Refusing to feed.

[kulgan]

My RTB is refusing to eat. Over the last month and a half she has only taken 2 normal size Rats and one very small rat. She is 2 years and 3 months old and appx 7 and a half foot long. She is still drinking ok and still active. There appears to be no signs of ill health and she still handles ok. No changes have been made to her enclosure ie. temp, humidity. Her last shed was 3 days ago but she hasn't fed for nearly 2 weeks. she usually takes a large rat every 4-5 days. I have noticed that some of the rats from the pet shop lately have been bloody, could she be refusing because of this? Any advise would be most appreciated.

[RevMojo]

Except for the issue of prey size, doesn't sound much like a problem at all. You'll find minor differences of opinion on exactly how often a snake that size should eat, but generally about every 10-14 days is fine. What are the current temps and humidity? While it is a possibility, I personally doubt the blood on the rats is a deterrant.

Anyhow, don't panic yet. A big girl like that can go a while...if she starts to lose weight, be concerned. Otherwise, just relax and keep trying. Good luck with it, and welcome to RTB.net

[peruvianfanatic]

The change in temprature can do it.Seeing that she is a female.Some Boas will refuse food in the cooler periods.As for the blood on the rats,that just makes them more excited to eat.As long as she has good wait and is drinking I would not worry.She will eat again!!!

[herpkingdom]

I would think about buying frozen rats and stop feeding live or fresh killed from the pet shop. The frozen rats are most likely a better quality and there is much less of a chance of something being passed to the snake due to the pet shop's or his supplier's rat husbandry.

Plus, they are a lot heaper to boot.

Depending on how many you buy at one time, they can be as low as $2 each.

[JuliusSqueezer]

I think the biggest problem really is that she is just tired of being power fed and may possibly have developed some problems from it. 4-5 days is way too often. Her internal organs are taxed from all the rapid growth and she is just in need of slowing down. Keep trying like mojo said but PLEASE only offer her an appropriate sized rat once every 2 weeks. If she fasts for a month or two...no big deal really...she may actually have a need to do it.

[peruvianfanatic]

Yeah your right J.S. I over looked the feeding alarge rat every 4 to 5 days.That is too much!

[kulgan]

Thanks all for the advice. I was told to "power feed" until the snake was about 3yo to acheive optimum growth, hence feeding that often! She has always until now taken her prey with great enthusiasm. I will now slow the feeding down. Mojo, the current temp in the enclosure is set at 86F while the ambiant temp is 82F in the hot end and 75F in the cool end. Current humidity is 65% although I do mist the enclosure daily.

[Ed_r]

The winter months Usually slow down their feeding habits, even if your cage conditions dont change. Just their biological clock ticking. During the winter months my female mostly don't want food but once a month. being a little over 2 yrs old and 7'+ is quite large. Normal diet for my Boas is 1 prey item every 10 days. If the female gave birth the same year, I will feed her every week 1 prey item, only so she can calm down and replentish lost body fat. Plus they are quite revenous after giving birth.

As far as your cage conditions go. 86 degree hot side isnt bad. i would boost it to 88 though. Humidity isn't a huge factor with RTBs daily misting really isn't necessary. as was stated earlier temp changes will cause non eating situations. Specially in late fall early winter, the female may start to ovulate, then she loses interest in food.

Also as was stated, her not eating for a week or 2 or a month is not a big deal. If she has good weight will be no problem.
Just slow down her feeding schedule/

Welcome aboard!!!

[JuliusSqueezer]

Power feeding boas is a really bad idea. Yah it makes them grow fast....but it causes more problems down than road than good. Her organs need time to catch up now and even though she is of breedable size, she likely will produce poor babies, healthwise if bred this year and/or a lot if not all slugs. Regurge syndrome is a horrible thing to battle and powerfed boas are highly prone to such problems. Boas have extremelyt slow metabolisms and you have really been taxing her digestive system. They need time to replentish gut flora between meals so they can better extract nutrients from what they eat. A healthy slower diet will grow them just as big...it just takes a little longer. Powerfeeding early on also can cause a much shorter lifespan for the snake....not exactly what I would call "optimum" since "optimum" suggests "the best". I can't understand powerfeeding...if you are impatient and want to breed now...just get bigger boas to start with. They are readily available and quite reasonably priced if not free.

	regurgitate Throw up. Reptiles will regurge when they feel they are in danger or if they have some sort of health issue. If your reptile has regurgitated his/her food please seek help!

[kulgan]

JS i was only power feeding upon advice i received from the person i purchased the snake from, until this article was posted i had not even heard of the term. I certainly would not have power fed if i had known that it could even possibly cause any problems, lets hope that thus far it hasn't. I was only acting upon ill advice that i received from somebody that i thought may have known what they were talking about. I certainly will not be breeding from her this year neither was my intention to do so. I am not impatient, i love and care for my girl and was just acting upon what i thought and was told was best for her. I know now that i was wrong thanks to the advice from this page, but i do not feel there is a need to be patronising.

[LdyDrgn]

Kulgan, about all I can say is, "do your research." I realize that hindsight is always 20/20 but maybe you can help now with educating others. Learn all you can, never take the word of just one person. Question everything and use (un)common sense

Good luck with your boa.