One of my snakes won't eat, anyone have a clue why?

Spuds · #1 01-04-2004, 05:38 PM

Hey everyone, i'm new here obviously. Last month my mom bought a pair of red tails from her neighbor who was moving. she got a big deal on them and only paid $120 for all the stuff. it's a mating pair and they have produced some little snakies before. the female is about 6 1/2 feet long and the male is about 5 1/2 feet long. I don't feed them pre-killed rats, and i don't feed them fully awake, i was told to knock them out and feed them, they are usually out for an hour or more.. The male eats just fine, he's all good. but the female hasn't eaten since we got them. she rarely moves and rarely drinks water. i've tried pre-killed rats and stunned rats. maybe she's hybernating, but i dunno much about this particular breed of snakes. the snakes i'm used to handling are rattle snakes. anyone got any info to help me out?

BMoore · #2 01-04-2004, 06:05 PM

Hello,
welcome to the forums.
The problem is the redtails being housed together.....

Although it is done by some, redtails are not reccomended to be housed together... There are so many problems that a lot of people do not realize.... I will find you a link....... Hold on one minute....

**Beth**

BMoore · #3 01-04-2004, 06:09 PM

http://forum.redtailboas.com/index.p...;threadid=3728

Okay here is a link that a guy posted.... his question was a little different but read the whole thing. His female died shortly after he posted the question...... Lot's of good answer's... Good Luck.

**Beth**

GizmO · #4 01-04-2004, 08:18 PM

Well, I dunno what all the answers are in the other post. But, I would start by checking a caresheet and make sure that all your temps and humidity and all husbandry is correct. Some snakes will not eat if they do not have the proper temps etc. Also, you said they are housed together and they have bred before, is it possible that she is gravid now? If so that could be a reason she is not eatting. How long have you had her? If it has not been too long then it could also be possible that she is still getting used to the place and just not ready to eat yet. Some snakes will not eat for a couple of months when it starts getting winter also. Is she getting skinny or does she have some good weight on her? Also, snakes will go off feed for parasites, has she been checked for that yet? Sorry for so many questions, just trying to give you several ideas to start with so we can narrow some of the problems down.

XzyluM · #5 01-04-2004, 09:13 PM

Angie pretty much has the same opinion as me. Also, boas do no hybernate to sum that up.

BMoore · #6 01-05-2004, 12:35 PM

Well here is what Clay had to say on the link I posted yesturday. It will sum up a few. But definetly read the whole post..... Good Luck.

**Beth**

You are getting some very good advice here and I will chime in with what may seem like some critism, but hopefully you will realize that I am just stating observations that I hope will help you and others in the long run, when facing similar situations.

1. Adult boas (male and female) should not be kept in the same enclosure permanently. By default, you are forcing the boas to breed (or have the opportunity to breed). The female does not have a choice. And in this case you are forcing a female that is obviously not healthy to be courted/bred. A female that is not healthy, not eating properly, and not gaining weight, does not need to be anywhere close to a breeding situation. It could actually cause enough stress for her to take a harder turn for the worse. NOTE: I don't even recommend keeping adults together 24X7 even when they are in the prime of health.

2. An steady, average cool side temp of 88 is too hot for boa constrictors. This would put the hot end around a 100 and that is too hot in my opinion. This alone could lead to the regurgitation process, because of the excess heat the rats are actually spoiling before they can be digested. Whether spoiled before or after feeding, it will come up if spoiled. Remember we only recomment raising the ambient temperature to 84-85 temporarily when a boa is bad sick with respiratory problems. So at no time should the cool end ambient temperature be above 85.

3. It is much more important to feed smaller than normal sized items, more often, than trying to catch up all at once. So feeding a SINGLE medium once a week is a lot better solution for nursing her back to health.

Again it is my hope that this will help her recover.

The seperation of the male is the best thing you can do for now. Good idea to leave the female in the original container, because moving her to a new place would be even more stressful.

So get a strict handle on your temperatures, feed smaller items, and keep her seperated until she returns to full health.

Spuds · #7 01-05-2004, 07:44 PM

cool that helps a lot with the enclosure. they have been together since they were both bought. I was planning to make an enclosure with a plexiglass divider that can be removed (got the idea from a friend who has 2 ball pythons). Right now i have the male in a smaller tank, i dunno how big it is, i;'d say about 18"x32" i don't and the only thing in there is some wood chips, small bowl of water and a heating pad, is this safe as a temporary enclosure? the temperature stays about 84 on the hot side of the original tank and i'd say the heat pad is about the same as the rock which is 95. she's starting to move around more. i keep a sheet over the tank on one side and she stays there most of time. i'll lift up the sheet and take a peek and she's been looking around and drinking. it seems she's getting used to the new house and people.

i have checked her, my friend with the ball pythons came over and checked her on the outside while i watched, he said she didn't have anything wrng with the exterior. she is skinny compared to the other one. she maybe has a 3-4" diameter while the other is about 5-6" she's almost about ready to shed also.

what should i do about the lighting. there's a heat lamp on the top and i was told that they should not have constant lighting. any suggestions?

GizmO · #8 01-05-2004, 08:01 PM

If you are using the light for heat then you may want to get a red night light to keep on her at night. They have the night lights at pet stores and the snakes don't even notice the night lights. You mentioned something about a heat rock..... do you have a heat rock in with her? If so..... I would suggest taking that out immediatly. All kinds of reptiles will lay on the rock and not even realize the heat and they will get burned. I have seen this and it is not a pretty sight. Was she also in the shed process when you tried to feed last? Some snakes will not eat in shed and others will. As far as the enclosure for the male. I would think it would be ok as long as he has room to stretch out some and I would also put him a hide in or cover half with a sheet if there is no room for the hide that way he at least has the option to hide if he wants.

Spuds · #9 01-05-2004, 11:28 PM

i'll go get one of those lights. as for the rock, i'll turn it on low, it'll be 85 on low. I know that reptiles can get burned. i put a cloth and there's a bunch of chips on it. it's not even hot. it's under about 2" of cloth and chips, it's just a warmer area in the cage.

and she wasn't shedding just yeat, but she's really dark and she's got the eye coverings that look liek their about to go.

BMoore · #10 01-05-2004, 11:47 PM

Glad to hear you seperated them. I agree with Gizmo with losing the heatrock. They sale the bulbs also at walmart for $6. They are in the lightbulb section, and say "reptile bulb" right on it. They look like black lights. I too think the male is fine in the enclosure for a few weeks, but the temps need to come up. You are right, boas need a photo period. So the light should not be on at night..... Good luck!

**Beth**