Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had a adult female now for 2 months and she hasn't ate. She is cb or so i'm told and have taken her to the vet. he gave her a clean bill of health and said her weight is ok and she isn't showing signs of starvation yet. i have tried live, f/t, pk, rats mice small and large. darkness, privacy, everything! Non feeders really stress me out. temps are 82 day and 77 at night. vet told me to raise temps a bit so i've been running 84-83 dth and 77-78 nth. Any suggestions. I need her to eat soon or i am goin to pull my hair out! Please help brb gods and goddesses! thanks for your time Jason Kirtley btw dave the brbs are growing like crazy and lookin great thanks

Hey Jason,

How big/old is the animal?

When/what was the last thing it ate?

Did it eat for you or the previous owner?

How much time are you giving the snake between feeding trials?

Where/how are you measuring your temperatures?

Have you discussed this with the person you bought it from?
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Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

the guy i bought it from won't return my calls. basically he's a crook. I the snake i got was not the one he advertised. Live and learn i guess. She is 3yrs old around 4ft. I use helix controls with pro product heat panels temps are taken with a big apple digital thermometer at ground level on hot and cold side. Wish i would have known about you, dave and jeff before i took the leap into brbs with her. thanks jasonk

LOL, ya had me worried when I saw the subject and who it was from. Glad to hear mine are doing fine. Mike asked all the right questions except one, could she be gravid? Or be cycling? My gravid females go off feeding every year around this time.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
10.22 BRB
10.15 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Mine have all gone off food long before I know they are gravid.

Hey Jason,

I just re-read your post and caught the fact that she's an adult. I was asking how old/big is she because I suspected she may have gone off feed because of reproductive cycles. I've found that femeles don't necessarily have to be gravid to go off feed. Sometimes they'll stop eating as the unfertilized ova are growing inside of them. If they are never fertilized, they will disappear and she will resume feeding in a few weeks. If they become fertilized, she may stay off feed for a few months. Were you trying to breed her this year? If so, give us some of the history.

The other possibility is that your female is really a male. Who sexed her?

Whatever the case, if the vet deemed her healthy, you probably just need to be patient. It's rare, but I've seen healthy snakes with good body weight go a year without eating.
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Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

she's pretty skinny i think....she weight 2.7 lbs at the vet....she is a shade over 4ft and has a pretty wide head on her like she has been big at one time. Do i dare place my male in with her? On a different subject...my male and another female last observed copulation was june 3rd and she refused food this time (monday jun 26th) and is starting to show skin between her scales but doesn't look real fat....she is hard as a rock in the back part of her body so maybe my first litter ever might be on its way!!!! thanks guys and girl for the advice jasonk

If she's thin, I wouldn't place a male in with her this year. I'd spend the summer trying to get her eating again. If she isn't the snake that was advertised, is there any possibility that she is a he?
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Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

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Frank Roberts
R&R Herpetological Frank Roberts & John Rodriguez

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Roberts'Realm of Reptile Research

Jason,
....I think Frank hit the nail on the head. Big heads are signs of older age and you often see them among skinny imports. There are still a bunch of these snakes being imported and at times the big importers have them for sale for very low prices. The shady dealers buy these snakes cheap and then try to pawn them off as captive born for sale for lots more money. Imported wildcaught BRBs can be okay and do well but they almost always take some work and time to get them in shape to breed. Your Vet may be right about the snake and it could be healthy. Did he check a fecal sample or fecal wash? Parasites are the biggest problem with some imports. It will sometimes put them off feed. BRBs with heavy parasite loads will often eat heavily without a reasonable weight gain. I would go with the vets temperature recommendation for a while but if that does not work I would drop temperatures down into low to mid 70s and see if that makes a difference. Just curious, did you tell the vet the snake was a Brazilian Rainbow Boa or did he say oh, you have a Brazilian Rainbow Boa? Some vets are very knowledgeable about snakes. Some know Cornsnake, Kingsnake, Ball Python, "big" Python and Boa Constrictor period end of story.
Good luck,
Jeff

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>>Frank Roberts
>>R&R Herpetological Frank Roberts & John Rodriguez
>>
>>------------------------------------
>>Roberts'Realm of Reptile Research

Jeff was correct on his statements about unscrupulous sellers buying and selling these wild caught snakes. I have seen many Brazilians on the web, that I knew where wild caught and the big head / skinny body is what made me think to write that response. I know many people frown upon the use of Avian prey because of the possibilities of salmonella. But if all other feeding attempts fail. I would suggest thawed / warmed to 105 degree F. chick. A reliable source of such a prey item can be obtained from rodent-pro for a small fee, but to get a few may not be possible, then you can cross-scent to rodents and slowly switch the snake over to an "all rodent diet" I have done this by scenting the rodent less and less every time. Most Brazilians will have a hard time turning down such a prey item. Wild caught Pythons and Boas are often imprinted on certain prey items from their environments (prey species specific) and may need such manipulation to get them going on a lab rodent diet, I recommend this as a last resort because the very same imprinting can occur in the captive environment as well and a all "avian" diet in my opinion isn't healthy for the long term maintenance of any Boid specie. I have used chicks over the years on many stubborn snakes and 9 times out of 10 they greedily took such an offering, the 105 degree thing, I have learned recently, I just warmed them up in the past, but have been educated on these forums to such an exact extent that I use my thermometer for something NEW LOL Hope this helps, like I said As a last resort, but I wouldn't wait till the snake is too weak to feed. I would make the same attempts with rodents several more times before I "broke" and resorted to this technique, BUT it does work for me.
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Frank Roberts
R&R Herpetological Frank Roberts & John Rodriguez

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Roberts'Realm of Reptile Research

I'm sure you have tried this, but this has worked for me for any stubborn snakes that I have had in the past.

Handle your snake for 15-20 mins so that your body temp gets the snake's metabolism/movements up and going. When I handle my snakes, then feed - the response is instantaneous. If not handled, they are somewhat lethargic. (This primer seems to be the trick)

I use a large rubbermaid w/lid, place the snake in question with a live hopper, a small piece of bread, and place in a room with as little noise, vibrations and light as possible and leave undisturbed for 6-12hrs.

Of course I ensure the room temp is suitable first (75-80).

I also use the least risky live prey item I can think of - a hopper - not much of a meal though, but a good start.

Good luck!

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-Iman

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