RTB feeding help

[ianpudlich]

hi.i bought a 6 foot red-tail boa 2 week ago and it hasn't for just over a month.it refuses a f/t mouse.the place i got it from says it last fed on a live rat but refuses a f/t rat.when i had the snake out i noticed the breathing sounded a little deep with a slight wheeze.also a couple of red blotches near its head.the belly scales are also pink but i think this is normal isn't it for a rtb.is feeding the snake a live rat a good idea because i'm a little concerned about the damage it could do.any advice please?

[STORMS]

If he was eating live rats before, I would stick with live for a little while (a few feedings - get him on a schedule) and then you could try to switch to F/T. Moving to a new "home" is pretty stressful, I wouldn't recommend changing the type of food he is eating too at the moment. How long have you had him? Did he get at least a week to "settle" in to his new surroundings? What is his setup like? Temps? Humidity? How are you measuring temps & humidity?

Also, I would not recommend handling him (other than for cleaning) until he is eating regularly for you.

I'm sure someone with RTB knowledge will chime in soon

*EDIT* Just realized you did mention you have had him 2 weeks.

[ianpudlich]

cheers mate.i've got the setup in a 4 foot vivarium with a 50w daytime bulb and a 50w night glow bulb.i guess i'll stick to a live rat for a while then.i'm just worried the rat will harm the snake ie bites.my other 4 snakes all take f/t with no problem so feeding live is a new experience for me.is there a possibility the snake could have a RI with the slight weezing/red blotches? thanks for the advice

[Patrick Long]

If it is in fact 6', a mouse will not cut it.

Larger snakes do sometimes wheeze when agitated, but that does not always mean RI.

If you hear crackling, bubbling sound, then THATS an RI.

I have never heard about red blotches mean RI.

Get a coat hanger. If the rat tries to bite your snake, put the coat hanger in the rats mouth.

[Mighty Monty]

I'm going to level with you, and if i'm wrong, i'm sure somebody will chime in and call me out, but from the sound of it, your setup is all types of wrong..that's my first response.

2. I don't know how anybody else does it, but i had a snake that would not take F/T, only live, i was terrified doing it because i once had a BP that took a nasty bite to the face and eventually didn't make it because of eating habits. Sooooo...now don't think i'm some horrible person, because i have just as much as respect for prey as i do the animal i'm feeding it, i use to breed rats and loved them like a dog or cat. However, i would take live rats, and just give them a good thump against the wall or some kind of surface than feed it to my snake that wouldn't take F/T, now it was weird because it would not take F/T, however it would take a rat that had been knocked out. after about 3 feedings i went back to trying F/T with him and he started taking it, and he's been on it since.

Where i'm going with this, i don't know. but i'd def. get your setup a little better, to me 4ft tank for a 6fter doesn't sound great to me, neither does just one 50watt bulb for heat, unless it's in a room that's rather warm. What are his/her hides like, if any? Humidity, the usual questions.

I'll let somebody with all the experiance give you the advice, but i had to throw in my 5 cents.

[mrmertz]

Gopher, our Surinam RTB was raised on live rats and had a scabbed over hit from one to prove it. As a challenge, we bought him anway.

After about 2 weeks to let him settle in I did the first feeding attempt with an FT rat and warmed it also with a hair dryer. The room was dark also. He seemed interested, but unsure. Soooo, I left the rat draped over his climbing branch and headed off to the pet shop to get a live rat...just in case. By the time I got back home - viola! He had ate it.

The second feeding was done the same way. By the third the room was dimly lit and he also took that one. Of course now, he takes 'em any ol' time! My reasoning to have the room darkened was to have him rely more on smell and heat signature and limit as much as I could the sight aspect of it. Anyways - he bought it!

It just takes a lot of patience and the longer he/she goes the more hungry it will get which will play in your favor.

So far as an RI - what Patrick said above.

And as tank size goes, my rule of thumb is for every foot of snake, 1 square foot of tank area.

Oh yeah, RTB's need belly heat in order to aid in digestion. For whatever wierd reason as compared to other snakes, they seem to have a rather sensative digestive track which means you will have to get an UTH. Keep in mind heat travels up, not down. Gopher has 2 in his tank - both low wattage as he likes to borrow under the substrate. If he doesn't get under the substrate after eating - guaranteed 100% of time - on the third day he will regurge his rat.

Yes it's disgusting, but trust me, the smell is 10 times worse than it looks.

Patience is a virtue. If all of your other variables are "dead on" remember...you are dealing with a creature that has the brain approximately the size of a chick-pea. Out smart it.

[mrmertz]

Just wanted to clarify my above post on tank size. That's a minimum for the snakes current size so if you are planning to keep it any length of time of course you would need larger but it gives you a "ball park" idea of what size and up you have to look at.

It's 3:03 am, time to hit the hay!