New Boa first feed

[hooferinsane]

Ok got a new Boa a week ago, first feed tonight. My Royal python I take out of her enclosure to feed in another box. Is this what I should try with my Boa?
Have had to resort with the python after 5 refusals to leaving the large mouse (went back to this as she wouldn't feed) in her enclosure on wet tissue last night and she took it during the night
Will this perhaps work with a Boa if he is fussy?
Just one other question, although the warm end is the right temp for Boa, he is tending just to be in the cool end continuously - have a mat stat regulating temp, do you think I should turn it down a fraction?

Cheers


Brian

[hooferinsane]

Pic here (low res I know)

[Pyrate81]

Definitely wanna feed your boa in its cage. Its more secure for the snake. When it gets bigger and the snake is in food mode, you don't want to be fussing with taking it in/out. That's a recipe for receiving many bites.

Sounds like your BP doesn't feel secure eating in its home. What does your setup look like for it? I'd try adding clutter to the enclosure if there is a lot of open space.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[hooferinsane]

My BP has a piece of bark as a hide warm end and cool end there is a plastic cat dish full of water that she can actually go underneath of as well to keep cool. She has a very good temperament, and is about 12 inches long at present.

[chilliscale]

I'm with pyrate!
I had a big girl around 8' and couldn't imagine trying to handle right after feeding. It may be ok for now but give it five or ten years and you'll be asking for trouble moving a 30-40 lb boa in feeding mode. I had my girl at about 7' get me in feeding mode, the full bite, coil and the next 30 minutes removing teeth from my forearm. Just my take on it. Beautiful boa.

[DooLittle]

Pretty little baby. Feed it in the enclosure. You don't want to move a boa to feed. And they typically aren't fussy eaters. They tend to be eating machines. What is your temp on the hot side? My boas prefer it a bit cooler. They are usually on their cool side.

[Evenstar]

There is NO way on God's green earth I would ever feed an 8ft + boa in full feeding mode outside of its enclosure and then try to move it back again. I am a little strange, but not crazy.

1. Chances are, your boa won't refuse. They are not like BPs and tend to be garbage disposals.

2. If he IS picky, just leave the prey in there (I'm assuming you feed pre-killed or f/t??) and he will most likely feed sometime during the night.

3. Lower your temps a wee bit. Boas do seem to like it a touch cooler. 78 and 88 work well.

[chilliscale]

There is NO way on God's green earth I would ever feed an 8ft + boa in full feeding mode outside of its enclosure and then try to move it back again. I am a little strange, but not crazy.

hehe or leave the door open on the enclosure while you are puttering around your snake room on feeding day

[Gio]

All of that is good advice! Feeding in a separate tank is one of the biggest myths in the hobby. I think you're royal python will probably eat in its enclosure if you make it a little more comfortable in there for it with more clutter also don't use paper towels to feed on. See if you can find newsprint snakes can actually ingest paper towels. The Deviant Constrictors web page shows a boa that died after ingesting a paper towel with a rat on it. You are going to notice a significantly different feeding response from your boa. After they have eaten typically they will stay turned on for several hours sometimes even a day. I made the mistake of reaching in to remove newspaper when my boa had the tail of a rat still sticking out of its mouth he struck me and drew blood. I had no idea it was coming and didn't think he would do it while still ingesting a rat. Lesson learned. You will get everything figured out and will really enjoy your new snake.

Just one more note on the feeding response, at least my observation/experience. I will try to take the news print out after he has eaten, and now only use tongs to avoid a bite. I have used a hook to tap him and move him, and he has taken a shot at the hook and no amount of rubbing or tapping breaks his "feeding drive".

It's nothing anybody would want to deal with especially if the snake has some size.

[Powerline Reptiles]

I would certainly not take the boa out of cage to feed it. Our boa is super cage aggressive when it comes to food; very unlike a BP.