Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had Arie, my female Hogg Island Boa for 5 years now...

I got her when she was a hatchling & I have never had any problems with her.

Occasionally she would skip a meal or two, (i feed her weekly)

She is appx. 7ft long & was around 20lbs

She has not eaten since mid-August...

I was a little unsettled at first, but I figured no biggie, snakes don't need to eat every week...maybe she's just not hungry...

But now I am worried.

She has lost some weight, i'm not entirely sure how much... and she absolutely refuses to eat. I've tried rats of all sizes, mice, etc...nothing seems to work

Her behavior hasn't changed much...she still has approximately the same activity level...i haven't changed anything in her enclosure/temps/ etc

Any ideas?

If she doesn't eat soon, I will be taking her to the vet. Better safe than sorry, I think.
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1.1.0 Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Albino Columbian Boa
1.0.0 Emerald Tree Boa
1.0.0 Carpet Python
1.0.0 Jampea Tiger Retic
1.0.0 Red Albino Cornsnake
1.0.0 Water Dragon
0.0.1 Pink Toe Tarantula
0.0.1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
....................................

Shed Your Fears!
www.freewebs.com/ShedYourFears

Assuming you're in the Northern Hemisphere, it's winter. It's completely normal for boas to go off feed for months at a time when daylight hours start to shrink. The longest I've had a boa fast was for 9 months. Then it started to feed again.

I don't even bother feeding most of my boas and pythons from Oct 1 to Mar 1.

If your snake is primarily a pet, you can start to cut way back on the frequency of the meals. It's a full grown adult and doesn't need to be fed like it's growing.

If the snake is acting oddly, like it's basking a lot more or drinking a lot more, I'd take it to the vet.

Doug T

Doug Taylor Reptiles