New, not eating, problem dumeril boa!

[bigballs]

ok, long story short, i work at this pet store and for the past year we had 1.1 dumerils boas for sale. during the year they were kept in improper husbandry conditions and went through the constant stress of customer handling. the temperature in the stores enclosure for them was anywhere from 76-86 degrees. on feeding day one was a good eater but the other one was very inconsisitant up until many months ago when it consistantly started to not feed. so i ended up "saving" them and now i have to try to get the non-eater eating again. every attempt at the pet store failed: f/t, prekilled, live. i have had them for two weeks now and tried frozen for 2 feedings and it still shows no interest in the f/t rat at all. i know if i go live it will still ignore the rat(but i may try it sooner or later).

the boas are anywhere from 12-13 months now and are approx. 18"-20" and are feeding on small rats(a little bigger than rat pup small...). ill post pictures later tonight.

ok so now each one is in a 3'x2'x2' enlosure with temps being 90 on the hot side and 81 on the other. humidity is anywhere from 47-67%(before and after misting). they have a substrate to burrow in and 4 hides each with a water bowl in the middle.

they way the store has been feeding them was to remove them from the enclosure and then offer. it works for me for one but not the other.

any husbandry corrections or feeding advice or anything. i dont know how im am going to get this one to eat!

[Shelby]

Dumerils can be pretty shy.. especially when younger. If you have a bit smaller cage for the problem feeder, you might consider it.

Also.. dums like to ambush their prey.. and they actually like to burrow. I'd recommend putting a deep layer of aspen shavings.. or something else the snake can burrow in. Make sure the cage is in a low traffic area, and feed at night. You may need to leave the f/t rat overnight with it. My one dumeril won't let me watch him eat.

[Royalherper]

Good luck! I've tried everything under the sun to get mine to eat. He is 10 months old. He was all but given to me by the pet store because he refuses to eat. I've been force feeding (which I hate, I'm sure he does too). He has good weight and is active. I'm just hoping that one day he will eat on his own. Its hard enough force feeding a 10 month old. I can't imagine doing it when he gets some size to him.

[indigocharity]

I got a 6 month old dum femal a year ago and had some trouble getting her to eat. The breeder told me dums are very shy and if they are uncomfortable or stressed for any reason it is not unusual for them to refuse to eat. He suggested I get a small plastic box like the sweater\storage boxes you can get at Target and poke holes in it. Make sure it was large enough for her to coil comfortably but small enough she would feel enclosed. Fill it with the same litter she is used to in her cage and sit it half on, half off of a heating pad to keep her warm. Put her in the box and an hour or so later open it and add the food putting it close to her nose and close the box and leave her alone. I did that and she ate the rat pup. I have another dum how eats with no issues but I still have to put her in her small box to feed her or she does not eat.

[bigballs]

sorry for the late response but my computer and i have issues!

thanks for the advice everyone! i actually managed to get her to eat last week and i almost cried. it was so beautiful. a f/t mouse right down!

thanks again!

heres some pics of the other one that is consistantly eating(didnt want to stress the other yet...).







thats me testing the new camera so plz dont mind the quality!

thanks for looking!

[Shelby]

Very beautiful little dum.. aren't they great snakes? I'm glad she ate for you.

[bigballs]

thanks! i love them! i just fed them again and they both ate!


i cant find too much info about them on the net or in books. any recommendations???

thanks again!

[Shelby]

I haven't found much about them either.. they're really cool animals, but they're just not as popular as some other species.

[bigballs]

ok well whats your setup like?


i have them in a 3x2x1 with a thick layer of aspen mulch. i try to keep humidity anywhere from 50-70 and air temps 82-84 with a hot area of 90. at night i shut of the hot spot so they get ambient temps of 80 at night. i give em big water bowls and each have three hides.

i figure they are around 2ft long or less but i think they may be kinda thin due to improper care from where i got em from.

what do you think?

[Shelby]

I'd keep the hot spot up at night too.. if you're using a bulb just get a red bulb or a CHE.

My adult male is in a 3'x2' boaphile cage. The substrate is unprinted newspaper.. I crumple up some extra for him to burrow in, which he likes a lot.