Check out my new boa!

Just bought him Sunday from a guy that had too many snakes. He says it is a south american boa. I believe he is a argentine boa. I got a question tho, He was feeding pre kill to him but I would like to feed F/T to him. I tried today but he had no interest in the F/T:(

http://mercury.walagata.com/w/lurch/100_0443.JPG

http://mercury.walagata.com/w/lurch/100_0444.JPG

He looks like he might be in shed.. which would be why he didn't want the food.

Wait a week and offer again.

He does not look like an argentine boa. More like a central american or nicaraguan.. maybe even a mexican boa. Kinda hard to tell from those pics though.

EDIT: I would also like to add that it appears he is in a large cage without a lot of hides.. he probably doesn't feel secure enough to want to eat anyway. Try downsizing or adding more hides.

He's very nice looking ^_^ Good luck with him!

I have one extra large half log in there. But he doesn't go in it. He uses it as a ladder to try to check for escape routes.:P

One big half log is not adaquate for hiding spots for a snake. You need at minimum two hiding spots, (one at each end) and the darker and tighter they are, the better. I don't use half log hides because they are quite open and are not very secure feeling for the snake IMO.

How big is the cage and the snake?

BTW.. a new snake should not be handled for the first week after you get it.. then you should offer food and not handle for two days after feeding. I know it's hard. I just bought a snake on Saturday. :)

As it stands right now, the cage looks like regurgitation city to me. I would suggest getting more secure hides such as clay or plastic pot saucers(the bowl the planter pot sits in, not the pot itself) and cut a hole in the tops or sides of 2 or 3 of them. They are low to the ground, dark, heavy(clay only), and feel very secure to a baby boa. Half log "hides" provide no security to the snake and are much harder to keep clean. Once you get everything settled with the hide spots, make sure your temps are correct and let the snake settle in for a solid week, no handling. Nothing under 80 anywhere.

I agree with April, it does look like a CA Boa, not an Argentine.

The cage is about 2 feet by 2 feet. The snake is about 3 to 3 1/2 feet long.
I will go to home depot today and get him 2 clay pots. Should I just throw the log out or just keep it as a basking platform or something.

Jeff

You can keep the log. What I used to do before Hissy outgrew her half log, I used it as something that she could use to "safely" get from one hide to the next. But relying on it as your sole hide is just not going to work. As others have already said, grab a couple of clay pot saucers (not the pot itself, the saucer that it sits in) and you will have a much more relaxed and appreciative snake. (OK, snakes don't really appreciate stuff, but I like to personify them cuz it makes ME feel better)

Edit: If you hit up a home depot or Lowes or something, you can often find some saucers that already have a small chip in them or something that you can get for really cheap.

That is a big cage for a small snake.. I'd get more than two hides for the snake.