Kenyan sand boa not eating

pretty much what it says I got a sand boa a few weeks ago and it has not eaten yet in my care it does not appear to be shedding I keep it on fine grain sand and it gets clean water daily it has a basking spot @ 93 and ambient temp of 85-88 I offered it fuzzy mice once a week in a seperate enclosure any idea on why its not eating?

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Originally Posted by hardlucktattoo

pretty much what it says I got a sand boa a few weeks ago and it has not eaten yet in my care it does not appear to be shedding I keep it on fine grain sand and it gets clean water daily it has a basking spot @ 93 and ambient temp of 85-88 I offered it fuzzy mice once a week in a seperate enclosure any idea on why its not eating?

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Post some pics of the snake and your set up.

Where did it come from?

What was it eating there?

I dont have a camera I got it from a local breeder yes it was eating before I got it the tank is a ten gallon aquarium with a screen lid the snake itself is about 12 inches long and a little thicker than a dime but thinner than a nickel

How are you measuring temps?

What and how have you tried to feed?

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Originally Posted by wilomn

How are you measuring temps?

What and how have you tried to feed?

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I use two thermometers one on each side I try feeding thawed fuzzies I have tried dangling it and leaving it in the feeding box overnight neither has worked

What wattage bulb are you using?

What's your substrate?

What are you trying to feed? Mouse pink or rat?

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Originally Posted by wilomn

What wattage bulb are you using?

What's your substrate?

What are you trying to feed? Mouse pink or rat?

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its just a 60 watt bulb due to the size of the tank I am feeding f/t fuzzie mice its being kept on fine grain sand

How deep is the sand?

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Originally Posted by wilomn

How deep is the sand?

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about an inch and a half give or take

Switch to a 25 watt bulb and put a couple more inches of sand in there.

Wait a few days then put the snake in a small paper bag with the food item of choice, put the bag back in the tank in the middle of the tank and leave it alone overnight.

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Originally Posted by wilomn

Switch to a 25 watt bulb and put a couple more inches of sand in there.

Wait a few days then put the snake in a small paper bag with the food item of choice, put the bag back in the tank in the middle of the tank and leave it alone overnight.

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alright ill give it a shot in a few days

No such luck, Ive recently been informed that it only eats once a month. Which pretty much confirms my suspicion that it is an adult male and not the female it was sold to me as. Not really a big deal but I am glad I didnt buy another male yet. Ill just have to get it sexed by someone more familiar with sexing them. :taz:

My males eat more often than that. 12 inches is just baaaaarely breedable size.

Get a camera, post some pics of the top and bottom and ask if the guy you got it from has had any fecal checks done in the last six months on any of his snakes.

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Originally Posted by wilomn

My males eat more often than that. 12 inches is just baaaaarely breedable size.

Get a camera, post some pics of the top and bottom and ask if the guy you got it from has had any fecal checks done in the last six months on any of his snakes.

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fecal checks? I should probably know what that is. However I am rather embarassed that I do not. I guess it has to do with checking for poop, but what does that have to do with it? I do appreciate all the help

You either take a fresh poop to the vet or take the snake to the vet if it's a reptile vet and they can squeeze some gooey goodness out.

Then you check that for parasites.

If you take a sample from home, keep it moist, don't let it dry out. Keep it in the fridge, not the freezer, until you go to the vet.

It's really hard to say more without any pics.

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Originally Posted by wilomn

You either take a fresh poop to the vet or take the snake to the vet if it's a reptile vet and they can squeeze some gooey goodness out.

Then you check that for parasites.

If you take a sample from home, keep it moist, don't let it dry out. Keep it in the fridge, not the freezer, until you go to the vet.

It's really hard to say more without any pics.

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ill try to get a camera one day this week

No camera yet, but i did some measuring of my own it is 18 inches not 12 i will post pics hopefully tomorrow

I keep my big guy in aspen bedding lined with paper towels in the bottom. The sand seems to get in there eyes so I go with aspen and he can dig tunnels easier. My big guy didn't eat this past week either. Kinda strange since he always eats every weekend and he just shed about 2 weeks ago so he was off feed then back on. He just kills them and then leaves them there. Left them overnight with him temps are perfect 89/81 humidity about 56% and he is trying to get out, cleaned the cage tried to feed again and again he killed then left it. He is a strange boy, but it wouldn't hurt my guy to lose a little. :confused:

here are the pics finally of my ksb that wont eat
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...Picture014.jpg
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...Picture015.jpg
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...Picture016.jpg

that looks like a male to me the vent is a long ways up from the end of the tail and the spurs are large. females the vent is closer to the end of the tail and where the spurs are is more indented.

I really need some help it still has not eaten and it has been well over a month the only advice I have been able to get is to raise the heat up to 120 and that's ridiculous I have tried live feeding out of the tank in the tank leaving it overnight feeding in the morning at night nothing has worked I am running out of ideas It did shed about 2 weeks ago and still has not eaten yet idk what to do

My KSB wouldnt eat for me for over a month when I first got him . I tried everything but patience..hehe ..seems he will let me know when hes hungry. I find him just laying there with his head poking out waiting for his meal. I have to make sure the mouse is real hot and sorta pretend its alive by walking it around him its like doing the food dance :banana:..sometimes I am at this for 10 minutes or more as he measures it up. watching ..waiting for the right moment and strikes when hes ready. After figuring that out hes been eating every time since.. good luck and your guy will eat when hes good and hungry. Sometimes the weather patterns set them off too.

Wes gave you some great husbandry advice and asked for some pics - did you follow his advice? If your husbandry is good and you've gotten a negative fecal exam, he may just be stubborn. My male doesn't eat for long stretches of time during the breeding season. His first year, he was about the size of your guy. Eventually, he decided to eat. Currently, he is off feed again.

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Originally Posted by nwheat

Wes gave you some great husbandry advice and asked for some pics - did you follow his advice? If your husbandry is good and you've gotten a negative fecal exam, he may just be stubborn. My male doesn't eat for long stretches of time during the breeding season. His first year, he was about the size of your guy. Eventually, he decided to eat. Currently, he is off feed again.

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Yea I did I got about 3" of sand now and went to a 25 watt bulb I did provide pics I guess I will just wait it out and hope for the best

From the picture I would agree that you have a male.

Have you tried african soft furred rat pinkie/fuzzies?


One of our young sand boas didn't want to eat until we put him in a smallish deli cup half on half off a heating pad and he had to be left overnight that way. When we woke up in the morning the mouse pinkie was gone so every once in a while when he doesn't seem to want to eat that is what we do for him but instead of leaving him overnight we can fake it with a dark piece of fabric and within 10 minutes he is done. I hope that helps.