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I got a malaysian blood a bout 2 months. When I first got her out of her cage I fed her a live mice the first and and she ate, no problem. I had a male who didnt eat but I didnt thing much about it. I couple weeks went by, I offered but neither took one. So about two weeks ago,I assited the male and female to eat, they bout ate a f/t , medium mice. I tried again a couple weeks later and they would take food so I was going to assist them again, neither one took one. The other day I came in and the male was dead? The only explaination I can give is the female killed him, I had him over a month and he showed no signs(weight loose, not active)? Tonight I got the female out and tried to feed her, but I ended up just put it in her mouth and she ate it,? She doesnt seem to mind eating it but why wont she strike? and why did she strike the first week but not any more? I have tried mice live, f/t, rat pups?idk? should I just keep putting it in her mouth? And did I cause the male too die, or was it survival of the fittest? and should I take her to the vet? Thanks

Ok, for starters lets clarify some things. I highly doubt the female killed your male. The male must have died from some unforseen illness or husbandry issues. Dont take this the wrong way but judging by you comments you seem fairly new to this so correct me if im wrong because im just trying to help. You shouldnt be housing more the one snake in a cage. Im confused by the part of your post when you say " i pulled them out to eat" the impression that im getting is your feeding them out of there cage, which is pointless and will cause you trouble down the road. Again im confused as to why you would be force feeding snakes that have fed for you recenlty on there own? I have had neonates that took 3 months to feed before they were on a steady feeding schedule. As for the comment about your female taking food and not striking at it...I dont see the problem, I personally think thats a good thing, 90% of my collection eats frozen thawed right off of there cage floor, I dont see a cause for concern.
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1.1 Suri Redtails
2.1 Chondros
1.1 Womas
1.0 Blood
1.0 Albino Blood
1.0 Marble borneo
0.0.1 Southern White Lip
0.1 Albino Ball
1.0 Het Albino Ball

well yea i am kinda new but i was taking them out of the cage to eat because a breeder that I know me to take them out because It was usually done to prevent them striking when something comes into the cage. I didnt try to force feed the snakes I merely put it in their mouth to see if they would eat it cause I was reading that they may need to do this. And yes correct me if I am wrong on this cause Im just going off what other people have told me and what I have read even though it may or may not be right. I will try to just feed the female within he cage and leave a f/t mice overnight? I still kinda comfused though why I shouldnt house more than one snake in a big vivilium so if you could explain this more to me thanks so if I get another male should I build hima seprate cage? Thanks again

How big are the bloods? Are we taking about hatchlings, juvi,yearlings sub adult, adult? The problem with housing snakes together in a single cage can cause problems such as transmitting diseases between each other, feeding accidents, ect. A perfect example of this can relate to your post, you mention your male died out of no where, now if it was a disease..its possible the female housed in the same cage can suffer from the same illness which was transmitted. Cages such as vision/boaphile are good to house 1 animal, or you could go with more simple set up like tubs, sweater boxes. Give the blood a water dish, and a hide box, put a f/t mouse in the cage on the floor and walk away. Judging by the comment that she'll just grab it from you with out striking this should work. There are a few good sites with info on bloods like VPI, NERD that will stear you in the right direction as far as general care and understanding of there behavoirs. Goodluck

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1.1 Suri Redtails
2.1 Chondros
1.1 Womas
1.0 Blood
1.0 Albino Blood
1.0 Marble borneo
0.0.1 Southern White Lip
0.1 Albino Ball
1.0 Het Albino Ball

they are juev. yea the day I found him I took her out of the cage. Should I take her to the vet to get her checked out? I think Im goin to house my snakes seperrately due to this problem just to be on the safe side. Thanks

I am new with the bloods however I have been keeping boas for a few years now. I have found these snakes to be much different in their feeding and activity than boas for sure! My bloods are juvies of about 4 months old and have calmed down quite a bit. The big difference I see in the eating is that the bloods will simply eat on their own time as compared to a boa that will strike very agressivly at their food. I too feed mine outside of the cage in a small rubbermaid tub. I agree that feeding in the cage is not a good idea if you want these as "pets". I house them in 31qt rubbermaid tubs in a rack I built with flex-watt on one side. For substrate I am using cyprus mulch. I agree that other than for mating purpose, snakes hould be housed individually. This prevents the spread of disease and parasites. Keep the cage clean however from what I have found that is easy with bloods since they deficate far less than my boas. If you do look for some more bloods, I have a good local breeder (Phoenix, AZ) that may be able to set you up with a male. I would recomend a vet visit as a safe measure which should include a fecal exam.

Good luck. You did however pick an intermediat snake to start off with but not to say it has to be impossible. Be patient with the feeding and it will eventually work out.

-- Mike
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