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  1. #11
    BPnet Veteran Toad37's Avatar
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    They're from crawl cay. It's a small island off the coast of Panama. According to my book ( my boa bible lol) there's only about 8-10 wild boas on that island so it would make sense that food is scarce and they don't eat often. Im not sure about the amount of rain they get but that's something I'll try to research. I try to keep the humidity around 55-60 and it does pretty will with the cypress mulch I use.

    I just use hot water to thaw the frozen mice out and I take them out and offer after the prey reads 100-110. They eat every Thursday. The male took today but I didn't offer the female in hopes that if I wait till next Thursday-which will be 9 weeks!- she'll take it. If she doesn't take it off the tongs next Thursday I'll try leaving it in over night. Thank you everyone for your help!

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  3. #12
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Oh definitely try leaving the prey in overnight after offering it. That may be all she needs...the cover of darkness & privacy.

    It's best to thaw completely in cool water, btw...& only then once rodents are soft thru-out (thawed) to warm them up as needed. Thawing in hot water just
    promotes spoilage, & that might work against you, especially if you end up leaving the prey overnight. -It will have a head-start on spoiling and that may repel
    her from eating what she otherwise might have, especially if it takes a while for her to build up her courage.

    Anyway, good luck & keep us posted!

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  5. #13
    BPnet Senior Member AbsoluteApril's Avatar
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    I think 90+ is too hot for boas but as long as there's a gradient to choose from, it should be okay. I keep mine about 85-87 on the hot side. I'm going to go against the grain and say warming the feeder in hot water is okay, especially for a young, picky feeder. I've done that plenty of times with picky young bps and newborn mainland boas I'm dealing with now. I also agree to try leaving the food overnight as the next step to try. Generally they will prefer mice over rats to start, if she was taking f/t mouse hoppers for you before, I'd stick with those (or smaller as you tried).

    If leaving overnight doesn't work (some really do just like to take it when everything is quiet and still), the steps we take, with usually good results, are:
    First presenting prey a bit away from them where they can see it, hold with tongs on the ground and wiggle like a baby live pink would be... just helpless and wiggling around.
    If some interest but not a lot, move closer until it's actually touching the boas mouth. Sometimes this gets them to just go ahead and bite it.
    If no interest, actively moving away or just ignoring completely, then we bump it against and annoy the boa's tail with it, gets them irritated but it sometimes causes them to go "okay you lil bugger!' and bite and wrap and finally feed.

    We always try offering like the first step. Then leaving overnight. If still nothing, next week we try step 1 and then move on to those last two I mentioned.
    Normally once a baby starts feeding, then they are good so I hope your girl comes around soon now that she's back in the smaller size tub. *fingers crossed*
    ****
    For the Horde!

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  7. #14
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: Jill needs some help!

    Quote Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril View Post
    ... I also agree to try leaving the food overnight as the next step to try. Generally they will prefer mice over rats to start, if she was taking f/t mouse hoppers for you before, I'd stick with those (or smaller as you tried).

    If leaving overnight doesn't work (some really do just like to take it when everything is quiet and still), the steps we take, with usually good results, are:
    First presenting prey a bit away from them where they can see it, hold with tongs on the ground and wiggle like a baby live pink would be... just helpless and wiggling around.
    If some interest but not a lot, move closer until it's actually touching the boas mouth. Sometimes this gets them to just go ahead and bite it.
    If no interest, actively moving away or just ignoring completely, then we bump it against and annoy the boa's tail with it, gets them irritated but it sometimes causes them to go "okay you lil bugger!' and bite and wrap and finally feed.

    We always try offering like the first step. Then leaving overnight. If still nothing, next week we try step 1 and then move on to those last two I mentioned.
    Normally once a baby starts feeding, then they are good so I hope your girl comes around soon now that she's back in the smaller size tub. *fingers crossed*
    I agree. Snakes don't all "read the manual" to respond the same way...I do my share of varying the presentation...I've seen plenty of snakes that do best with a little
    "tap on the shoulder" (with the prey) so they turn & bite (yes, this is defensive, but if you stand very still, most snakes realize "Hmm, this tastes pretty good" & they eat.

