Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here is the scenario --- I have a yearling Dumeril Boa....
purchased almost a year ago....who is a very difficult reluctant
feeder. I have tried live and frozen/thawed pinkies....and he does not eat. So I'm looking to connect with other Dumeril boa owners and dialogue a bit about how I can fix this problem....
and save the life of this snake.
I would appreciate any and all assistance from any one on this forum.

Thanks,
Alan
(New Jersey)

Well, if yearlings, pinkies of rats or mice are WAY too small. Pinky rats is something I give to newborns, that's it. I've found that overall Dumerils don't respond well to attempts at power feeding. That's not to say I try. What I am saying is that they can be finicky, and sometimes choose to eat only every couple weeks. So, feed them something with a little size on it to make up for their finicky appetites. Usually once you do get them going though they are great feeders. Sometimes the only thing you need to do to get your dumerils feeding is provide a different enclosure. I keep neonates in shoebox containers. I use newspaper for substrate, fold up some paper on one end as a hide, provide small water bowl, and they're kept in a racksystem with back heat. You can run a small piece of heat tape under one box if that's all you have, just be sure to use a thermostat. Give us an idea of how big your dumerils is now, and we can give a little more insight as to what size prey you should be attempting to feed. If it has any size on it at all it should be taking atleast small adult mice. Why we're at it, what does your current set up consist of. How often has the animal fed for you, and what did it take those times. How often is the animal handled, and is it in a high traffic area of your house? Just some things that can help provide a better answer for you and your dumerils. Take care.

Paul

Hi Alan still having problems with that little one. I lost your e-mail addy. PBM knows his stuff so maybe he can help you out.Glad to see he ate something for you.

You might try the appropiate size quail for your Dumerils. I have a male and thats all he ate for the first year of his life. At that point he started eating small rats and is doing great. I have posted this info before and it was not accepted very well. I guess some breeders think it is better to go months without eating than to get the snake to eat something other than rats. If the snake in danger of dying I would try this A.S.A.P.

I don't recall anyone saying DO NOT DO THIS...I think most said they had never had to resort to feeding quail. I know I have never fed any fowl of any sort to my dumerils at any age. I can't quote the other people, but I think there same thought process was that, sure try quail, but we've never had to go this far to get a dumerils to feed. If he is concerned about the size of a mouse, most the feeder quail I've seen will really worry him. But, by all means, if all else fails, try a quail, try a chick, try a gerbil, try a lizard, find out what works. What can be bad about this is when they get hooked on the oddball food items. I had an olive python that was VERY hard to get off of quail. I apologize on behalf of everyone if you feel like you were disrespected by your previous attempts at offering help to someone. Take care!

Paul B. Mitzelfelt

I know your pain, when I first got my Dum I had to go through all sorts of stuff to get it eating. And it can still be touch and go from time to time. Fortunately I have him switched to frozen thawed and now just toss a rat in and leave it over night. 98% of the time when I check in the morning it is gone. If he doesn't eat, I try again in a week or so. In the early stages I was feeding live, at dusk (I wanted to be able to get a speedy rat removal if things took a turn for the worse, so I made sure I coudl see well enough to watch) and if he struck at all, I was quick to grab the rat, kill it and then tease him enough to make him mad enough to strike again. Then just leave the rat in with him, and leave the room he usually ate. I have had my Dum for almost 3 years now, and he still goes on hunger strike from time to time....as long as he looks healthy, and isn't losing weight I don't worry too much, and offer a meal from time to time. Last year he went off feed for 6 months, He never lost any weight (visiably anyway) and one day I offerd up a rat...and bang he was eating again. It can get frustrating and a bit worrysome, thus far I have not had to force feed to save him. One suggestion I have...I did notice when his enclosure was out in the main living space of the house, with all the activity it was a tough deal to get him eating. I moved his set up (because my girlfriend said it could no long live on the kitchen table...he he he) I built a bench in the basement and set him up down there. There is much less activity and movement around his enclosure, not sure if this helped, but he sure seems to eat better and more regularly since the relocation. I'm sure there and many folks here that can help...I know i have learned a lot just form reading these forums. Best of luck to you and your snake....Feel free to e-mail if you need more specifics.

-Matt

only thing else I could think of would be to try aspen bedding. It has worked for us in the past with picky eaters, why I haven't a clue. Make sure (someone else mentioned this too) that your cage is in a nice quite, low traffic area, give it plenty of nice tight hide boxes. I would try fowl as a complete last resort. PBM was right, sometimes when they get hooked on an odd prey item, it's killer to get them to switch to rats. We have a 5 year old dum that still eats mice, she is way smaller than her brother that eats rats. We have tried everything under the sun plus and she is still hooked on mice.

Danni

PS Paul, I had to give you a hard time about being an old man, but I really felt bad that day!!!!
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Jason & Danni
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