My Rosy Boa hasn't ate since early September. I've read that they tend to go off food in the winter months and I did what the person at the pet store told me to do which is lower the temperature for a couple of months and try to feed it after that. It's almost been a month since I've returned it to normal temperature which is around 87-90 degrees fahrenheit (usually averaging 87) and it still hasn't ate. The snake is a full grown adult and is still active and doesn't appear to be losing that much weight and I keep it in a 20 gallon tank with calcium sand substrate. Am I doing anything wrong? Should I start to worry?
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Rosy Boa help
TimL85
Jan 05, 2006 08:10 PM
Replies (1)
chrish
Jan 06, 2006 12:07 AM
First of all, I would post this on the Rosy, Rubber, and Sandboa forum where more rosyboa people hang out.
87-90°F is too warm IMHO for a Rosyboa. I keep most of my snakes at 70-80° (including rosies) and provide them a heat tape under one end of the cage which warms that area to the mid 80s.
Also, it is winter. If your snake was wild caught, its biological rhythms are telling it that it is time to hibernate. And fidgeting with the temperature won't help change that much since their "drive" to hibernate is driven more by reduced photoperiod than reduced temperature.
I would turn off any lights on the cage, turn off the heat source and put it somewhere cool and dark (50-60° if you can find it). Leave it there another month then warm it up slowly for 2-3 weeks before offering it something else to eat.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas
