Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My parents say Rocky ruins the weekends by not accepting food. They want to sell him. He hasn't lost any weight it seems.

It's been almost or over a month since he last ate. What the hell guys?
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

Scott,
..Howe old is he now? My adult male CRB eats about once a month and is doing fine. If yours is less than 30 months old not eating might indicate a problem. Most Rainbow Boas refusing to feed will eat if the temperature and humidity are right..
Jeff

>>My parents say Rocky ruins the weekends by not accepting food. They want to sell him. He hasn't lost any weight it seems.
>>
>>It's been almost or over a month since he last ate. What the hell guys?
>>-----
>>Scott
>>
>>Reptiles
>>--------
>>1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
>>1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
>>0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
>>1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
>>0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)
>>
>>Other
>>-----
>>1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
>>1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
>>0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

His exact age is not known. He was about a year old when I got him back in December 2006.

According to my parents the temp on the warm end is staying iin the 60s. They claim to be sticking the probe in the ground. Maybe it's because I covered the bottom with cardboard to prevent Rocky from burning?

He seems fine. I don't have a scale....so I cannot take weights of him. I just saw him the weekend before this one that just passed and he seemed healthy.

They say he goes over, sniffs it, then crawls around his feeding bin. Do your snakes do this when they're not eating?
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

Scott,
..Exactly what mine does. At maybe over two years of age I would think your male may be mature and thinking about mating season. As long as no serious weight loss I would not even try feeding him but every three weeks or so and not worry about hime passing up some meals.
Jeff

>>His exact age is not known. He was about a year old when I got him back in December 2006.
>>
>>According to my parents the temp on the warm end is staying iin the 60s. They claim to be sticking the probe in the ground. Maybe it's because I covered the bottom with cardboard to prevent Rocky from burning?
>>
>>He seems fine. I don't have a scale....so I cannot take weights of him. I just saw him the weekend before this one that just passed and he seemed healthy.
>>
>>They say he goes over, sniffs it, then crawls around his feeding bin. Do your snakes do this when they're not eating?
>>-----
>>Scott
>>
>>Reptiles
>>--------
>>1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
>>1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
>>0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
>>1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
>>0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)
>>
>>Other
>>-----
>>1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
>>1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
>>0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

Have you tried feeding him a meal alot smaller then he is used to?

Both of my rainbows refuse normal sized meals for their first meal after cooling/fasting. Also my male BRB went 4 months or so last year with only a small rat in the middle. Basically he decided to cycle without me changing the temps significantly and then, other then the small rat in the middle, refused to eat again until I offered a mouse first. within 2 weeks of feeding him the mouse he was back to medium rats(on the smaller side) once a week. This year he only went about 2 months off feed with, intentional this time, cooling. Neither time did he lose any noticeable weight and once offered the small meal started right back up feeding.

And as Jeff mentioned age is relevant. Mine have not slowed to the point of once a month yet(only 2.5 years old currently) but my female has definitely slowed significantly. Instead of eating once a week she is eating larger meals once every two weeks. I expect I'll prolly only end up needing to feed them once every 3-4 weeks once they are finished growing/putting on weight.

Sean.
-----
1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat

first of all, hi again everyone! Haven't been on this forum much lately, so if I say anything here that's already been mentioned, I apologize. Hope everyone is doing good! now, to the post:

one quick question: I don't understand how he ruins the weekends by not eating...what do you mean by that? Are you handling him too much maybe? That can definitely cause stress that will keep them from eating, especially the boas. They also will suffer from delayed stress...any major habitat changes or other environmental changes in recent months? Go back and double check everything about your setup, and check Rocky out for any signs or health issues (signs of congestion, any parasites like mites) If everything is fine, I'd say just leave him alone for a few weeks then try to feed again. As long as he doesn't start to noticeably lose weight, or acting strangly, I would't worry too much.
I'm by far no expert with the CRBs or BRBs, but this type of thing seems to happen often with all types of boas
-----
-David

Check out my pet pics at:
http://www.myspace.com/obx_fisherman

1.0 ball python (Pandora - don't ask)
1.0 argentine boa (Prometheus)
0.0.1 colombian boa (Athena)
0.1 hogg island boa (Andromeda)
0.0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (Inara)
1.0 Dumeril's boa (Hannibal)
1.0 kenyan sand boa (Diablo)
0.0.1 normal corn snake(Cypress)
0.1 amel. corn snake (Morgan LaFay) RIP
0.0.2 baby corns (Romulus and Remus)
- 1 normal, 1 ghost
0.0.1 banded cali. kingsnake (Cain)
1.0 tangerine honduran milksnake (Narcissus)
0.0.1 snow corn snake (Valkyrie)
1.1 garden phase amazon tree boas (Pegasus, Lenore)
0.0.1 baby yellow amazon tree boa (affectionately called
Snuggles)
0.0.1 albino san diego gopher snake (maybe Octavian)
0.0.1 sandfish skink (Slick)
0.0.1 fire skink (Phoenix)
1.0 bassett hound/black and tan coonhound mix (Luke)
0.1 Boxer (Zoe)
1.0 bearded dragon (Leonidas)
1.1 ferrets (Ares, Enyo)
1.2 cats (Galahad, Ripley and Sassy)
2.0 rats (Pan, no name yet)

