Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had two litters this season, 50 babies total. Of the 50, 6 won't feed. I have many tricks for feeding balls and corns that are stubborn, but this is my first season with boas. Can anyone offer me some tips on getting boas babies to feed that are refusing.

They are in 6qt tubs on aspen with 80-83 ambient temps and about 89 belly hot spot. Humidity ranges 60-75%. I've tried live and thawed fuzzy mice and pink rats. The first litter was born 7/9 (and the ones feeding are in their second shed) and the second 7/26.

Eternal thanks for anyone that can offer advice!
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Cheers,
Jessica Gibbs
Ball Pythons; Corn Snakes; Boa Constrictors; Green Tree Python; Jungle Carpet Python
www.supercoilconstrictors.com
LEARNING PREVENTS IGNORANCE OF THAT WHICH SURROUNDS YOU...AS LONG AS THE SOURCE FROM WHICH YOU LEARN IS A VALID ONE.

It sounds like your husbandry is fine, so I might question the time of day that you are feeding. At about 10pm I'll put a small fuzzy mouse in with the babies. At 6am I remove any remaining mice. I wait one full week before I attempt to feed them again. I believe this is the only good time to attempt to feed baby boas. Switching from live to f/t, or from mice to rats are also good suggestions, but in my experience they will all eventually eat a live fuzzy mouse. Don't worry about how long they've gone without eating. I still have one little snake that was born 6/2/12 that hasn't had his first meal or his first shed. He probably won't survive, but that's just natural selection taking its toll. My point here is that a baby boa can go a long time without eating. I should also mention that our of about 200 boas born at my home this year, this is the only one that hasn't eventually eaten, and this guy also has a defective eyeball -not sure if that has anything to do with it. You may also want to add a toilet paper roll into the tub, sometimes boas need a place to feel secure.

I hope some of this helped, best of luck with them. They'll eat eventually.
-Anthony

Thanyu very much foour reply. They d have ahide box, and I get home from work around 10pm so they do get fed at night and I pull what wasn't eaten in the mornings. I'll put on my "patience het" and hang in there. This seems to be the reply I've received in another inquiry too, so it gives me hope.
Thank you again!
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Cheers,
Jessica Gibbs
Ball Pythons; Corn Snakes; Boa Constrictors; Green Tree Python; Jungle Carpet Python
www.supercoilconstrictors.com
LEARNING PREVENTS IGNORANCE OF THAT WHICH SURROUNDS YOU...AS LONG AS THE SOURCE FROM WHICH YOU LEARN IS A VALID ONE.

Have you tried "slap feeding"? That is when you take a fuzzy, or in my case a small mouse, hold it with your hemostat and poke the little bugger at the tip of the nose to the point that you think you may actually be stressing it out. Seriously. I have had to do this Hogg Island babies routinely as they are fussy first time feeders. Slap feeding... It could work.
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Jeff Ronne Sr
The Boaphile
Director USARK

Originator of Boaphile Plastics
The Boaphile Boa Site

I have not yet. We did that with our green tree python when it was a baby. We had to get it mad enough to strike at it and once it had the food item in its mouth he figured it out. I didn't know if it was appropriate for a boa. We slap feed stubborn corn babies to.

I have 4 Hog Islands that are refusing. I'll give them a few more chances to go for a live mouse and I'll try slap feeding if they keep refusing.

Thanks!
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Cheers,
Jessica Gibbs
Ball Pythons; Corn Snakes; Boa Constrictors; Green Tree Python; Jungle Carpet Python
www.supercoilconstrictors.com
LEARNING PREVENTS IGNORANCE OF THAT WHICH SURROUNDS YOU...AS LONG AS THE SOURCE FROM WHICH YOU LEARN IS A VALID ONE.

I've done this with stubborn feeders many many times over the years with babies I've produced that would be stubborn.

You have to basically irritate them and make them strike out of mad ferocity and then they get
a taste of what they're supposed to be eating it works often

. . . Lar M
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Boas By Klevitz

I Support USark.org

I know a trick that I learned with green tree pythons. Kinda like Mr Ronne, but instead of hitting the nose with the meal of choice, you just tap the bent outside portion of the neck and they often turn and slam it. It works for boas as well.