New in the game

[Adrian09]

My best friend and I both recently decided to get snakes. My friend got a Columbian Red Tailed Boa, I went with a Ball python.
I have had no problem with feeding even though the guy at the store said "their Balls were not eating". So to the point. My friend's snake is alot smaller, probably younger than mine. We have tried frozen then thawed pinkies and fuzzies. nither of them worked, so his girlfriend went to a pet store who sold live fuzzies. That worked, but unfortunatly the store sold out of them the next day now its been almost a month we have offered the sanke(Iris) food every three-five days. We even so far as to cut open the fuzzies brain to bring out the smell. She still wont eat. Please no matter what adivce you have, please submit to this thread please.

[Mike Schultz]

Almost a month is nothing to a snake, dont get too worried yet.

As for what to do... See if the pet store has the next size up live prey? May be a little too big, but better than nothing

[crusher]

i know i cant find live hoppers here in pittsburgh so i feed mine mice and my boa is just under 2 mo's old and she can eat it so just go get one of those just watch it though cause they can do damage to your snake

[Mike Schultz]

If you're worried, give the mouse a strong flick on the head before feeding. Will stun him, but not enough for the snake to think its dead

[starmom]

I have nothing to offer except to say that I am hoping that Jimi or Jo or Becky or any other long-term boa owner will see this thread and offer some valuable insight for you because, in my opinion, if the snake is very young, going a month without food would be a worry for me.....
You could always pm any of them to ask for their insight on your friends' boa.

[ncbloods]

A month without food is not a big deal for an adult boa, but it is cause for concern for a very young snake. Make sure your f/t are warm, and not just defrosted. You can also try dipping them in chicken broth. Stunning live mice is also worth considering.

If worst comes to worst, you can always breed your own rats.

I would be worried if I went to a petstore and they told me their snakes weren't eating.

Also, what's the temp/humidity at in the enclosure? Incorrect husbandry can/will cause snakes to stop eating.

[qiksilver]

try switching to live mice until the snake is of a size that it will be able to eat readily available rats.
At this point, just get the animal eating, and put some size and weight on, no need to get fancy. A young animal not eating can decline quickly, so I disagree with those that say not to worry.
But if it eats live, try live mice and just get it feeding. Once it's a good size and weight then you can worry about switching over to f/t or rats or both. There are always other options, but start there.

[mischevious21]

Well, I myself just got a little boy boa from Jimi, and when I just fed him for the first time last week he just seemed.. Uninterested. It was a F/T fuzzt rat (or "rat pup" as the store owner called it). He took a strike at it and coiled around it- then left it... So after a few minuted, I took the tongs and pushed it right up close to him, within just a few cm infromt of his face, and closed the lid (I feed out of the cage, in boxes). A few minutes later, I opened the lid to see him just finnishing up

So I've just came to the conclusion that despite only being with me for only two weeks, hes already spoiled enough to make me bring the food in close enough so that h doesnt have to work for it lol

[Mike Schultz]

A month without food is not a big deal for an adult boa, but it is cause for concern for a very young snake.

Didn't realize it was a young snake. Reading is helpful i guess D:

Yeah, try live/stunned or something a little more.... live-looking/smelling :p