    I've also gotten snakes to eat by sneaking the prey right up to their face & barely touching their jaw, & wham! they bite it, wrap & eat. Whatever theatrics it takes to get
    YOUR snake to eat is worth it & just part of the game. Just do your best to be "in the background". And offer at night if that's what your snake would do in the wild.

    I've raised quite a few rosy boas & also worked with some w/c rescues...they are snakes that can frustrate owners, but there's always some in EVERY species that just
    want "special treatment"...it's up to us to try until we figure out what works. Once we do, they often grow out of being so difficult...it's just a matter of getting them going.

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  9. #15
    BPnet Veteran Toad37's Avatar
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    I've tried bumping on various parts of her body and she just runs from it. One time I even tried following her with it to make her mad hoping she would take it and nothing. Man I thought BPs were stressful lol this boa has me goin crazy! I'll offer again next Thursday and leave it in there over night if she doesn't take it. I'll update next week. Thanks again everyone for the help!

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  11. #16
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    Re: Jill needs some help!

    Quote Originally Posted by Toad37 View Post
    I've tried bumping on various parts of her body and she just runs from it. One time I even tried following her with it to make her mad hoping she would take it and nothing. Man I thought BPs were stressful lol this boa has me goin crazy! I'll offer again next Thursday and leave it in there over night if she doesn't take it. I'll update next week. Thanks again everyone for the help!
    She sounds like one that will be happy then, if the mouse plays dead... Frustrating that she ate at first for you, but not now. Fingers crossed for ya!

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  13. #17
    BPnet Veteran Toad37's Avatar
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    Re: Jill needs some help!

    Update: I tried to feed her a f/t today after not offering last week and once again she adamantly refused. But this evening she was offered a live fuzzy and took it!! So she finally ate after 9 weeks! Only problem is the closest place to get one is about an hour's drive from me. So now I have a couple questions if anyone can help.
    1. What would've caused her to be turned off of f/t after eating 4 weeks in a row for me? Was it just a fluke with the live mouse or is something different (other than the love part of course) between the two?
    2. Where do I go from here? Do I keep offering live? And for how long? Should I try to offer a f/t next week or not? Can I choo choo train and try to get her back on f/t? Thank you everyone for all.ur help!

  14. #18
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: Jill needs some help!

    Quote Originally Posted by Toad37 View Post
    Update: I tried to feed her a f/t today after not offering last week and once again she adamantly refused. But this evening she was offered a live fuzzy and took it!! So she finally ate after 9 weeks! Only problem is the closest place to get one is about an hour's drive from me. So now I have a couple questions if anyone can help.
    1. What would've caused her to be turned off of f/t after eating 4 weeks in a row for me? Was it just a fluke with the live mouse or is something different (other than the love part of course) between the two?
    2. Where do I go from here? Do I keep offering live? And for how long? Should I try to offer a f/t next week or not? Can I choo choo train and try to get her back on f/t? Thank you everyone for all.ur help!
    I would try chain feeding 2 small items (the sum of which is not too big of a meal for her), the first being live, & the second, offered right after she swallows the f/t one &
    while she is still pumped up to feed eagerly. Note, thaw in cold water until soft, then warm it briefly & offer...thawing in hot water (too hot or too long) promotes spoilage
    and can change the smell/taste...as I said earlier. I would do all I could to have her eating f/t, for your convenience & her safety. Good luck!

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  16. #19
    BPnet Veteran Toad37's Avatar
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    Re: Jill needs some help!

    The plan is definitely to get her back on f/t purely for her safety. Next week I will try to chain feed. Or should I give her more than a week since this was her first meal in 9 weeks?

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  18. #20
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    Another small meal in a week shouldn't hurt. If she happens to go into shed in the next week though I wouldn't offer again until she was done. While most boas will eat while in shed, since this baby was a little finicky it won't hurt to wait.

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