Like I told Jeff, my parents say the ground is staying in the 60s. I put cardboard on the floor to prevent Rocky from sitting directly on top of the heat pad(he digs alot). He's misted about once or twice a week.(once misted, it stays about 60% for awhile).

I don't know what the mean by him ruining weekends either. Maybe it's spending the money....but I think we get refunded when we return the rats(he eats live. refuses thawed.) If anything he isn't handled enough. They only hold him when they move him to his feeding bin.
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

I personally don't care much for the heat pads, cause they don't do anything for ambient temps, and also cause the problem you mentioned: either they lay directly on it and get burned, or you place a barrier and they don't get enough heat! If you continue to use the heat pad, you'll probably want to go and get a thermostat (or at least a rheostat) to lower the heat of the pad to the right temps. I know several here don't like heat lamps, but I use the ones that have a built in dimmer so I have max. control over the temps. It dries it out a little more, but I just use a fairly thick (about 3" substrate of cypress mulch, and mist it daily and at least once a week I pour a cup of water over half, so it stays really humid in the cage. I know several here like the radiant panels, but they can be very expansive for the avg owner. Either way you go, I think you do need to get that temp up...I believe the CRBs require higher temps then the BRBs, but I could be wrong. That might be the cause of not feeding. Has his cage temps always been that low?
-----
-David

Check out my pet pics at:
http://www.myspace.com/obx_fisherman

1.0 ball python (Pandora - don't ask)
1.0 argentine boa (Prometheus)
0.0.1 colombian boa (Athena)
0.1 hogg island boa (Andromeda)
0.0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (Inara)
1.0 Dumeril's boa (Hannibal)
1.0 kenyan sand boa (Diablo)
0.0.1 normal corn snake(Cypress)
0.1 amel. corn snake (Morgan LaFay) RIP
0.0.2 baby corns (Romulus and Remus)
- 1 normal, 1 ghost
0.0.1 banded cali. kingsnake (Cain)
1.0 tangerine honduran milksnake (Narcissus)
0.0.1 snow corn snake (Valkyrie)
1.1 garden phase amazon tree boas (Pegasus, Lenore)
0.0.1 baby yellow amazon tree boa (affectionately called
Snuggles)
0.0.1 albino san diego gopher snake (maybe Octavian)
0.0.1 sandfish skink (Slick)
0.0.1 fire skink (Phoenix)
1.0 bassett hound/black and tan coonhound mix (Luke)
0.1 Boxer (Zoe)
1.0 bearded dragon (Leonidas)
1.1 ferrets (Ares, Enyo)
1.2 cats (Galahad, Ripley and Sassy)
2.0 rats (Pan, no name yet)

no. it's usually been in the mid 70s or low 80s. i noticed this after putting the cardboard down that it's been low. i have a rheostat...i tried setting it to high to bring up the temp. he would just sit on it and get pink marks on his belly(which i assumed were minor burns) so i put the cardboard down.
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

yeah, I don't like heat pads for that reason (amoung others!) IMO, I think you should go get a heat lamp (since you have the rheostat, you don't need to get one with the dimmer; you can just get the cheapest one they have) and only use that and get rid of the heat pad. Anyone else here have other suggestions??
-----
-David

Check out my pet pics at:
http://www.myspace.com/obx_fisherman

1.0 ball python (Pandora - don't ask)
1.0 argentine boa (Prometheus)
0.0.1 colombian boa (Athena)
0.1 hogg island boa (Andromeda)
0.0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (Inara)
1.0 Dumeril's boa (Hannibal)
1.0 kenyan sand boa (Diablo)
0.0.1 normal corn snake(Cypress)
0.1 amel. corn snake (Morgan LaFay) RIP
0.0.2 baby corns (Romulus and Remus)
- 1 normal, 1 ghost
0.0.1 banded cali. kingsnake (Cain)
1.0 tangerine honduran milksnake (Narcissus)
0.0.1 snow corn snake (Valkyrie)
1.1 garden phase amazon tree boas (Pegasus, Lenore)
0.0.1 baby yellow amazon tree boa (affectionately called
Snuggles)
0.0.1 albino san diego gopher snake (maybe Octavian)
0.0.1 sandfish skink (Slick)
0.0.1 fire skink (Phoenix)
1.0 bassett hound/black and tan coonhound mix (Luke)
0.1 Boxer (Zoe)
1.0 bearded dragon (Leonidas)
1.1 ferrets (Ares, Enyo)
1.2 cats (Galahad, Ripley and Sassy)
2.0 rats (Pan, no name yet)

...there are two things preventing that.

