dumerils boa not eating?

JoeJacobs · #1 (**permalink**) 02-21-2010, 09:44 PM

hi. i got this 2 year old male dumerils boa from this expo about 3 or 4 weeks ago. ive tried feeding him and he's not interested at all. i'm not sure when he ate last. he seems lethargic compared to my red tail boa.. the breeder sayed he was feeding on f/t medium rats. so i got a bunch of those. and i tried live thinking he would eat that defiantly, but he hasnt eaten anything. all of his temps are perfect. i just need to know if i should be worrying or not. thanks

Rachel SS · #2 (**permalink**) 02-22-2010, 01:09 AM

Dumeril's are pretty shy and need quite a bit of time to adjust before they start feeding. It took my Dumeril's about 6 weeks of no handling and no touching or moving her hide at ALL before she would eat.

just make sure you aren't holding the thing at ALL... seriously... at all... and it should start eating again. Stick with the f/t. Make sure the rats are warm enough.

When it's time for brumation my Dumeril's is also picky about eating. If I offer her food it's hit or miss, one month she eats, one month she doesn't. It's normal

Jolie · #3 (**permalink**) 02-25-2010, 08:48 PM

Yeah,
I got a Dumeril from the Sacto Pet Expo 2 years ago and had the exact same problem. Make sure that you have lots of areas for the snake to hide so it feels safe and secure. It just takes time as they can be pretty stubborn.

Xiel Soulwraith · #4 (**permalink**) 02-26-2010, 11:30 PM

Haha, my experience with my Dum Isis is horrible as far as feeding is concerned...Got her in mid December and she has eaten once since then...Dums are REALLY shy (as stated above) and the only way I finally got her to eat was to give her a large amount of aspen shredings to bury herself in, cover her tub with a towel so that she is safe and in darkness with nothing to spook her, and left her alone for about 4 weeks. This worked and she finally ate for me...Sad thing is she got mites from the bedding, and so now I have to keep her in a pretty sparse tub for another week or 2, which I'm sure has RUINED her sense of security.

But anyways, like I said, give your Dum a thick amount of substrate that he can bury himself in, and have LOTS of hides (Isis has 3) cover the tub (or whatever you are keeping him in) for about 4 weeks, only opening it to change water every few days and to make sure he is still doing OK, and he should eat for you within a month.

If you find something else that works let me know haha, and good luck man

bananasama · #5 (**permalink**) 02-26-2010, 11:52 PM

Also, as far as him being more lethargic... both of my dums are definitely a bit "lazier" than my BCI is. They like to find a good spot and then just sit there haha.

The only time I have had problems with either of them was with my new baby, and I finally had success by just leaving the f/t rat in her enclosure for about 5 hours, and covering it with a towel so it stayed really dark.

tragedyandy · #6 (**permalink**) 03-22-2010, 01:46 PM

I Dont know much but through experience with my bci,my ball, and my liasis, as long as they arentlosing too much wait you have nothing to worry about,, my ball python, rarely eats in the winter months, and my liais is so cage defensive that every feeding i have to place her in a tuperware container almost no bigger than she is with the dead mouse for an hour or so,, or else she istoo busy trying to attack the tongs,,, good luck im sure your friend will do fine

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