Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all! I am new to this forum but not new to Reptiles, in the past I have had ball pythons and a normal boa.I recently decided to get back into snakes and purchased a normal female ball, a 100% het xanthic male and just last week a female Dumerils. I have been wanting a Dumerils for sometime now and had the chance to trade for one at the Cleveland Reptile show. In my excitement over my new snake I forgot to ask the vendor when she last ate and shed, I don't even remember the guys name. LOL. Overall she looks healthy and is very tame. She is in 10 gallon tank w/screen top, aspen bedding and UTH. I currently don't have a temp or humidity gauge so I can't really say what the levels are. My question is should I be concerned with the fact that she twice would not eat a mice when offered. I think I may have tried to feed her too soon. I have only had her one week and a day today. I have read that Dumerils are voracious eaters, but I start to worry when boas don't feed. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'll post pics soon.

Well, a few factors at work here. Do you know what they were feeding previously? How big is it, and what are you feeding? If you're offering F/T and they are used to live or vice versa, it could throw them off.

Second, Dumeril's "can" be somewhat timid eaters. My girl eats very very reliably, however when I first got her I covered her feeding tank in a towel to make it nice and dark...she was reluctant to eat otherwise. Once the towel was on, she was on that rat. Over time I've reduced the darkness and now she doesn't require it at all.

Third, yes, you should give it 7 days or so to settle in before you even start trying to feed. And if they do not take food wait another 5 days or so before offering again. My Dum is an '08 and eats every 7 days without fail. Your Dum isn't going to starve in a matter of 2 weeks.

Lastly, you really need a bigger tank. 10 gallons isn't big enough for even a hatchling. A 40g breeder is a good size to start with until they grow out of it.

Congrats on your Dum, be patient and I'm sure everything will sort itself out.

Thanks for your reply. I'm pretty sure the vendor told me she was feeding on live mice, she is 18-24 inches long.I read an excellent care sheet on a site named Classic Dumerils. I will implement some of their suggestions and yours to try to get her to eat. Based on what I read there and on this forum I have done several things wrong, I handeled her too much when I got her, I definately need to monitor temp and humidity. As you stated two weeks without feeding won't hurt her so I will probably wait another week before offering her another meal. I'm going to Walmart to get a digital temp and humidity gauge. Until she eats I keep reading this forum and I'll post when she eats. Also is there a tuturial on how to post pics here?

Congrats on the Dum!!!

I wold give it a couple of more days before trying to feed it. Some Dums are shy feeders. I would try to switch it off mice ASAP. At 18-24in the snake should be feeding on rat pups. Rats are heavy boned that mice, which means more calcium, and more nutritious overall.

She definitely needs a bigger tank. a 40gal would be great and would last it another year or two. But a "forever" cage should be at least 4ftx2ftx15in.

Keep humidity under 60%, 90 degree hot spot & mid to high 70's on the cool end. You can give it a hide if you want. But if your aspen is deep enough, it will be more apt to burrow in it and not use a hide. I generally put pieces of crumpled newpaper on top of the aspen.

Also, don't be surprise if she won't feed for a couple more weeks. My smallest female went off feed for a full year when she was just a year old. And has been eating like a sumo wrestler ever since.

You will find out that Dums are different than regular boas. There are some similarities, but not many.

GOOD LUCK & BE PATIENT!!

Pat
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Pat Higdon
Oklahoma City Herpetological Society Member
1.4.1 dumerils boas, 1.1 albino burmese python, 1.2 ball pythons, 2.2.1 bearded dragons, 2.2.1 leopard geckos & 0.0.1 sulcata tortoise

I meant to say, Rats are heavier boned than mice.

I wish we could edit our posts on this forum.
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Pat Higdon
Oklahoma City Herpetological Society Member
1.4.1 dumerils boas, 1.1 albino burmese python, 1.2 ball pythons, 2.2.1 bearded dragons, 2.2.1 leopard geckos & 0.0.1 sulcata tortoise

She finally ate a mouse last night. I followed the care sheet I read on classic dumerils, I removed her from the tank that had an UTH, put the cage in the closet and just left her alone. Last night a placed a small mouse in the cage, when I got up this morning it was gone. The care sheet says not to disturb her until she has eaten several times to be sure she has acclimated to her new surroundings. I am debating on offering her another mouse tonight seeing that the one she ate last night was small.

Don't feed the day after. If they are going to eat more than one they are going to do it in one sitting. They typically will not eat once they have started digesting.

Just wait a week and feed again. Its good that it took the food, just be content with that, I'm sure the snake is.