I’ve had this rosy boa for about two and a half months (see my May 20th post). He’s about 15 inches long and fairly fat. After the initial week of adjustment he has eaten very healthy, a big fuzzy about every 3 to 4 days. He would consistently strike, wrap up, and eat the mouse within a minute of it being in the cage. About to weeks ago he struck and wrapped up his fuzzy but then just left it dead in the sand, never eating it. Every two or three days I’d put a fuzzy in and the same thing would happen. I even tried a pinkie. Last monday (the 1st) I decided to try a hopper. He struck at the hopper several times but I’m unsure if he was really trying. He didn’t draw blood or even make the mouse squeak when he hit and it just ran away, my snake couldn’t (or didn’t want to) catch it to wrap it. I left it in the cage for a couple of hours and when I got back it was dead and ignored in the corner. Last night I tried another fuzzy. When I put the mouse directly in front of my rosy he simply flicked it with his tongue and went to his usual hiding place. The fuzzy was still alive several hours later.
Some info: My rosy hasn’t yet shed since I’ve had him even though he eats (ate) like a pig, I’m not sure if that is significant.
I keep him in a 10 gallon tank with an inch and a half of sand, an under cage heater (on one half), a little rock lizard cave, a piece of dried grape vine, and a little clean water. The funny thing is he never hides in the cage or under the sand but prefers to coil up crammed between the glass and the side of the cage. Nothing about the setup has changed since I got him.
The only difference I can tell is that it has been a little warmer here during the day, in the late 80’s, and his cage is near the window, but the room does not get overly hot.
What can I do? Should I start to worry? Is this normal? My son is beginning to stress out.
Thanks, Dave
