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Well, I have the temperature set to 90* basking, 85-89* hot side, 75-80* cool side, and humidity about 50-60% with a humidity hide as well. There are four hides throughout the 20 gal tank, some limbs to climb on, and a pool of water large enough for her to soak in. Every night she comes out to explore, and lately she's been coming out once or twice (although briefly) during the day.

During feeding time every Thursday night, a live fuzzy is placed into a box, then the snake, the box is closed up, and the lights are turned off. 30 or more minutes later, the mouse is gone and the snake is fat and happy. She refuses to eat with me watching, but I've been walking around the box and she eats regardless. This Thursday I will leave the lights on and see if she eats. Slowly I hope to encourage her to eat while I watch...then eventually I can switch her over to f/t.

I handle her for about 30 minutes a day, usually at night when she is most active. I'll remove her favorite hide, and then place my hand in front of her. Normally she'd sniff and then move the other way, but lately she's started to crawl midway into my hand.

I think she is doing rather well. No gaping mouth, bubbles or wheezing. I didn't notice her soaking, there weren't any mites or discoloration of her scales or skin. She appears to be "regular" since I do spot clean about once a week.

Last night I completely cleaned her cage and placed her into her feeding box with some substrate. I noticed that she was very active and when I moved she moved quickly towards me, rather than ignoring me. This appeared to be a feeding response. Next Thursday I'll give her two fuzzies (not at the same time though) and see if she takes both.

So far everything seems to be alright. She's about 5 months old now (almost 6 months), getting closer to 20 inches in length(not too easy trying to measure her), and I'm wandering if she'll shed soon. Will she make it to 3 or 4 feet by next January?

If I am doing something wrong, please let me know. I'll try to post some pictures as soon as I can.

Your Dum is almost 6 months old and still only eating fuzzies??

My Dum is only 4 months old, about as long as yours, perhaps thicker in the middle, but she ate an adult mouse yesterday, and quickly too.

She was striking the outside of her aquarium when I was feeding her hoppers...she was eating one or two a week.

Now, it might be that she's just a really good eater, but a hopper isn't much bigger than a fuzzie. She should be able to get that down without much trouble.

The breeder I bought her from said she was eating Rat Pups when I bought her at 4 months...so you might be underfeeding.

We brought her to our local pet store and they took a look at her. They said that for her size she can handle two hopper mice. They're still waiting for more rat pups and such, since quite a few of the employees have snakes as well. She appeared to be in good health. They did suggest getting her on rats ASAP.

I recently fed her and for the first time I got to watch. I really do want to get her converted over to rats and eventually f/t. This is my first boa, so everything is still kind of new. The breeder said she was born at the end of July, and that her mother was about 7ft, the father about 5ft. Also, the breeder said at the time she wouldn't take rat pups, while her siblings would. That's how she ended up on mice.

I've only had the snake for about a month, and so there will be a few things I miss when it comes to feeding her. But hopefully I'll catch my mistakes fast enough so that their effects are minimal.

Thanks for the advice. I didn't know she was underfed.

Lately, my Dum's been chowing down on adult mice (about 1 a week), and doesn't seem to want to slow down a bit. She's going to get huge, I think, and she's got a really good start.

I've got to get another heating pad for my female kingsnake, too. Her male counterpart is eating GREAT, but she's turning up her nose at everything--I'm going to check her for mites tonight, and I'll try a mid sized pinky again at the end of the week, and if she doesn't take it, I'll run her to the herp vet to check for problems.

I just got a couple of clutches of mice, so I should be good to go for a while.

How old is your Dumeril? I'm mostly playing by ear with this one. She's not thin, but not fat either. Seems to have excellent muscle tone, and a very healthy appetite. Today is feeding day again, so I have some hoppers on bedding that the pet store let me have (it has the scent of rats). Hopefully this will all go well.