Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got four Solomon Island ground boas about 4 months ago. I am now down to 2. The last 2 damn things do not eat on there own, and they do not grow. The first 2 that died would actually take food from me, but they died anyways. The last 2 were the larger ones when I got them, and now they decide to throwup all food I feed them or just not eat at all. THEY DO NOT GROW!!! The two I have left have actually eaten at the very least 7 anoles apiece, and they have not grown a inch. I am going to buy the Herp Aid emergency food and feed them that for awhile. They are so small, so force feeding pinkies is not really a option, the anoles were easy to force feed, but they puke them up, and they are not very large anoles. If anyone has any ideas, I would gladly hear them.

I'll probally get hammered here on my reply but (excuse me Jerry and rest of gang) I think that most of the time we are trying to over feed them. Now, Jerrys bloodline may be more tolerable to sooner feedings than most becouse of his long time project with them. Most of the babies I had died after feeding like pigs. I also understand that this just might be natures way of weeding out the weaker developed ones.( they can have HUGE! litters) My two survivors (out of nine)were the slowest to start eating. They will eat a 1 day old pink every 21 days or so never sooner. If its been 17 days nothing, at 21 days they explode onto the pinkie!!! Dont ask me I'm in the same boat as everyone else Please dont give up, reread everything Jerry has written and what people post at the group page. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pacificisland boas
Randy

See what I mean about Candoia not being boa constrictors...yet people still try to get them to blow up in size. My only recommendation to you is to be patient. In all my years with all my snakes I've had, I have never had to force-feed anything. Utilize other techniques.

but at least now you know why Candoia are so coveted...

Joe

I got a Sinaloan Milksnake at the same time as these guys, she was the same size as them when I got them all, and she has almost tripled in size, and these things havent even gotten 50% bigger. I do not expect a 10ft snake, but I expect some growth so the things can at least eat a pinky. I will try and get a picture of them later this week to show how small they are.

Oh, we know! They are small, small, small. It looks like they couldn't even eat a day old pink if they had to! If yours are eating, don't even worry. Don't over feed them. Every 10-14 days works for me, and they eat a house gecko almost the same size as they are. They do not grow as fast as other snakes, it seems. Their metabolisms seem to be slower. Give them time. If you get sick of them, send them to me.

Good luck, and post some pics.
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1.1 Ball Python 0.0.1 corn snake 1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish 1.2 cats 3.1 kids 1.0 husband and now...
0.0.1 Pink Zebra Beauty Tarantula
2.0 Solomon Island Boas

One, just one, down to one freaking boa out of four. I love animals with all my heart, heck, I would hold my animals life over human life. But when a animal doesnt eat and dies from starvation, thats just stupid. I have a FREAKING EVIL GREEN ANACONDA, as everyone calls them, even though mines a sweetheat, and he eats, no problems, my two RTB eat, no problems, my Retic, cannot eat enough, and my milk snake eats just fine, also a pig. These little Solomon Island guys are just stupid!!! What went from a good deal is now turning into the most expensive snake I have bought, and he prolly wont live either. I know alot of you love them, and I have seen some AWESOME adults, but personality and looks, but if I would have know they were this stupid, then NO.

Sorry to hear the news, but there seems to be something else here that were missing. I really think that maybe between the force feedings and other things youve said I wonder if maybe stress wasnt a factor. These guys are really delicate for the first few months. I'm finding out from my experiences that 1) they need the right temps/humidity. 2)DO NOT handle them a lot. In fact the only time I handle mine is to change the bedding. 3)They are shy,secretive snakes. The lower volume of foot traffic the better.4)they need plenty of water to keep hydrated, probally more than we think when they are young.5) I dont know how you were actually keeping them, but these are not your bread and butter (make a zillion dollars show animals) and you need to keep keep them or so it seems, at a near perfect enviroment. 6) A dry water dish for a couple of days is a no no. I'm sure you know about the Gray Banded Kingsnake. There are breeders I know who have been breeding them for many,many years and they still have a lot of non feeding problems/healthy hatch rates. Heck, I consider myself pretty effecient at breeding my Corns, kings ect, but you know what, I had six out of twenty eight baby corns refuse to eat for me last season. I have had baby kings not eat so, this is not a new thing. R.W.

Porkins,

Calling a species of snake "stupid" only because you weren't able to maintain them properly not only sounds dumb but also tells others just how inexperienced you are. Stick with your retic and your milksnake, and when you find that you are ready to take on Candoia again in about ten years, buy a captive-bred baby and be patient. Candoia are certainly too challenging for the likes of novices. Next time you call your snake stupid, look at it and think, "I wonder what he thinks about me..."

My $.02

Joe

Listen, any creature, human, primate, reptile, canine, whatever, that will not eat that certain creatures perfect conditions, is STUPID!!!

