Reptile & Amphibian Forums

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 (this was what I gathered as being appropriate for a Dumeril's Boa). 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.

Sounds like you are off to a good start. I have a few suggestions ...

You are planning on switching to f/t and it is my expreience that the earlier you start the easier it is. This being said, try offering pre killed prey for a while. If that works, then you can go right to frozen thawed.

Second, I suggest feeding on appropriate sized prey item a feeding over two smaller. I am not sure if you are feeding a rat or mouse fuzzie but if it is a mouse I would suggest switching to a rat fuzzie. For most of its adult life it will be eating rats so it is best to get her used to them early.

Lastly, I am an advocate for feeding inside the cage as opposed to in a seperate container. My reasoning for this is that the worst case is you dont ever interact with the snake while its in the cage (ie. dont hold em, change water, spot clean, check temps etc) and she associates cage opening with feeding. I would rather her associate cage opeining with feeding and be fine when out of the cage then associate coming out of the cage with feeding. I also feel that if you regularly interact with the snake while in the cage (ie. holding, changing water, cleaning, checking temps. etc) then the snake will not associate cage opening with feeding (the reason most decide to feed outside the cage).

This is all my opinion and should be taken as such. You seem to be on the right track, these are just things I have learned that work better for me in the past.
-----
- Jason F.

Thanks.

The local pet store has been out of rat pups for a while. Next month they should have some more. I'll try to get her switched over to f/t ASAP. I might have to use pre-killed in the beginning though (not really looking forward to the idea).

As for the feeding outside of the cage idea, if I get tagged, then I guess I get tagged. She's just as likely to bite me in the cage as out. I like the idea of the feeding box because then I don't have to worry about impaction.