Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Our large female is quite a finnicky eater, she refuses f/t and only takes live/stunned prey. We're lucky if we get her to eat every 3-4 weeks. She's 9 ft and a steady 25lbs, but we were hoping to get a little weight on her before breeding to be on the safe side. Right now we feed her the largest rats we can come up with. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions that might help? I've been told that chicken is good way to get her to eat, but i'm not sure? Also, i was considering maybe bringing her up to rabbits, since she doesn't eat very often. Is it hard to get them to switch? Any advice is appreciated.
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0.1 Het Albino
1.0 DH-Sunglow

I personally would never consider breeding a female that was a "picky eater". You need to get her "feeding regularly" before you try to breed her. When a boa is gravid/pregnant they tend to go off feed until after they give birth. Females need to be in top condition in order for them to handle that fasting period that they tend to do while gravid/pregnant. You might be able to get a nice litter out of her, but it could be costly as far as her health goes.

Try getting her on rabbits. You can do 1 "small" fresh killed if she won't take frozen thawed. Most boas, but not all, will readily take a rabbit. Just make sure it's very small for the first time. If she refuses then just go back to rats.

I don't know how much a 9 foot boa should weigh, but I have an 8 foot that weighs 37 pounds. Of course, she's probably a bit on the heavy side.

Thanks for the advice! We weren't planning on breeding her til next season. We recently purchased her.. She had been cooled and off feed, but didn't breed this last year. She looks healthy, but we wouldnt breed her until she was at a heavier weight.
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0.1 Het Albino
1.0 DH-Sunglow

Hi, I've had some Boas in the past that I would consider to be picky. My old way of offering food would be to use tongs on a pre-killed rat. If the Boa didn't strike it after about a minute, then I'd be frustrated and try again on another day. Now, I have one male that rarely strikes his meal, in fact sometimes he'll turn his head away as if to avoid it all together. So I just lay the meal on the floor (along the edge) of the feeding tub/cage, and cover the tub/cage with a towel, and walk away for about an hour. Then I'll lift a corner of the towel for a peak, and every single time the meal is gone or almost gone. He's not a picky eater, he's just shy. If you haven't try'd this yet, give it a go. Only do this with pre-killed meals though - no live for the sake of the Boa. I know its hard to do, but just walk away and give her dark privacy. Good luck.
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