My Dumeril baby can't eat

I picked up my new baby on Sunday and set him up at home. He seemed to settle in rather well so last night i decided to give him his first meal with me.

I offered him a f/t pinkie rat and he definitely showed interest. He struck at it 9 times, hitting it every time but not holding on or wrapping the pinkie up! :confuzd:

I thought maybe the prey was too small so I offered him a fuzzie rat and got the same results!! :sigh2:

Do boa moms teach their babies how to hunt and he didn't catch on or is something else going on? Anyone have any ideas for a way i can get him to hold on? :worry:

Hi,

I don't know much about boas I'm afraid but it sounds more like he still hadn't settled into his new home and was striking more as a "go away" thing rather than a feeding response.

Hang in there I'm sure some more knowledgable boa keepers will be along shortly to help. :)



dr del

I thought that may have been the problem. So to sort of test the theory i left the mouse there and went to pick him up (risking a tag, i know). Nothing happened. I picked him and held him for a bit with no problem.

This is my first Boa. Pythons who don't eat are more my strong point. I've had more than a few problem eaters (balls) but have always been able to rectify it. Until now that is.

Hi,

Well , as a complete novice, all I can suggest is letting him settle in for a week with no handling and some hides in case he decides he wants to use them then try again. :confused:

Bring on the experts - you could try PM ing some of our more experienced members as well?


dr del

Ill probably do just that tomorrow. I did post it rather late.

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Originally Posted by Roswell

I picked up my new baby on Sunday and set him up at home. He seemed to settle in rather well so last night i decided to give him his first meal with me.

I offered him a f/t pinkie rat and he definitely showed interest. He struck at it 9 times, hitting it every time but not holding on or wrapping the pinkie up! :confuzd:

I thought maybe the prey was too small so I offered him a fuzzie rat and got the same results!! :sigh2:

Do boa moms teach their babies how to hunt and he didn't catch on or is something else going on? Anyone have any ideas for a way i can get him to hold on? :worry:

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As you are finiding out, Dumerils can be very finicky eaters.

Some things that might help:

(1) If you haven't already done so, make sure that you are providing a fairly deep substrate. Dumerils are primarily ambush predators and like to bury themselves in the substrate for a strike.

(2) Dumerils tend to have weird eating idiosyncracies - for example, I had one that would only eat if the lights were out and no one was watching. If there was ambient light in the room and I tried to watch him eat, he would strike, coil and lose interest.

(3) What was he being fed from the breeder? I had a heck of a time getting ours onto f/t rodents. I had to resort to pre-scenting with anoles and then leaving them in with the snake over night.

(4) Even though he may seem to be adapting well, leave him alone for a week. Keep him out of a high traffic area and resist the urge to check on him too often. Make sure you are offering him a nice deep substrate and try again when the week is up.

I don't know much about dumerils, but with balls and red tails if you don't give them long enough to settle in they won't eat. some may take 2 days some may take a week or two. and if they still don't eat, i like to dip the f/t in chicken broth and that works really good with the boas and sometimes balls. like i said though i don't know much about dumerils except that they are some cool boas.good luck with the feeding.

I'll definitely deepen the substrate! and let him settle for the FULL week.


Thanks a ton for the advice! :D :)

My dums did that already when I tried to offer food. I usually offer boas food the first day but the dums did the same pissy striking attacks at the rats.

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

My dums did that already when I tried to offer food. I usually offer boas food the first day but the dums did the same pissy striking attacks at the rats.

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What happened?