Hungry and afraid!

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Originally Posted by JoshSloane

BPs are often nutcases. Totally normal. I agree to stop trying to change so much and just let him be. Maintain appropriate conditions and have plenty of water available. He will go back on feed when he is ready.

I love BPs but these issues are what drove me to focus on boas the last couple years. Evolution will kick in and your guy will pound down a rat soon. Try to stay calm.

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I was thinking about a boa too. But i could never give up on my ball pythons.

Probably he is a nutcase, but i'm freaking out because it's the first time that i experienced something like this. Plus i would love to see him grow and thrive.

He will eat again, don't worry. Just give him a breather.

Once he has had a break there is a whole litany of thigs you can try. But for now just relax.

It sounds like your temps are good. I would never suggest trying a new prey or new form of a prey to a royal they tend to imprint and will not sway from that. I would suggest this. Turn off his light for 7 days, cover the front of the enclosure with a cloth also for 7 days, don't do anything but peek in during the day and see if spot cleaning is needed. If you use paper I might suggest a temporary switch to particle substrate so you can spot clean and not need to replace everything. Makes sure that he isn't going to shed. and if there is no shed sign after 7 days try this.

After sunset place a thawed rodent (what every you have been feeding) out beside the vents or door crack for at least 20 min. If your snake is not out interested toss that one and wait for a further 5 days. If he is make sure to heat the rodent (I use a hair dryer) up I personally measure the temp and make sure it is warm, 37ºC is normal excited rat body temps this is what I use. Then feed.

It is odd for a little one to refuse, since your temps are good, (what was the air temp?) it is likely the issue is stress, as many have guessed.

In the classes on animal care I did for work, they used a term that applies here, 'skillful neglect' sometimes the best thing you can do is to do nothing.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

It sounds like your temps are good. I would never suggest trying a new prey or new form of a prey to a royal they tend to imprint and will not sway from that. I would suggest this. Turn off his light for 7 days, cover the front of the enclosure with a cloth also for 7 days, don't do anything but peek in during the day and see if spot cleaning is needed. If you use paper I might suggest a temporary switch to particle substrate so you can spot clean and not need to replace everything. Makes sure that he isn't going to shed. and if there is no shed sign after 7 days try this.

After sunset place a thawed rodent (what every you have been feeding) out beside the vents or door crack for at least 20 min. If your snake is not out interested toss that one and wait for a further 5 days. If he is make sure to heat the rodent (I use a hair dryer) up I personally measure the temp and make sure it is warm, 37ºC is normal excited rat body temps this is what I use. Then feed.

It is odd for a little one to refuse, since your temps are good, (what was the air temp?) it is likely the issue is stress, as many have guessed.

In the classes on animal care I did for work, they used a term that applies here, 'skillful neglect' sometimes the best thing you can do is to do nothing.

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Thanks for the input. Well that is exactly what i'm doing...thawing the rats 3 feet away from the enclosure for a couple of hours having only a ir red lamp on and warming them up with a hair dryer at around 23:00. 100 degrees and then give it a go. I usually start with the roommates under him which need 1-2 seconds before grabbing the rats and start constricting. If it's stress i really don't know why...haven't been handling him more than a few times since i got him because i wanted to establish a good feeding response and never scared him or hurt him (at least that i know of). Also i live alone and am away working or sleeping almost 20hours a day, so i'm already "skillfully neglecting" him.

My ambients are around 78...but as i said the heat pad under the pvc is almost half the floor of every compartment so is getting enough heat from it. He still has a lot of hiding places in the cold side.

I will try your suggestions although i think it's pretty disappointing that i'm not able to hold him or behave normal to him. I mean i want to do what's best for him but i would really like to have him behaving like my other bps. And I'm leaving for 10 days next week and already feel bad for leaving him hungry (that is if he doesn't eat next week)

:/