Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 4 foot Columbian Red Tail who is a very picky girl. She loves to eat...but lord help the person who attempts to give her f/t. I can literally hear her laughing at me as I waltz in with a frozen rat in hand. Of course, she prefers her meals with a pulse. She's eating 2 medium rats per week. I am trying to wean her off of live by giving her a f/t once in a while (and allowing the offers to become more frequent). She will take them, but always reluctantly. If you'd believe it, she plays with f/t. She'll rub her head all over it, coil it up and then uncoil, move it across the cage, put it in her water bowl, etc. (She's mocking me, you know...) Anyway, tonight I offered her 1 undernourished large f/t (store was out of medium). I warmed it up beyond room temp like I always do (microwaveable neck wrap against the rat for a little while) and offered it to her with foreceps. The instant I placed it in her cage...it was like a game! She looked at my hand with desire...and I decided to abandon the forecep idea. I dropped the rat in the cage and watched her cruise right on by without even bothering to taste it! At this point, I wondered if it was warm enough and wanted to attempt boosting the temp a couple more degrees (we're looking at a rat that was not very warm to the touch...maybe 75 degrees to begin with)...well, then she wasn't going to let me have it back without a bite! Lord! So, I took her hide box and attempted to shield her head away from my hand long enough to grab the rat....and the second I moved the rat, she struck and coiled it! DEAR LORD! Her feeding desires with f/t change with each time...sometimes she wants it moving, sometimes she wants it still...at some point, I'll have to teach the f/t rat to do the hokey pokey for her!!!! Any ideas? She's just so hard to predict! (Oh, these picky girls...should have gone for a male...)

Thanks so much,
Sami
-----
0.1 Red Tail boa~Ariadnae
4.6 Rats~Rex, Winkin', Kanga, Noodle, Cy, Pyp, Symone, Vyolet, Onyx, Blinkin'
1.1 Dogs~Boots, Karrey
0.1 Cat~Roxanne

Sami, entertaining post to say the least... I especially liked the Hokey Pokey line

I feed ALL of my boas f/t... not a single one eats live or even pre-killed. The trick is to start them as babies on this system, but if a boa is used to eating live it can be tricky to switch them over.

Next time you feed her offer it on the tongs/forceps. Nine times out of ten I can hold the rat in front of the boas mouth and they'll wrap it up instantly. Sometimes I have to tease them a bit... try bumping the rat against their body then pulling it away from them, allowing them to come after it. Try to get her used to you ONLY feeding her off the tongs/forceps.

Regardless, be happy she's a healthy/happy boa that eats for you!!!

Worst case scenario just have that f/t rat do the hokey pokey

Guy Scavone II
Living Art Herpetology

Guy,
It's great to see that other herpers have a sense of humor, too. I know I can always fall back on live, but we've had some...senile rats before, and they've offered her a nip here and a bite there. Luckily, her reflexes are young and I suppose her stubborness dulled the pain. I am glad she's feeding...but I'd hate to have to walk into a puppet shop and try to explain why I want to make a marrionette kit for a rat, so I can make him/her do the Hokey Pokey...Geez, talk about endanger your reputation for being down to earth, hehehe.

Thanks again,
Sami
-----
0.1 Red Tail boa~Ariadnae
4.6 Rats~Rex, Winkin', Kanga, Noodle, Cy, Pyp, Symone, Vyolet, Onyx, Blinkin'
1.1 Dogs~Boots, Karrey
0.1 Cat~Roxanne

Hey Guy,that's a great story,sounds like your doing an exelent job at switching her over,it's just that your boa likes to have a little fun with you.I love when they have a feeding responce.It could be worse my W.C. B.C.C are so shy that I have to feed them before going to bed,and they will only eat with no lights and no sound.What a bummer.I really should be happy cause their eating F.T.Good luck and keep the post comming.

Girl, actually. Yeah, everyone agrees on one point and that's the fact that I should be happy she's eating (and I am...there are no games with live, haha). Well, I guess on the bright side, things will never be boring with her...hehehe. Ah, bottle that idea: Constrictor with a sense of humor. But, what can I say, she's my main squeeze

Thanks guys,
Sami
-----
0.1 Red Tail boa~Ariadnae
4.6 Rats~Rex, Winkin', Kanga, Noodle, Cy, Pyp, Symone, Vyolet, Onyx, Blinkin'
1.1 Dogs~Boots, Karrey
0.1 Cat~Roxanne