Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently got a yearling Dumeril's off of the classifieds. Beautiful boa...ate the night i got her, but she hasn't eaten since (15 days or so). That night she ate live, but won't take anything now. I prefer prekilled...but she wont take it. Any help out there?

i have one right now that it has been a little over a month sence it last eat anything and what i have read it is sometimes normal for young ones to go a few months between meals

miskie

I appreciate your help. i guess ill wait until a month to get worried.
thanks
Hunter

I have a dumeril. She's 5 months and 28" long. She went a 2 weeks no food, ate 1 feeder mouse, then went 4 more weeks and finally ate a prekilled mouse Thursday night. She didn't start to look skinny or malnourished, she even shed last weekend. I read somewhere they don't need as much food as regular boa, since they just wait for food to walk by, not hunt it actively. What do you use as the substrate? They like to hide under the woodchips and wait with just their head out. Mine never makes an effort to hunt something down (usually). She just waits with her head sticking out, and bursts up when it walks by. She hasn't eaten any substrate either when she does this, I was worried about that. What worked for me was "walk" the mouse around to in front of her, then I made the dead mouse "stand up" on its back legs. She bit it and constrictd and ate it then. I guess you gotta trick them sometimes into thinking its alive.
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Tim W.
http://tsw.f2g.net

i have coconut shell substrate..and she hides underneath with her head out...ill put a live one in there and see...obvoiusly watch to make sure it wont bite her! thanks
hunter

Ok...so for future ref what i did....got it really dark and turned on a 150 watt night heat lamp....killed a mouse....waited till she got under the substrate....dangled it...and she took it...BACKWARDS...but she is trying to figure it out as we speak. THANKS to all those who helped...
hunter