Knowledge/experience has nothing to do with it if the conditions are right. So if a Scientist and a 5-year old both have a certain type of snake and both do the EXACT SAME things, the scientist's snake will be better? how the hell does that work?

It seems to me that you are simply frustrated with your experience with Candoia. I don't blame you, as I have been frustrated in the past with them. As a matter of fact, you can a story I posted about four months ago about my first Candoia experience. I was only 9 years old, and I made the mistake of purchasing a tiny skinny baby ground boa at some little short-lived pet shop. That one actually died. I attribute its demise to internal parasites or some type of stress it had endured before I purchased it (wild capture and shipment, dehydration, undernourished, and whatnot). I never assumed it died due to its own "stupidity". I don't even believe snakes have the capacity to be stupid, or smart. They just live off of instinct, and if they don't feel comfortable in any way, they won't eat. I think you are being somewhat anthropomorphic in your comparision. If you hadn't eaten in several days, you'd be starving and willing to eat just about anything, regardless of your environment. Snakes (and many other animals) don't work that way. In my opinion, snakes aren't capable of making logical decisions. And that's not because they choose not to, it's because they never really reqire logic to survive in the wild. Only instinct.

Sorry that this is long and drawn out. I just wanted to express to you how I feel about Candoia vs. how you obviously feel. They are awesome snakes and I will forever cherish them in my collection. And I'm sorry for your lack of success. Like I had mentioned earlier, down the road, try again with Candoia, but acquire older animals so that you have a better chance with them. That's all I have to say for now.

Joe

These are not fast growing snakes, you will not see drastic growth changes in these snakes. They have slow metabolisms and grow slowly. My yearling is 9 inches long, my newest neonate is about 7-8 inches long. Even my oldest wc female who's probably between 3-4 years old is only about 2 feet long. I cannot stress enough that you will NOT see growth in Candoia like you will in other snakes, especially not along the lines of the growth of most colubrids or common boas. That said, overfeeding can and will stress these snakes and they are fragile enough as neonates that they can (and do) die from it. Feedings every 14-21 days seem to work best for neonates in my experience. I've heard of feeding them every 10 days, but my youngest and smallest snakes will not eat with that frequency.

Cease the force feedings completely (which should only be turned to in the event a snake is losing weight, not just refusing to feed on a schedule we keepers determine) and allow the snakes a rest period. Force feeding stresses the snake, and stress can cause a decline in health or even death. Allow the snakes at *least* 2-3 weeks from your last attempt at feeding them, then offer them an anole (since they've already eaten them for you). If they don't eat it, give them another week and try again. The rest period is doubly true if they've been regurging their meals. Regurging takes a lot out of snakes, especially neonates. They need a rest period after such an event, preferably also in the 2-3 week range, to allow their systems to settle. Patience is the key with these little snakes. And despite their appearance, I've found that even my newest, smallest neonate can eat a day old live pink.

Another thing to check is your temperature ranges and humidity levels. These snakes do not like the same temperature ranges as most boas and pythons. Too much heat can cause death, especially with neonates. The temps should be around 80F, nothing more than 84F. The humidity levels shouldn't really be below 60%. They should also *always* have plenty of fresh water provided in a bowl large enough for them to soak in. They should have nice snug hides, and branches don't hurt - my little ones can almost always be found perching on a branch or any elevated spot in the cage. If you have the correct setup and proper temps, plus give them a break from all the feeding, you should see them turn around. I'm sure I speak for all of us here when I say that we'll be glad to help you through this, just keep coming back. If you're in central Virginia, I'd be glad to offer any direct assistance I can.

Don't give up! They really are great little snakes...just require a bit more effort than many of the other boas & pythons out there.

Raven

Raven- I'm in central VA as well- nice to know there's someone local to me on the forums!
Lora

I'm near Richmond, about 20 miles north of it actually. And you're right, it's nice to know another forum member is a neighbor of sorts.

Raven

Maybe we'll run into each other at a Richmond show (whenever they actually get around to having another one- I hate to wait till Oct). Are you a member of the Richmond Herp and Bug Society (sadly- I'm too lazy to actually make it to meetings)?
Lora

That would be great...maybe even we could try to meet up sometime. I usually go to the Manassas show (www.nvre.org), but I'll be missing their May show as I'll be out of town. I usually have a table there selling jewelry that I make, but if all goes well I should have baby boas by April. There's usually a pretty good selection at the show and worth the hour plus drive for me as I, too, hate to wait until October. I'm hoping there will be another Richmond show at the raceway like last year, but I haven't seen anything on it yet. Guess that'll be a wait and see thing. I haven't joined Richmond Bug & Herp, though I did look into it at one time. I just couldn't make the meetings very often with my schedule, so I haven't joined. Maybe one of these days.

Raven

I know another Kingsnake member here, too... actually, several..

See my post above for pics of my new SIGB.
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Bonnie Keller
VA Reptile Rescue
www.vareptilerescue.org