[Behavior] Baby boa not using hides

[Greenwood]

Ok so for those who followed my other post about which one to get, I ended up getting the little EBV Redgroup/Burke Lipstick sunglow BCI girl. Anyways she got here Tuesday. I checked her out and then put her into her cage. Well its been 2 days now and she hasn't gone into her hides at all. I got 2 RBI hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool side. I thought maybe she couldn't find the door initially so I gave her a little coaching. She acted like I was trying to guide her into the mouth of hell and doubled back immediately. So I just let her do her thing. Well it seems she actually likes curling up outside usually behind the cool side hide.

So today I picked her up a fuzzy rat since it was feeding day for everyone else anyways. Well she was being fed f/t rat pups. Anyways, I go to give her her live rat fuzzy and she woke up and got all excited and struck at it twice and missed. She finally got it, wrapped it up and killed it. After that she just held onto it and sniffed it for about 20 mins, not knowing what to do next lol. So I decide its help time. I wrestle the rat from her grasp and grab it with my tongs and hold it by the body and then I bump her nose with the head of the rat and she calmly grabs it and then starts swallowing it. I find it kind of funny how she doesn't like hides and seems to only eat rats if you put the head in front of her face although she did grab it the first time and kill it. My old BCI is the opposite, as a baby she loved her hides and when it comes to food, she is a beast. My pied ball python is the same, she is a spring loaded tube of death when she smells a rat. She strikes at anything that moves until she hits that rat.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Baby boa not using hides

Just a guess about the hides, but she may have never SEEN a hide before? You might ask the breeder if they used them. As for eating, maybe you just didn't give her enough time to eat it (snakes instinctively wait
until all motion ceases so they don't get bit)...on the other hand, I've seen snakes hold on so long that the rodent cools off & is no longer "interesting". Just watch your particular snakes & do the best you can...they,
like us, are individuals and are learning things as they go.

[Greenwood]

Re: Baby boa not using hides

Yeah I don't think she has ever seen a hide as she was being kept in small rack I believe. Kind of what I figured as well but I find it interesting that they actually don't instantly link dark small place as a safe place. She doesn't even want to check it out lol. Now after eating she is sitting behind the warm side hide lol. And I only intervened because I figured the rat would cool off as it is was a small fuzzy. I was right because it was kind of cool when I wrestled it from her. That's why I think like you said, she smelled a rat but didn't find the cooler fuzzy as interesting until I bumped her nose with its nose, then she ate it. Just never had a snake eat so calmly. Like I said, my normal BCI girl has always been a gung ho eater but like a puppy dog any other time and my pied BP girl is a shy little snake until rat time, then she is the snake from hell that will bite at any shadows, air, screens, drops of water, anything until she locks onto that rat lol.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Baby boa not using hides

It's also possible that the next time you feed her, she'll go ballistic on the rat too...maybe right now she is borderline hungry, maybe just going into a shed-cycle that you don't yet see (but she can feel). I wouldn't worry...
Then again, there are some snakes that will eat more passively than others...they aren't usually boas though, LOL!

[bebowebb]

Re: Baby boa not using hides

Nothing to worry about.

Most baby/younger boas coming from reputable breeders are kept in smaller racks and have never seen a hide.

As for eating - I have some that still grab hold of a f/t prey item with a vengeance, squeeze with all its might, and then ingest the item and others take their prey items as gradual as if I was handing someone a piece of paper. To each their own, so to speak.

[Greenwood]

Re: Baby boa not using hides

Thanks.I think she is getting ready to shed also. Her skin is all wrinkly around her neck and also at her bends when she coils up to sleep. I called the breeder Tuesday after I got her to let him know she arrived safe and sound and looked good and he also told me at that time that she was probably going into shed soon and that he had fed her a little bit before he shipped her. He said he feeds all his yearlings and younger every 10-14 days. So yeah Noelle, you probably are right. I always get a little worried with new snakes for the first 3 feedings. Once they have eaten 3 times good and pooped, then I begin working with getting them to know me.

[Zincubus]

Re: Baby boa not using hides

Ok so for those who followed my other post about which one to get, I ended up getting the little EBV Redgroup/Burke Lipstick sunglow BCI girl. Anyways she got here Tuesday. I checked her out and then put her into her cage. Well its been 2 days now and she hasn't gone into her hides at all. I got 2 RBI hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool side. I thought maybe she couldn't find the door initially so I gave her a little coaching. She acted like I was trying to guide her into the mouth of hell and doubled back immediately. So I just let her do her thing. Well it seems she actually likes curling up outside usually behind the cool side hide.

So today I picked her up a fuzzy rat since it was feeding day for everyone else anyways. Well she was being fed f/t rat pups. Anyways, I go to give her her live rat fuzzy and she woke up and got all excited and struck at it twice and missed. She finally got it, wrapped it up and killed it. After that she just held onto it and sniffed it for about 20 mins, not knowing what to do next lol. So I decide its help time. I wrestle the rat from her grasp and grab it with my tongs and hold it by the body and then I bump her nose with the head of the rat and she calmly grabs it and then starts swallowing it. I find it kind of funny how she doesn't like hides and seems to only eat rats if you put the head in front of her face although she did grab it the first time and kill it. My old BCI is the opposite, as a baby she loved her hides and when it comes to food, she is a beast. My pied ball python is the same, she is a spring loaded tube of death when she smells a rat. She strikes at anything that moves until she hits that rat.

I recently got a Dwarf Hypo Burm baby and after trying many different types /sizes of hides I eventually gave up ..he just lay wrapped around them or slept on top of them !!

He doesn't have any now and he's positively thriving !!

[Noelle7206]

Re: Baby boa not using hides

Thanks.I think she is getting ready to shed also. Her skin is all wrinkly around her neck and also at her bends when she coils up to sleep. I called the breeder Tuesday after I got her to let him know she arrived safe and sound and looked good and he also told me at that time that she was probably going into shed soon and that he had fed her a little bit before he shipped her. He said he feeds all his yearlings and younger every 10-14 days. So yeah Noelle, you probably are right. I always get a little worried with new snakes for the first 3 feedings. Once they have eaten 3 times good and pooped, then I begin working with getting them to know me.

When you see a snake that looks "all wrinkly..." please be sure to keep the humidity up and the bowl of fresh water full. Few snakes want to eat when they're in 'shed mode' and since both digestion and shedding will tax
their hydration. Some snakes, if they do eat at this time, will get "stuck in their skin" instead of shedding normally. (< best avoided!) Snakes cannot talk but they can tell you a lot if you observe them closely.

[Greenwood]

Re: Baby boa not using hides

Oh all my snakes get their water changed every other day and I keep humidity around 50% all the time which has worked great for my large normal BCI and my pied ball python. I almost always have had a so-so shed from every snake I've had on their first shed with me. Then their second sheds are perfect and one piece. I always check for eyecaps and tip of tails to make sure those 2 things came off.

I'm OCD about cage cleaning and water lol so their cages get a full cleaning every month with Chlorhexadine and like I said, their water gets changed every other day. Plus they usually get "outside" time every couple days but in my large BCI girls case, she wants "outside" time every day so I leave the cage door open and she usually will sit half out of her cage on the table just looking down at the floor or she sits on me. I swear she loves the company except after feeding, then its her alone time usually under her RHP.