Columbian Boa not eating =[ please help

[JarrodHolbrook]

So over the summer I purchased 2 Arabesque Boas from Steve Hammond. A male and female from last year. My male has ate very well. I only had small mice at 1st although my male is close to 4 feet and female 2 and 1/2. My male would eat at 1st glance but my female would act like she would strike and turn her head or not even bother with it. I finally got her to hit one and eat it about a month ago, but ever since then she wouldn't. I recently purchased small and normal sized rats for them. There the right size for the both of them. My male, like with the mice, had no problems eating them. But my female after striking at it would leave it alone. I have checked her for mouth rot. the humidity is around 65-70% and the temperature is about 88 at day and around 78 at night. I'm really worried for her and my male is growing so much faster than she is. She doesn't act weak and she drinks plenty of water. Any help would be amazing. Thanks!

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[Rachel SS]

Couple things - what type of enclosure are they in?

how big are the enclosures?

is she shedding?

are they housed together?

How often are you handling her?

Are there enough hide huts in the enclosure?

Are they in a high-traffic area of your home?

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[JarrodHolbrook]

its a 40 gallon aquarium. she isn't but he as we speak is going around my denim jeans shedding. i wouldn't say every day but kinda often. 2 hides and the house kinda is but i only go in my room at nights after class.

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[Rachel SS]

Okay if they're in shed, you should be hands off.

Are they housed together?

Young boas stress very easily. It's best to be as hands off as you can and allow them to gain some size so they feel less like they are prey and more like a predator.

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[JarrodHolbrook]

Yes there together. He actually ate in shed to be honest. I didn't know he was because I had the overhead light off and when he struck i went to get something to eat and turned the light on. when i came back in his eyes were glossed over. he has never had any trouble eating. I haven't been handling her near as much as him because I heard of that.

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[DiamondCreek]

If she was used to mice, you may need to scent the rat with a mouse. If you have a friend that raises or has mice, you could use dirty mouse bedding for scenting. If not, thaw a mouse and rat and put them in a ziplock together for a bit and rub them together. That should also work. I have a young boa that had to have his rats scented to get him to change over. I just thawed the rat and rubbed it around in some soiled nesting hay from one my mouse bins and he had no problem after that. Come to think of it, I had to do the same thing to get BP to change over to rats.

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

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[JarrodHolbrook]

Well Steve fed them on f&w rats. i just had mice at the time and she finally took one. She shows more attention to rats but quickly slithers off.

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[JarrodHolbrook]

f&t* sorry

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[Icicle]

Should be f/t= frozen thawed.

I would wait until next week and try again, sometimes a snake will take them if they are a little more hungrier.
Also the scenting works.

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	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.

[JarrodHolbrook]

That's what I meant, my bad. Ive had a long day.

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[Rachel SS]

The reason she is not eating is because the male is being dominant over her. She is stressed out. They must be separated or she will continue to not eat.

Here are some serious issues with housing together:

Snakes can get very stressed over being housed together. They become very competitive (as you can see specifically over food) but also over hot spots, cool spots, water, etc.

Continued exposure to stress drops their immune system response. Without a strong immune system they can very easily get sick. A vet visit is going to cost $50 at LEAST to see the vet, plus $15 to $30 if not more for EACH antibiotic injection (and depending on the antibiotic, they come in a series. Sometimes up to 12 shots). They can very easily pass on respiratory infections to each other. That's $100 for a vet to see two snakes, possibly more, THEN twice as much for medication. It gets expensive quick.

They will become very aggressive towards you and each other.

They can share parasites, which is another added stress.

The male can attempt to breed with her, especially since he's getting significantly bigger. If she is not big enough to breed it can kill her.

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[JarrodHolbrook]

Alright. I'll separate them right now.

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[Rachel SS]

Originally Posted by JarrodHolbrook

Alright. I'll separate them right now.

Glad to hear. Give her another week before you offer prey to her and she should eat. She just needs some time to relax.

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[Bluerain]

I agree that your problem is likely caused by housing them together..Specially as you know she was eating when she came to you!
If you seperate them and give her plenty of hides and handle only to clean out, after a few weeks (once she has settled in) she should start to feed?

Another good tip is to make sure that the food you are offering is nice and warm so she can locate it easily...You can heat the head of your prey item with a hairdryer...always works for me....Good luck!

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[JarrodHolbrook]

Thanks everyone!

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[sFlsniper]

what size mouse /rat was she fed before you received her? live, pr-killed, or Frozen/thawed?

like the others- I bet the larger male is stressing her out. I wouldn't handle her until she settles in like mentioned. If the male is doing well then continue what you've been doing with him.

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[nitram]

as rachel mentioned, definately seperate.

when i switched all my 09 boys and girls from large mice to pups/weaned rats i had one that didnt feed for a while. i definately it pinned as a preference thing, she didnt associate the rat as food? she eventually took it, as she got hungrier.

for right now i think a seperation will change her up a bit. snakes do better alone.

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