hot side is usually around 86, some go up to 88. With a 7' cage, you can get a real nice temperature gradient in there. Have one end around 86, preferably no lower than like 85, no warmer than 88. Your other end, or cool end, should be between 76 and 80. This will allow him to thermoregulate. I'd also try to get a hide in each end as well, but at least add one. Snakes like to hide in places they can just barely squeeze into, it's like a comfort and safety thing. So without a hide, they do the next best thing: bury themselves! When they're small it's fun to play where's he at? lol

Everything else sounds OK, so far. If you want some help with various ways to heat the enclosure, we can get into that, or some more accurate ways to control temps, or even to measure them. We can also do the same thing for humidity too. Just let us know what you need.

It could be that he's coming up on a shed, or that you weren't properly standing on your left foot, with the big toe elevated, and the right knee at a 43 degree angle. Some just choose odd times to suddenly become picky. Usually though, a feeding issue means something needs to be straightened out, like the temps or a hide. Anyway, let us know if you need anything else and what he does.

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