boa wont eat

Hi everyone,
I rescued a brazilian rainbow boa last week, it is about 3 weeks old right now. It already had its first shed a couple of days ago, but it still will not eat. I currently have it in a plastic shoe box sized aquarium, with a damp paper towel, some wood chips and a water bowl. I will offer him a thawed mouse pinkie and I will leave it in there for a day. This is the third time that i have triied this.
Any other suggestions.
Thank you
Troy

Welcome to HC
How are you heating the box? If the temps are not warm enough, the snake may not feel like eating. Rainbow Boas should be provided with a basking area of about 85°F, this should not exceed 90°F for any length of time as this can be harmful. The ambient temperature of the vivarium should be about 78°F, dropping at night to around 74°F.
Check out this website for care info on BRBs: http://www.rainbowboa.co.uk/care.php
You should also have a small cardboard box for him to hide under. (They like to hide during the day.)
Don't feed the Brazilian Rainbow Boa in the same container as the wood chips, as he might swallow them and get stomach or intestinal blockages.
BRBs are generally good eaters... but your baby may just need some time to adjust to the new home. Just give him a nice dark place to hide under and make sure he's warm enough, then try again in about 5 days.
Try feeding at night with as little light and noise around as possible. When you thaw the pinkie, warm it up with a hairdryer till it's about 100F, then take some long feeding tongs and wiggle it slightly about 3-5 inches away from the snake's nose. Don't move it so much as to scare the snake, just to get him interested.

Good luck with the little guy. When you say "you rescued it" what do you mean? Where did the snake come from? You should probably have a fecal exam done for parasites. Get a stool-sample container from your vet ahead of time so you can collect the sample easily next time he poops.

Thank you for your reply.
I have a 40 watt heat light about two feet over his cage, his cage is usually in the 76-78 dergree range, and its humidity is in the 70 percent(I also have a fogger to help raise humidity levels). His water dish is also his hide box, I had a nother hide box in there but he did not like it. The wood chips are only on one side of his cage(under his water dish). I will thaw the mice with a hair dryer next time and see if that makes a difference.

I mean that when I rescued him, he was surrendered to me, the people who had him before did not want him because he would always bit them, that has already been taken care of( I hold him every day), he is very nice now.

Thank you for your post and for the link, I will try some of the things and hopefully they will help.

Thank you
Troy

Originally Posted by tljm_2000

His water dish is also his hide box, I had another hide box in there but he did not like it.

Do you mean he hides under the waterdish or in it? If he's hiding under it, I'd say that was fine, but otherwise I'd recommend putting some other stuff in there: even just a piece of a cereal box that he can crawl under if he wants to get out of sight.

I didn't mean thaw the mouse with the hairdryer: just thaw it at room temp or in a ziplock bag put in warm (not hot!) water. Then just before feeding it, warm it up with a hairdryer or under a heating lamp, so it's close to 100F. (I recommend getting a temp gun from Radio shack -- they're really useful!)

It's great that you've been able to get him used to you so he won't bite, but try leaving him alone for a day or two and THEN try feeding. Maybe getting used to a new person, a new home and frequent handling is just a bit too much for the little guy. (Also, don't hold him for two or three days after he's eaten, or he could regurgitate the food and that's not only awful for you, but VERY unhealthy for the snake.)

Do you have any pics of the little one?

Yes he hides under it. Thanks for the clarification on the hair dryer that probably would have been a mess, I'll try it the other way. I plan on leaving him alone for a day or two so he can get familiar with his new home, I just didnt want him to get too aggressive, then that will be a head ache.
I do have a picture of him, however I do not know how to upload it in this forum. Right now its just saved on to my computer. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you
Troy

Troy,
to add the picture in a reply just go down to the bottom of the reply and select "manage attachments" browse your hard drive til ya find the pic you want to attach and select.

this is what I keep getting everytime I try to upload the picture.
File Too Large. Limits are 400 x 300.
Your file is 640 x 358.
how can I solve this problem.
Sorry not that computer literate.

troy,

If you are running WinXP, go to your pic file and right click on the file, and then click on resize, you can choose custom, and type in 300 x 300, and save. Then use that file.

Steve

I would advise leaving the snake alone for at least a week, or two,....no handling! It is not going to become agressive in that time.

It takes a snake a bit of time to become settled in to a new environment and get comfortable. Make sure to have several hides around the tank so they can choose where they want to hide based on the temperature in that location. Just leave him alone till he gets settled in.

You say that the snake is only 3 weeks old and has just had its first shed? Did the snake come from a pet shop or a breeder? Do you know if the snake has ever eaten before? Some hatchlings may take a bit of doing to get to feed.

Merlin,
The snake was a rescue, from a couple that bought him from a breeder. I have tried to get a hold of the breeder but the number they gave me was disconnected or wrong. No he has never eaten before. And his first shed was last monday. I have left him alone since sat. I just peek my head in every once in a while to see how he is doing.

Thank you
Troy