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 #1900912


Tjwreds
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 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

hello all,
I have a yearling BRB that started out an eating machine. We fed him F/T in a tub outside his cage. His humidity is always above 70 and temps are 84 on the hot side and 79 or so on the cool side. lately, he doesn’t seem interested in eating. my wife an I feed our other seven snakes with no problems and three of them are Ball pythons.
Feeding procedure:
when younger, we’d get him into the feed tub, dangle a f/t rat pinky in his face and he’s polish off three with no problem.
now, when he does eat we have to chase him around the feed tub and then he finally eats. I know this probably means he doesn’t feel secure so we started trying to feed him in his cage and we get the same results. he has eaten in his cage only once about three weeks ago and hasn’t eaten since.

As for security, he has a thick layer of Cypress mulch in which he borrows and two appropriately sized hides one the hot/cool sides of his cage. a water bowl in the middle big enough for him to get in and soak (which he sometimes does).

Any ideas why he’s not eating?

Thanks,
Todd
11/18/08  04:10pm

 #1901077


Thyroidless
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   Message To: Tjwreds   In reference to Message Id: 1900912


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

TOO HOT!

You’re cooking the little fellow. BRB’s do not have the same heat requirement of BCI. His cage should range from about 70-82. Temps over 85 can be fatal.
11/18/08  08:39pm

 #1901324


BooByVu
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   Message To: Thyroidless   In reference to Message Id: 1901077


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

Yeah, I try not to let my warm side go over 80. My tank ranges from 70-80. As for the F/T feeding, try warming up the rat and leaving it on a plate. Place the plate in the cage overnight. It should eat it overnight. The plate is just so the rat doesnt get dirty. As for your feeding, you said you fet it 3 pinkies? I would suggest feeding 1 prey item per feeding. Make it a bigger item. A yearling BRB should be able to take weaned rats no problem.
11/19/08  11:39am

 #1901369


Tjwreds
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   Message To: BooByVu   In reference to Message Id: 1901324


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

Thanks for the replies guys. I’m trying to feed him pup sized rats from rodentpro.com. I just turned his heat way down. I have a temp gun that I’ll check it with later. He does always sit on the cool side. I’ve read that 85F was ok, but I’ll take his prefference for the cool side as a hint and turn down the heat.

Here is Roscoe as a neonate



Here is his cage




Here is Roscoe now




Thanks for your help, I’ll try to come back and post any sucess or failures feeding. We tried the rat pup on the plate last feeding day, no worky. will try again, with cooler temps.
11/19/08  02:07pm

 #1901480


Addicted.
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   Message To: Tjwreds   In reference to Message Id: 1901369


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

Quote:

TOO HOT!

You’re cooking the little fellow. BRB’s do not have the same heat requirement of BCI. His cage should range from about 70-82. Temps over 85 can be fatal.



I respectfully disagree,there is nothing wrong with a basking site of 85.So long as there is a nice gradient in there.

Jason.
11/19/08  05:36pm

 #1903204


Xamie
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   Message To: Addicted.   In reference to Message Id: 1901480


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

Everything seems fine, though you could add a humid hide and maybe try lowering the basking temperature. Just give him some time.

Peace,
John
11/22/08  03:49pm

 #1904461


Tjwreds
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   Message To: Xamie   In reference to Message Id: 1903204


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

hello all,
I tried the defrost a rat and leave it on a tupperware lid overnight routine. No dice. it was there in the morning. The Humid hid idea is interesting. I have some moss I could put in to increase humidity. So far, it’s been a month since his last meal. I’m trying to remember the VPI Barker mantre. "A Happy, Healthy snake eats every time, when he’s hungry." I turned the heat off and the cage is 73 on the cold end, 77 to 78 on the hot end (cage is sitting on top of another cages hot side). the other seven snakes ( 1.1 albino boas, .1 pink boa, .1 JCP, 1.1 normal balls, and .1 pastel ball all eat with regularity. I feed frozen that I thaw out in the snake room to have them smell the rats to get them ready to eat. I put the rats in ziploc bags in warm water and heat the rats up to serve temp, dry them off and feed them. the other seven all eat. Roscoe just runs away. I haven’t even been handling him. I just want him to eat. ugh. Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Todd
11/24/08  09:48pm

 #1905713


Tjwreds
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   Message To: Tjwreds   In reference to Message Id: 1904461


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

He finally ate.
I tried the tupperware with a warmed pinky rat last night and he finally ate it. He has eaten the rat pups before, but three nights ago he ignored it. the pinky rat is, well, pink, and the rat pup has it’s white fur. Not sure if it was a color or size thing he didn’t like. Or maybe he just wasn’t hungry? I took him out real quick this morning to verify he didn’t drag the rat around and that he ate it. I cannot see the slightest lump in him at all. IMO he should be able to eat rat pups. I’ll try again next feeding day.

