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Azanboyfoo   Florida boy   Azanboyfoo   Florida boy  
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 #1714824


Azanboyfoo
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 ANY ADVICE WOULD HELP

hello all. i have a 6ft. red tail boa (BCI) and lately shes been eating great once a wk every tuesdays i feed her f/t jumbo rats and has been eating them. but for the last 2 wks was diffrent i put the (dead) rat in the cage and the next morning it was still there shes in her blue right now and about to shed...i know that most snakes don’t eat while in shed but mines does and this is the first time it denied food from me after 3 years kinda weird. all my temps seems to be right 95 80 degrees 50-60% relavtive humidity. im taking her to the vet this wk. to check up on her 100 dollars for a checkup wathever tho. but if thats what gets her goin on the right track so be it. i mean should i try to offer her live?? i did try it last time she won’t even go near the thing. she was avoiding it like hell. so after 30 minutes of no success i took it out and killed it offered it agen and in an hour she ate it(by the way this snake is kind of shy if she sees u b4 she has the rat half way in she will stop and not continue. till u leave oh and i offer it at night she won’t eat it during day. her schedule is tuesdays at 9 ive never missed a feeding day) any advice would help before i take her to the vet. please no negative remarks THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME READING THIS.

-ervin
04/24/08  03:26pm

 #1715142


Florida boy
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   Message To: Azanboyfoo   In reference to Message Id: 1714824


 ANY ADVICE WOULD HELP

If a snake doesn’t eat what it normally eats, when it normally eats , then let it not eat. Boas can go for months with no food and beleive it or not come out healthier after wise. Fat over fed boas are not healthy, just like fat overfed humans. It is ok to skip a week here or there or a couple weeks. Might sound a little radical to alot of people, but for the most part I feed my boas when they are hungry and activly hunting and searching for food. I guess what I’m basically trying to say is don’t freek out, everything will be just fine. When she sheds(typically mine take a dump that same day or the next, I like to wait till after the dump) then try to feed her.

If 95 is air temp, I would recommend bumping it down to about 90.

Also, at three years old, a boa does not need to be fed every week, something more like once every two or three weeks would be more appropriate and healthier. Feeding on this type of schedual over time could and likely will shorten your boas life span, to put it very simply and bluntly. Feeding on a weekly schedual is great for a young, growing boa, but at three, growing has already started to slow and the animal just simply does not need that much food. Extra nutrients will be stored especially fat, most commonly causing fatty liver, just opening the boa up to health problems including death. I’m not saying you are wrong or attacking you current meathods, just noting what will/might occure if you continue with this sort of regimine. Generally overfed or power fed animals do not live past 5, when a boa can live to be 20,30 even 40 years old. I’m also not saying your boa has been overfed (as in purposely over feeding to grow fast) but it is starting down that path

This is not a negative comment: You seem to be really worried and hung up over the fact that she has missed one meal. Quit it. Your making yourself old for no reason. If she goes for a couple months with no food during the warm season (doesn’t matter if their cage is the same temp all year round, they can tell what the real weather is doing. no bs), then yeah, get a check, run a fecal see if it is anything simple or easy, then give it a bit more time( under qualified reptile or specialized exotic vet guidence and finding of course). But at this point, unless she is having symptoms you have not mentioned here( RI, persistant runny stools...) I see no reason to get a vet involved in anything. Some may say missing a meal is nothing uncommon for a boa, but i think it is more correct to say, a boa missing a meal here or there is very common. Especially when you are feeding once a week.
04/24/08  06:40pm

 #1715261


Azanboyfoo
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   Message To: Florida boy   In reference to Message Id: 1715142


 ANY ADVICE WOULD HELP

ok ill try lowering the temps a bit tanx for the advice. no she doesnt seem to have any other problems no wheezing no runny stools i just got hella worried cuz she did this for 2 wks ill try agen next wk ok ill try feeding her every 2 wks i didnt noe what i was doing is power feeding thats the last thing i wanted to do i thought power feeding was just offering another rat after the snake is done with the other one ok tanx for the advice ill wait wit the vet ting

-ervy
04/24/08  07:52pm

 #1719225


Florida boy
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   Message To: Azanboyfoo   In reference to Message Id: 1715261


 ANY ADVICE WOULD HELP

there is a difference between power feeding and over feeding. And you are correct on powerfeeding, basically shoving another rat down the snakes throat behind the first one. You are not power feeding by definition but getting towards over feeding.
04/28/08  05:21pm


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