Male boa hasnt eaten for a couple of months. CB adult that until now has fed on T/F rats with no problems. Do males go through some sort of fasting ritual during what would be considered breeding season? None of my other boa's seem to have a problem. He is healthy, no upper respritory, no sores anywhere including his mouth, he looks great and healthy, good temps and humidity in his enclosure. Any ideas?
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Male Boa not eating
sedatedforsafety
Mar 21, 2005 10:27 PM
Replies (2)
joeysgreen
Mar 22, 2005 02:47 AM
Without further discussion it may be hard to pinpoint what's going on but here is my first reply;
Do you use a thermometer to measure temps? Regularly? Often a slight winter cooling of an enclosure, herp room, or drafts are undetected by all but the snake.
Are there females in the vicinity? This may of course keep your male preoccupied.
It sounds like your snake is doing well, just not feeding. If this is the case I wouldn't worry yet. Do you have weight records? Losing 10% of body mass is when a vet visit is needed. (or sooner if any other symptoms begin). Keep in mind that the initial weight should be of a somewhat fasted animal so you arn't weighing your snake and a 1-2lb prey item in the stomach.
Hope this helps, if I"m totally off the mark and you need more info, let me know 
sedatedforsafety
Mar 22, 2005 06:11 PM
Hey thanks for the reply. I do keep a records of accurate cage temp as well as the body weight of the snake. He has lost about 8% body weight, January 18th being the last time he was fed. I usually weigh my snakes at 3-4 week intervals after they have digested their meal and defecated and before the next feeding. I had planned on trying to breed him this year so starting the first of November I started lowering the enclosure temp at night and of course winter time the daytime temps were about 2-4 degrees cooler than they are during the summer. Night time temps I kept around 76-78d but he always have a basking spot that stayed around 88-90d and is controlled with a rehostat. Never regurgitated any food items, and I have always fed him like the others, waiting until he deficates before feeding him again. I guess I will just keep an eye on his weight and continue to try and feed him and see what happens. If he loses over 10% weight before feeding I will make a road trip and find a good herp vet. Thanks again for the reply!
