we've only had Kaa since tuesday but he ate last night 1 pinky rat.i gave him a live one just to make sure he ate,he was a little leary at first but he took it in about 20 mins.it felt like 20 days sitting there with the nights out and trying not to move around to much.and he seamed a little more relaxed after he ate,i'ev been alittle bit nervous since he bit me almost scared to touch but that was the first day we got him.but I guess time heals all and we'll be buddys sooner or later,sorry no pics but I didn't want to bug him any more than I had to maybe next time.

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1.0.0 anerythrisc corn -Fletcher
1.0.0 nigerian uromastyx-Burtis
1.0.0 rainbow boa-Kaa
2.0.0 cats-Stripper & Spot
0.1.0 chilean rose T-Ceilia
0.0.1 Emperor scorpion-Tank
1.0.0 snow corn-Fat mike
1.0.0 okeetee corn-freddy

Glad he ate for ya !!! now that you know he will get him on f/t.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Great Skull, glad he ate for you

Glad he ate for you so quickly - it's always a relief when they eat in a new home, shows that they are settling in well and are comfortable in their environment.

One thing though - it might have been a mistake to try him on live straight away.. it might make the transition to f/t harder. I would have personally tried him with a f/t item a week after purchase, and continued to try for several weeks until he ate. Only after several weeks, and with weight loss, would I feed a live.

Good luck for the future. Hope to see pics soon

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Congratulations Skullman! Rainbow Boas are great eaters. I'm sure he'll settle in easily now.
I don't think you'll have any problems converting him to F/T. Just make sure you warm up the pinkie to about 107 F (that would be about the same as the body temp of a live one).
I know what you mean about being nervous after getting bitten. It's a scary thing. I am still a bit reserved around my girls and don't let them get too close to my face. (Mine are 6 ft long though!) so once your little guy gets used to you, I'm sure you'll be fine. If you find you are still feeling unsure, wear gloves a few times when handling him at the beginning. Before reaching your hand in to get him, try dropping a Kleenex or light handkerchief over his head: this will temporarily block his heat sensors detecting your hand and mistaking it for food: once he feels your hand on his body, he'll know it's handling time. When you pick him up, the Kleenex will fall off or you can gently take it off.
You can also do the old T-shirt trick.(Wear a T-shirt under your clothes for a few days, then put it in his terrarium, so he gets used to your smell). Believe me I tried all the tricks! I think the only thing that really helps is regular handling (when they are not in shed or digesting, of course). I take my girls out for just 5-10 minutes almost every day-- sometimes longer, but they tend to get a bit restless after 10 minutes (and then I start to get nervous). I try to put them back before they get irritated, so that the experience is good for both of us.

Congratulations again. Keep us updated!

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Andrea

They are all great tricks to try Andrea - heating the food item up should encourage the snake to eat, because as Andrea said, the food is more similar to a live animal, and the snake will sense it with its heat sensors and should hopefully strike straight away! If it doesn't strike at the f/t item, leave it in overnight, some snakes prefer to eat in privacy (never leave a live food item in unattended though).

We have experienced different things with handling Andrea.. some snakes need handling more often in order to become used to you and become more tame. However, many of our snakes do not get handled more than once a week a lot of the time - due to time restraints, and right now ofcourse due to some of them being gravid - and they are just as tame without being handled too often. I think again it depends on the individual. The same applies for some of the other snakes - even with a lot of handling they can still be quite testy and not very tame, and I doubt that all the tricks in the world would make them nice docile snakes.

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Good points, Rachel. I think in general Rainbow Boas are not as docile as BPs for example: but just like when you fall off a horse, you should get back on right away: the frequent handling of my girls is probably more for me than for them! If they seem testy: I don't take them out, but each good handling experience with them makes ME less nervous for the next time!

Another feeding trick: put one of his hideboxes into the feeding tub with him and let him settle for a while, then offer the rat. Sometimes if they have a place to hide and "ambush" from, they are more likely to feed. (from my desperate feeding experiences with my BP, Monty.) I've never had a problem feeding the Rainbows.
PS -- don't feed inside the terrarium on that soil. You don't want any substrate swallowed.

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Andrea

Yes good point Andrea, and one I was going to make - don't feed him in the same enclosure as any particle substrate as there is risk of impaction.

I understand what you mean Andrea - handling some of our snakes more often is for me more than them sometimes,. the more you handle them the more you come to trust them Our BRBs have always been tame, docile snakes, and the male only ever struck once, at Joe on feeding day when he could obviously smell/taste the food, and mistook the heat of Joe's hand for a juicy rat They are beautiful snakes and have lovely temperaments, something which we weren't expecting when we first got them as we had heard unprecidented rumours that they were a testy species,.

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004