Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, first feeding attempt was a total failure. All she wanted to do was escape her feeding box, and wasn't interested in the mouse at all. Tried putting her back in her cage, thinking that maybe she didn't feel safe enough in the box to eat. No dice; she just hid. -..-

Bah. Guess she's not hungry yet... I'll try again in a few days, I suppose. Or maybe next week. Not like she'll starve to death in the meantime.
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AKA Kith or Kerry

0.1 BRB

I would just feed your BRB in her cage. It really isn't necessary to feed in a separate container. When you try feeding again, do it at nighttime in a dim room. If you're feeding frozen/thawed, warm up the mouse nice and hot to about 90-100 degrees. If you gently wiggle it in front of her, she should take it. If she's interested in the mouse but doesn't strike, you can gently rub its head against her mouth. Here is a video showing How To Feed a Hesitant But Interested Brazilian Rainbow Boa. Also, make sure the temperature and humidity in the cage is good.

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Paul D

www.MoonlightBoas.com

Thanks but... I tried again tonight, and none of that helped. -..-

Every time she put her mouth on it, she let it go immediately, as if she was trying to fend it off instead of eat it. Even when she ended up on top of it, she'd shy away rather than coil around it if I wiggled it (a technique I've used to get a hesitant ball to eat). After the hind end fell off, I gave up.
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AKA Kith or Kerry

0.1 BRB

I would say a couple things.

First off, if this the first feeding attempts you've made with your new baby, you may be better served to start it off with a live prey item (of course keep a close eye on them so as to guard against your snake being injured by the feeder). This can get that first meal down to serve as some reassurance for you, and then you can work on getting it to take F/T prey items.

Second, it sounds like your f/t feeder was in pretty bad shape if its hind section fell off while you were trying to offer it. You might just need to try a new source for frozen feeders and you might find that was your problem.

Lastly, when feeding f/t make sure you get them HOT, not warm, HOT!!!!!! I still forget this rule sometimes mysel and then am amazed at how much of a difference it makes for their feeding responses once I really get the feeder HOT!!!!

Don't get discouraged, as I'm sure you already know, they can go a long time without food before any real issues arise!
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Ike Lightner

2.3 BRB Breeders (Dugo, Sultan, Roxy, Brazita, & Lucille)
1.0 BRB striped holdback (Nando) from Roxxy's litter of 25 on 8/23/10
1.2 100% het hypo BRB (Diego, Rasheena & Liddia)
0.1 Hypo BRB (Ireena)
Total collection of breeders and future breeders
4.6 Brazilian Rainbow Boas - Epicrates Cenchria Cenchria

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Unfortunately, I don't have the option of live prey items. None of the pet stores in my area carry them, only frozen, and I can't take off work in order to be here for a live delivery. She was also taking F/T from Dave prior to her arrival (she's a yearling), so theoretically there shouldn't be a problem.

The mouse fell apart because it took a lot of abuse. It was the same one I used the first time (which may have been a bad idea), so it had been struck at and landed on several times, as well as knocked into the water bowl tonight. It was okay until she tore its midsection open, really... given the rate of deterioration afterward, I think the strike that cut it open snapped the spine as well. I'll certainly be trying a new mouse next time. LOL

And I'm not really sure what else to do as far as warming it up; it was very warm to the touch when I tried it tonight, and I was rather afraid of cooking it. I emailed Dave to see if I was doing something radically different than she was used to, and he thinks it was not warm enough the first time and too hot tonight. Going to try to follow what he does to warm up his F/Ts next time and see if that helps. I'll keep my fingers crossed for next week.
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AKA Kith or Kerry

0.1 BRB

Thank you. I'll throw them away from now on.

She actually ate both at Dave's - rat pinkies and mouse hoppers. From the data on the chart I was given, she ate more hoppers, so I got those. The ones I got come individually ziploc-bagged, which makes it easy to just toss one into some water to thaw.

The last time I fed her, I didn't even touch her beforehand; just moved the slab of wood she was hiding under far enough for her to see the mouse. Not sure if I should just leave it in there for her to find if she doesn't take it initially next time, though I've heard of that working before. Hmm...
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AKA Kith or Kerry

0.1 BRB

I would say the least amount of disturbance beforehand, the better. If there is an "entrance" to her hide or whatever you have in there with her, I would hold it out in front of the entrance to entice her. They respond to the smell more than the sight of a prey item (and the warmer it is, the easier it is for them to smell/locate it).

Keep in mind that in the wild, baby boas can be picked off by a ton of predators, so their instinct is to hide whenever possible. A wild snake is very vulnerable when it's eating something, it takes a good amount of time to eat a meal and the snake will be fat and sluggish afterwards, so if a snake can have its meal and not be exposed, it's going to be much more likely to take the offer.