YAY!!!
11/27/08  12:23pm

 #1934784


Tjwreds
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   Message To: Tjwreds   In reference to Message Id: 1905713


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

Ok, I have a interesting update.
He’s about 3 to 3.5 feet long now. He has a preference for rat pinks, which, at this point, are almost too small for him. I have rat puts from rodentpro dot com which when he last ate them (4 or so months ago) only made a slight bump in him. here is the data I have so far on this phenomenon.

if given rat pups and rat pinks, he’ll eat all the pinks and leave the pups
if given only rat pups, he will not eat.
if given three rat pinks, he’ll eat them all.

He only eats rat pinks left in his cage and with the lights off after my wife and i have left the room.

How can we get him to start eating size appropriate meals? Anyone?
01/18/09  09:48pm

 #1935306


Addicted.
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   Message To: Tjwreds   In reference to Message Id: 1934784


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

Get him hungry,if he does not eat wait a week and try again.And again.A few weeks will not harm the snake,just make it hungry.Leave the rat in over night and do not disturb him.

Jason.
01/19/09  08:05pm

 #1962734


87rx7chick
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   Message To: Addicted.   In reference to Message Id: 1935306


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

why the change? why now is the temp effecting him? well its because the more mass he has the more heat he retains. he cant cool off as much when he’s this big and the temps are finaly getting to him i assume.



03/03/09  10:23pm

 #1962736


87rx7chick
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   Message To: 87rx7chick   In reference to Message Id: 1962734


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

oh another idea about the rat pups vs rat pinkies. i assume the pinkies dont have fur and the pups do? hmm
03/03/09  10:25pm

 #1962926


Fairy Frog Mother
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   Message To: 87rx7chick   In reference to Message Id: 1962736


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

I was talking to a lady who is very knowledgeable at my local store last time I was in to get feeders( she cares for the baby corns they get in and is a breeder of snakes and geckos herself) and we were talking about how to entice snakes going from Live to F/T.

She suggested pulling open a little bit of skin on the forehead of a F/T and leaving it in the hide for reluctant feeders. Apparently the smell of blood entices them. Or, put a pinky in, then a small rat pup.
I personally would let it go hungry a week or two as Jason suggested to be sure it is hungry, then try it.



03/04/09  09:36am

 #1963391


Phoenix23
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   Message To: Fairy Frog Mother   In reference to Message Id: 1962926


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

Fairy frog mother- This is very true and works a lot of the time... I’ve been taught to actually go deep enough to get brain matter but i would imagine just the blood would do...... I was just wondering if leaving the rat in over night is really such a good idea... If he just doesn’t want to eat wouldn’t that stress him out???... I was always taught never ever to leave food in a snakes enclosure for long periods of time let alone over night... But then I’m thinking that because these snake are nocturnal maybe its not a bad idea.... I don’t know. mixed feelings on that one............. Another thing you can do is.... sometimes when i feed my snakes the tail gets skinned because of how i hold the tongs so if you make a small cut down the rats back and just peel the skin off it wouldn’t that be like eating a pinkie to the snake......Just a thought
03/05/09  01:28am

 #1964063


87rx7chick
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   Message To: Phoenix23   In reference to Message Id: 1963391


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

ew, now we are skinning mice and rats? hehe
03/06/09  12:55pm

 #1964097


Phoenix23
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   Message To: 87rx7chick   In reference to Message Id: 1964063


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

HAHAHA... I know sounds totally gross but it could work....lol
03/06/09  02:01pm

 #2026667


Tjwreds
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   Message To: Phoenix23   In reference to Message Id: 1964097


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

Ok, I now know for sure what the issue is. Roscoe wants mice to start and then he’ll take rats. As long as my wife and I start his feeding session with a hopper, he will gladly eat the next following prey item (being a rat pup), and begrudingly most of the time eat the third item being a rat pup. This method has worked the last three weeks in a row. All prey is F/T. Yay!!!
06/21/09  08:03pm

 #2030897


Fairy Frog Mother
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   Message To: Tjwreds   In reference to Message Id: 2026667


 Rainbow Boa Not Eating

Glad he is eating.

Yesterday was feeding day for our snakes. The Classroom corns Im caring for ate F/T despite the fact they’ve been on live. Made me excited. Havent tried the little one yet as I had the hubby get live mice just in case, and the fuzzy wouldnt have made it a week without its mum- so Ill try next week with the F/T for him.

I walked into the room my boas are in and both of them immediately came out of their hides and up to the glass tounges a flickering before I even got the rats out of the plastic bags in the bowl of hot water.
You would think I starve them.



06/29/09  10:59am


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