Cay Caulker Boa

Hey, My girlfriend has a cay caulker boa she got recently. I'm watching it for a few weeks while she's away, and I'm stumped. This little guy refuses to eat, and is constantly hissing. She set up his terrarium exactly as it was at her house (which he never did this there) and hes refusing to eat. My first thought was that since he was setup next to my 40 breeder with my rat snakes that he was stressed by seeing them so I've blocked off the sides of his terrarium with some spare background I had. I'll see how that works out in the morning I guess. Do any of you have experience with this kind of boa, and if so, any suggestions on what to do about it?

I haven't experience with that locality, but when any boa gets pissy the first thing I check is the temperature of the hot and cool sides, and the humidity. If the probe for the thermostat was shifted during the move, that could be causing the warm side to be too hot or too cold.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I haven't experience with that locality, but when any boa gets pissy the first thing I check is the temperature of the hot and cool sides, and the humidity. If the probe for the thermostat was shifted during the move, that could be causing the warm side to be too hot or too cold.

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x2. And give him LOTS of privacy. Leave him alone, cover the enclosure, and wait a week before you try feeding him again. He's probably stressed from being in a new place.....

Also ppl tend to forget how sensitive snakes are to vibrations, so if he is near a TV or Stereo even heavy foot traffic and stress a nervous snake!

Well, hes not my first snake, i do own quite a few ball pythons, but i checked the husbandry and its spot on to what she had at her place. Maybe hes stressed from the move or something, but hes a baby so he does need to eat. the hissing did stop when i blocked off my cornsnakes too. Hes currently sitting right under his light, but wont go in his hide on the heat pad. Humidity is ok, and otherwise he looks healthy, i just know its been a week and a half or so since hes last eaten.

Yes, they absolutely do stress from being moved. And, no, he does NOT necessarily need to eat!! Boas are very different from ball pythons and they have much slower metabolisms. Many very good reputable breeders only feed their brand new neonates every 10-14 days right from the get-go.

Turn out the room lights and/or cover the cage, give him LOTS of privacy, and wait a full week without offering anything before you try again. He will eat when he feels comfortable and he will be no worse off for waiting.