Most of my snakes will pop their heads out of their hides when I open their containers, then when presented with food, they'll strike and constrict it and then pull the prey item into the hide with them for a nice, private supper. As they get older, they don't need that feeling of safety as much, they don't stress over getting eaten anymore, but as babies it's still a stressful choice of eat or not be eaten.

Sorry for going on a bit, but that's what I've found to be helpful.
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-Dustin

GREAT information posted so far in this thread. Little BRBs are eating machines. In the wild they are born into a world of predators. The more they can eat the quicker they will grow large enough to be safe from all but the largest predators. When one does not eat in captivity it is usually because of something we are doing wrong. If they are kept just a little too hot or too dry they can go off feed. If they are bothered by too much activity or too much light they may also be stressed and not eat.

I've got condensation running down all the vertical surfaces, and there isn't a spot on the floor that's not under 80 degrees, so she's not hot or dry... It could be the light or activity level, though I've had both low, especially for the last feeding attempt.

Hopefully just opening the door won't be enough to frighten her. The next time may take me having absolutely all the lights off, assuming she's in her favorite spot, and twitching the mouse on the ground near there, or if she doesn't move, leaving it in there for a bit for her to "find."

I know she won't be harmed by waiting a bit longer, so I'm not worried yet, really... But it's that reputation BRBs have for eating very well that has my brain telling me I'm doing something horribly wrong, and wanting to correct any potential problems immediately if not sooner.
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AKA Kith or Kerry

0.1 BRB

"there isn't a spot on the floor that's not under 80 degrees"

80 degrees should be the warmest point of the cage so there should be some areas lower than that for proper temperature gradient. Should range from low 70's to 80
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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 (02/01/2010):
42.61 BRB
27.40 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

>>"there isn't a spot on the floor that's not under 80 degrees"

Re-reading it, could be the effect of a double negative and you do have the entire floor under 80 degrees?
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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 (02/01/2010):
42.61 BRB
27.40 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

The entire floor is under 80 degrees, and there is a proper gradient. I've got hides all across so that she can pick her temperature; she seems to like the back wall of the middle best.
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AKA Kith or Kerry

0.1 BRB

Kerry,
...I hope what I posted does not have you thinking you are doing something horribly wrong. Because you probably aren't. The details that make the difference with these snakes are often very subtle. Just a couple degrees difference in temperature or a little bit of difference in the temperature or smell of the rodent sometimes is all that is keeping them from eating. I am thinking that the frozen mice you are getting are the problem. If they have been frozen for too long or have become freezer burned they are much less desireable to little snakes. If they are pinky mice they are IMO worthless for feeding little BRBs. They like mice that are large enough to have hair and the mousy odor that comes with it. Little BRBs almost always like live hopper mice better than anything else. You said live mice are not available in your area but I bet they are (unless you live out on the frozen tundra fifty miles from the nearest town). One in 30 US households has a pet reptile. Many of their reptiles are plant or bug eaters but the majority are rodent eating snakes. There are people closer to you than you think who are feeding rodents to their snakes. You need to do some networking to figure out who they are and where they get their rodents.
Good luck,
Jeff

I moved things around as little as possible, since I know small snakes are often prey; however, instead of curling up inside the hides that have entrances, she buries herself under them instead (they're shaped like hollow logs). There's no way I can place the mouse so that she can sense it without moving her favorite log.

I might possibly be able to interest her if I can somehow jam the mouse in between the water bowl and the log, since she's usually squished up against the wall too. Not sure how else to do it and not move anything around. I'll give it some thought between now and the next attempt.
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AKA Kith or Kerry

0.1 BRB

I wouldn't mess with anything inside the cage. Brazilian Rainbow Boas are ambush predators, and are most comfortable when they can sense the food without it realizing where they are. Simply holding the mouse inside her cage should be enough for her to notice it. BRBs are very perceptive. If I even bring feeder rodents into my snake room, most of my snakes will smell it and take a look to see what's going on.

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Paul D

www.MoonlightBoas.com

And Sorka finally fed today. I had to tilt up the hide she was under to give it an "entrance," but when I paraded the mouse in front of her, it only took about three passes for her to strike and coil. Left her alone for about 15 minutes, and by the time I came back to check on her, she'd completely swallowed it.

That's much more like it. ^..^
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AKA Kith or Kerry

0.1 BRB

Awesome

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Paul D

www.MoonlightBoas.com

.

Oh good! I came late to this thread. I usually find that thumping the feeder against the floor, combined with the scent of a warmed f/t, is enough to get Garnet to come out. Sorka's probably just a shy girl
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~Cynthia

"And in the spring, I shed my skin and it blows away with the changing wind..."

*nod* It's entirely possible... We'll see how next week goes.
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AKA Kith or Kerry

0.1 BRB