Male off feed

[sweety314]

Hey y'all,

Seeking assistance and opinions from you biga$$ boa breeders....(Jimi.. U out there?!? )

Wrigley's gone off his feed, for 3 weeks now. In the past, he's only gone off when he's blue. He shed about a month ago (I'd have to check his card for the actual date) and he's not "due" again for about 4-6 more weeks.

His tub is 85/91. Even tho' he's almost 3.5 years, he was still using hides, until he outgrew the largest I had.

Could he be off feed b/c it's cooling down and approaching breeding season type weather? The room is all natural lighting, and the light cycle is just what comes in the window. I don't have any addtnl lighting. When I feed at night, the room is lit w/red light.

I know going hungry isn't going to hurt him in the least...the guy was a good eater and he's nice and stout but I'm just wondering if he's doing his own thing getting ready for a breeding season...or maybe Hera's releasing pheromones and this is the first time he's affected??? This isn't typical behavior for him.


Thanks!

RuLyn

[sweety314]

Would some pah-leeeze comment and offer some suggestions????

[Chandler reptiles]

I am not some big breeder, I have one pair of BCI and dumerills, but neither of males go off food for breeding. Now I imagine they could just like some of my bp's and corns go off food but I have more than one of each so it may just be a snake by snake sort of thing.

If he is healthy and doesn't have any visible signs of a problem then I wouldn't be to concerned yet.

[Rakk101]

I am not a big breeder like Jimi but here in Illinois the temperature and light cycle has changed a ton already, it could have him getting ready for breeding season as you say. If he is a healthy snake I would not worry about it much

[starmom]

Well, I'm not anything but me, and I only have 3 boas...

What I do have to convey is part of a conversation that I had with Jimi a while ago regarding this very issue. I was uncertain as to whether to get another female (as I already had two) or to get a male. I asked him if he had ever experienced males behaving differently during breeding season when they were housed around females.

As I recall, he reported that it has never been much of an issue at all. I did wind up getting another female (I need female energy in my house) and so have not directly experienced what occurs when males and females are housed near each other.

Perhaps this might help a bit. I would encourage you to email, pm, or give Jimi a call. Take care.