1. The screen must stay covered. Otherwise the humidity won't stay very long.

2. Stress. I was under the impression that rainbow boas were somewhat sensitive to light over their cage, at least that's what Jeff has told me in the past. Then again....a rheostat would make the light less intense...

I told my parents many times that this was normal. My dad was just a little upset because he wasn't eating and didn't want him to die or have any problems while I'm away. Maybe next time I'm home I can buy a cheap digital scale to allow them to keep track of his weight. He seems fine and healthy and the weight seems fine, but I just don't know if he lost any. I always guessed no because he looks normal and acts normal, but changes can occur right under my nose without noticing. Heck it took me awhile to realize my Cal King was getting bigger!
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

Sounds like he's in a glass tank? Insulate three sides with reflectix, glass is a great conductor of heat!!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

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

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

David,
I'm with you on the ambient temp. thing. IMO, the absolute best way to keep these snakes. Creating a temp. gradient both vertically and horizontally is the best way to go. However, accomplishing that is up for debate. I'm currently using ceramic heat emitters and really like them (though I miss my moon glow incadescent bulbs, so nice looking).
Scott, I'm not sure I got this right, but did you say the high temps were in the 60's? If that is the case it is an easy fix to get Rocky eating. CRB's like it a little warmer than BRB's and are very content in the 75 to 85 degree range. However you can accomplish it, get those temps up and Rocky will eat like a champ. Prolonged temps in the 60's just causes them to shut down somewhat.
Hope this helps,
Paul

yeah, I think all three work great (heat lamps, ceramic heat emitters and the radiant heat panels)...pretty much all do the same thing and that is emit heat that rises the ambient temps. Although heat pads get hot, they just don't seem to do anything for ambient temps. The first two pics below are of my setup...she's currently in a 20 gal and I'm planning on moving her up to a 55 gal soon. I know glass cages are not the "best", but I've not had any problems yet. My "snake room" drops down to about 72 at night, and gets up to about 77 during the day...with the heat lamp (I'm using a 40w bulb on just about the lowest dimmer setting) the temp gradient stays about 83 to 78, temps at which mine seems to be thriving. She is now eating good, adding size fast, and her "droppings" have solidified to normal looking (she was very sick when I first got her, dehydrated, refused to eat anything but pinky rats, and her "droppings" were runny). Not to brag, but I'm very proud that I was able to save her from her near death (was actually somewhat lethargic when we got her) and it's great to see her growing and shedding so well and everything else now! Last pic is of my wife holding her about a month ago.
Again, those temps are working great for my BRB, but I don't know much about the specifics of CRBs

-----
-David

Check out my pet pics at:
http://www.myspace.com/obx_fisherman

1.0 ball python (Pandora - don't ask)
1.0 argentine boa (Prometheus)
0.0.1 colombian boa (Athena)
0.1 hogg island boa (Andromeda)
0.0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (Inara)
1.0 Dumeril's boa (Hannibal)
1.0 kenyan sand boa (Diablo)
0.0.1 normal corn snake(Cypress)
0.1 amel. corn snake (Morgan LaFay) RIP
0.0.2 baby corns (Romulus and Remus)
- 1 normal, 1 ghost
0.0.1 banded cali. kingsnake (Cain)
1.0 tangerine honduran milksnake (Narcissus)
0.0.1 snow corn snake (Valkyrie)
1.1 garden phase amazon tree boas (Pegasus, Lenore)
0.0.1 baby yellow amazon tree boa (affectionately called
Snuggles)
0.0.1 albino san diego gopher snake (maybe Octavian)
0.0.1 sandfish skink (Slick)
0.0.1 fire skink (Phoenix)
1.0 bassett hound/black and tan coonhound mix (Luke)
0.1 Boxer (Zoe)
1.0 bearded dragon (Leonidas)
1.1 ferrets (Ares, Enyo)
1.2 cats (Galahad, Ripley and Sassy)
2.0 rats (Pan, no name yet)

That's one point I try to get over to people, glass tanks can work, but for the most part only in a dedicated space that does NOT get cold. I could keep them in darn near anything in my snake room since the room itself is close to optimal.

All theses things heat lamps, CHE's RHP's UTH's even light bulbs can and will work in individual situations but most will not work in just any situation. The trick is figuring out what works for you. My cages are pretty much automatic, if I could just come up with a self cleaning option I would be rich!!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

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

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats