Reptile & Amphibian Forums

the temps dropped and it's breeding time?I NEVER had a problem in the summer. For a wild caught she would eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING (F.T).She wasn't shy eather,she would eat anytime of the day and in the WIDE OPEN,Unlike any of the freshly imported animals.The temps have naturaly dropped in my snake room 80 instead of 85.I'm not trying to cool her for breeding,I want to acclimate her to captivity before I try anything.Besides I think she's way too young.I'm just worried that she JUST STOPPED eating considering how veraceouse she was.Coments would be appreciated.

but I would get a fecal exam done to make sure she is clean.

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Occasionally, a boa will go off of feed beacause; " something is wrong with it. " The other 90% of the time is for a very simple reason; " The animal just does not want to eat! " When I first got into this " HOBBY " years ago, I use to be the " typical keeper " that FREAKED OUT everytime one of my animals did not eat. The fact is; " We feed these animals " WAY TO MUCH FOOD. " It is a very noted fact that; " Adult boas only eat about a half dozen times a year at best in the wild. " Once a boa constrictor reaches 5 feet or so, the best thing that you can do for the animals health and longevity in captivity is; " FEED IT ONCE A MONTH. " At best. These animals should have a life expectancy of at least 40 years. Most captive born and raised adults live 10-12 years on average. Why? 90% of the moratality is because of OVERFEEDING. If your boa is not eating, do not worry. Leave it completely alone for a couple of weeks and try again. If it still does not eat, WHO CARES! If it does not have mouthrot or snot coming from the nose or weasing from the chest, wich would indicate illness; it is fine. It just chooses not to eat and that should be the animals choice. Do not try to torture the damn thing to death to make it eat either. Just leave her alone........GOOD LUCK and GOD BLESS...Johnson Herp

I do not know how long she has been in captivity, but let me share something else for future reference.The worse thing to do when aquiring a fresh import, is to try and feed it.Alot of keepers, pull them straight out of the shipping box and throw a rat to it and because the animal is already " pissed off " it will take it half the time. You are feeding a dehydrated and stressed animal, just to take the burden of buying an import off of your shoulders, because if it eats, you think it is going to do just fine. WRONG! The best thing to do is set it up and isolate it and give it plenty of privacy and WATER. Give it AT LEAST 6-8 weeks to calm down and get HYDRATED.I NEVER use Flagyl and VERY RARELY use Panacur. The animal was just; " Pulled out of a tree or stump or leaf pile ect and thrown in a bag and carried across a jungle flopping on the side of some smelly hunter and tossed in a barrel with probably a hundred more snakes bakeing in the sun and urateing on each other and then tossed back in a bag several days or weeks or months later and into a crate and on a plane and out of the crate and out of the bag and into STRICTLYS mite infested aquarium were 10 snakes have already died in it and a turd with green moss growing on it in the corner and several days or weeks or months later, it is tossed back into a bag and on a truck or plane took out of the bag to be put in the keepers set up and the only thing the keeper can think is; " Golly Gee Willikers, this thing should be ready to eat!!! Food for thought?........GOD BLESS Johnson Herp

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