Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my boa for about a week now, and am doing everything according to parameters, but the little guy didn't eat anything today. I offered him a fuzzy that I had thawed out and even tried the "wiggle" srategy with a pair of forceps. I know it takes snakes a while to acclimate, but he seemed definately interested, but no strike. I can tell this fella is gonna take a bit of effort, which I don't mind, just not really familiar with the tricks and strategies that are used on boas. No, I'm not a amateur either (I have six other snakes) I've just never had a boa before, especially one this delicate. I would also add that I have absolutely no access to live fuzzies of any kind, so any advice would be great.

I usually dont try that young, but I have heard that heating it with a blow drier (NOT MICROWAVE!!!!!) helps. If you put it in the microwave it will explode. Its gross.
-----
Jess
2.4 adult BRBs (Sango, Dude, Copper, Cleo, Cherry, Dudette)
1.1 baby BRBs born 6/18/06 my first litter(Zeek, Isis)
0.1 baby BRB produced by Dave Colling (Sable)
1.1 Pacific/celestial Parrotlets (Dewey and Delilah)
1.1 MORE Pacific/Celestial Parrotlets (Tickle and Booger)
1.0 normal corn (Pop the Cornsnake)
1.1 african brown house snake (Nellie, Lacie)
1.1 crested geckos (Chips, Dijon)
1.1 western hognoses (Google, Yahoo)
0.1 paranoid mother "too many snakes!"
1.0 significant other that gives me a funny look when I say a baby snake is cute

Mitch,
...What was it eating before you got it? If it was eating live hopper mice (a little BRBs favorite meal) or live fuzzy rats (a little BRBs second favorite meal) the quick change to a frozen and thawed fuzzy mouse may be too much to expect of it. The difference between fuzzy mice and hopper size mice is important with these snakes. They seem to like prey that runs around and is hairy. Many times I have seen them pass up a live fuzzy or pinky mouse and then grab a hopper mouse as soon as it runs past them. The change from eating live to frozen and thawed sometimes takes quite a bit of time and patience. If the frozen and thawed mouse has been in the freezer too long it may smell more like a nasty filet mignon or stale Ben and Jerrys Chunky Monkey ice cream than delicious fresh mouse and this will cause a BRB to not want it. Thawed mice that are heated up to around 105 degrees get more attention than if they are just thawed up to room temperature. What temperature and humidity in the snake's cage? If kept too dry or too hot they will not eat. Were you feeding during daylight hours? These snakes are nocturnal and secretive and will usually feed better at night with low lighting and limited activity near them.
Good luck,

CARE OF NEWBORN BRAZILIAN RAINBOW BOAS
Epicrates cenchria cenchria
By Jeff Clark

Brazilian Rainbow Boas (BRBs) make great pets. They are very hardy and typically grow to around 6 feet in length. Many BRBs have been kept in captivity for over 20 years. Their size is much more manageable and practical than many of the other Boas and Pythons. They do require high humidity. This is especially important when they are small. If kept too dry they will dehydrate. Minor dehydration will cause feeding and shedding problems. Major dehydration will kill them. Baby BRBs should be maintained with close to 100% humidity in their cages. This can be accomplished by using damp substrate and limiting the ventilation. They do require some ventilation but in cages with large screen sides or screen tops the humidity will rapidly escape from the cage. Ideal substrate material for little BRBs is paper-towels or newspaper. The advantage of paper-towels and newsprint is that it can be easily changed. Damp substrate will quickly grow mold. It should be changed often. BRBs drink more water and pass more liquid urine than most other snakes. Substrate that is kept in the cage too long will become contaminated with urates which are very acidic and this will harm the snake’s skin. Many people use mulch and chipped bark substrates. Some of these substrates are excellent but you should be careful not to use one that is too acidic or one from a garden center that may have parasites in it. I especially like the cocoanut husk chunks and chips substrates for BRBs. It is vitally important to not use cedar substrate. The oils in cedar and similar woods are toxic to snakes. Pine shavings and aspen shavings are also not suitable for BRBs. Did I mention that you should change the substrate often? BRBs require cages with a cool end in the low 70s and the warm end in the high 70s to very low 80s. If you keep them in cages that are too small to maintain a temperature gradient in the cage they should be kept with the entire cage in the mid 70s. Temperatures higher than 85 can quickly cause dehydration and death. Most reptile heating products are too hot for Rainbow Boas. These snakes are nocturnal and secretive. Using overhead lights to heat their cages will create too much stress for a BRB. Cage temperatures must be controlled with a proportional thermostat or a carefully set and monitored rheostat. Don’t guess what the temperature is down in the cage where the snake spends most of it’s time. Invest in good temperature measuring equipment and use it often to make sure you do not overheat your BRB. BRB temperature requirements are 10 to 15 degrees cooler than what is required for many other boids including Ball Pythons, Boa Constrictors and Burmese and Reticulated Pythons. People who try to keep BRBs hot like they keep their other boids often kill them. Extra care should be taken when transporting BRBs. If left in a closed car in the sun the temperature will rapidly rise and kill them. BRBs should be provided with caging with hiding spots so that they can avoid light and activity. Small plastic containers like margarine is packaged in with a small entry hole cut into the side of the container work well. Place substrate material such as damp moss or damp papertowels in the hiding container. BRBs need a waterbowl in their cage that is large enough for them to submerge. They will often soak in the water for several days before shedding. However, when they do not have a good hiding spot they may have to use the waterbowl for a hiding spot and spend too much time in the water. Adult BRBs can be set up in elaborate naturalistic caging. They look especially nice in large cages with exotic plants. However they will spend much of the daylight hours hiding in or under the plants. It is best with a new little BRB to keep the caging simple to make sure the snake is doing okay before adding too many variables that may cause problems. After the snake is acclimated and doing well you can make small changes in the caging and try different substrates and plants making one change at a time. Little BRBs should be fed small live mice at first. Many will also take live pinky rats for their first meals. They will feed much more readily on a live meal than a dead meal. They also like mice that are large enough to run around much more than they like pinky or small fuzzy mice. I have actually fed full-grown adult mice to BRBs for their first meal. They can handle very large prey but are more likely to regurgitate if fed extremely large meals When they have become accustomed to eating live prey they will easily switch to eating fresh killed and then frozen and thawed prey. Thawed prey will work best if it is heated to around 105 degrees for the first feeding attempts with it. BRBs are always more likely to eat undisturbed in the dark than when being closely watched in bright daylight. Do not force-feed a BRB. Force feeding is very stressful and stress is often the reason that one will not eat. These snakes are eating machines. If your BRB does not eat it is because of stress or improper husbandry. Eliminate the stress and correct the husbandry and they will eat readily. The most common husbandry problems are keeping the snake too hot or too dry or subjecting it to too much light or activity. Little BRBs have a very simple outlook on other living things. Anything it sees moving is either a predator or prey. When first born they will often strike and bite. The bite of a little BRB is not painful and usually does not bleed. If you handle the snake for several minutes everyday it will quickly become tame. If it bites or strikes it is because it is afraid of you or it thinks it can eat you. Just let it bite and hold on and chew if it wants. By doing this it will learn that you are too big to eat and that you are not harming it and that striking and biting will not make you go away. If you do retreat when it strikes you will reinforce the striking and biting behavior. Little BRBs can be handled for as much as an hour per day. Too much handling can cause stress and stress may cause them to not feed. It is okay to have them out of their cages in humidity much lower than 100% for short handling periods.

If you have any problems with your BRB email me at jclarksnakes@comcast.net
Visit the Rainbow Boa forum on kingsnake.com to get answers to any questions you may have about Rainbow Boas. The archives of posts there are full of information. My Rainbow Boa website has information on breeding Rainbow Boas and also has information about and photographs of the other subspecies of Rainbow Boas. The website is located at http://www.corallus.com/cenchria/index.html

>>I've had my boa for about a week now, and am doing everything according to parameters, but the little guy didn't eat anything today. I offered him a fuzzy that I had thawed out and even tried the "wiggle" srategy with a pair of forceps. I know it takes snakes a while to acclimate, but he seemed definately interested, but no strike. I can tell this fella is gonna take a bit of effort, which I don't mind, just not really familiar with the tricks and strategies that are used on boas. No, I'm not a amateur either (I have six other snakes) I've just never had a boa before, especially one this delicate. I would also add that I have absolutely no access to live fuzzies of any kind, so any advice would be great.

Hey Jeff, I went to the link you provided for your website. I just wanted to let you know that I found that site a long time ago before I purchased any BRBs. I was just googling BRB care and found your site. It helped me prepare for the arrival of the two that I have now. Thought you mighy like knowing (or maybe you already do) that your site is out there! Oh, and thanks for unknowingly helping me.
-----
Rachel Squier

1.1 '03? BRBs (Blaze and Shimmer)
1.0 '07 Albino BCI (Cupid)
0.2 '07 100% Het Albino BCIs (Lia and Suzie)
0.1 '07 DH Sunglow BCI (Daisy)

I usually offer fuzzies for the first meal - as I feel the snake will be more comfortable eating a notch smaller meal for its first couple of meals in its new home. Do you know what it was (and if it was eating) before you got it?

I thaw my feeders in a zip lock bag in room temp water until they are completely at room temp. I thaw 14 hoppers and weaned mice for about 2.5 to 3 hours (my rat feeding day it takes about 4 hours for them to come to room temp). After they are completely thawed - I change the water to about 95 degrees or so for about 20 minutes. I then change to 100 degree water for 10 to 15 minutes. I try to make sure I am not cooking the mice.

I use a feeding container for my smaller snakes. Babies are usually fed in a about a 4 inch by 4 inch disposable plastic food container. Once they are eating well and get a bit bigger I switch them over to a shoe box container. The snakes are placed in the container for about 1/2 hour prior to feeding.

I offer the mouse off the tongs and many will strike and coil it. Others will not - so I place the mouse in with the snake - most of these will eat it eventually. I cover all of the feeding containers with a blanket for darkness and to lesson the sounds and sights of activity within the house. I let the snakes feed for at least 1 hour undisturbed.

For stubborn eaters, that did not eat within the hour period, I usually place the feeding container in the rack system near the heat source and give them additional time - a couple of hours. If they still don't eat - I place them back in their rack space without eating.

If a snake has not ate for two weeks, I will then feed a a small live audult mouse (Pretty much the same size as a frozen weaned mouse). My closest place I can get feeder mice does not have hopper sized - this and the fact they are only eating every two weeks are the reason I use this size mice. I do not have any that will not eat the live animal.

Currently out of the 11 most recent babies I have bought I have 2 that are not 100% switched over to frozen thawed. They will sometimes eat f/t, but then go a couple of weeks refusing them (so they get a live one). One of my early 07 babies I bought took about 3 months to get switched over and has not refused a f/t for a few months.
-----
Mike

7.13 BRB
1.2 Spotted Python
1.0 Cal. King

Thanks for the advice guys, he took it last night with little help from me at all. Maybe he just had to think about it a while, who knows.