Oscar won't eat

[oOSpOOkYOo]

I've had oscar for almost a month now and when I first got him he reluctantly ate and then would not eat for about a week. His eyes were milky so I knew he was going to shed. After that he'd eat like a mad man! I had to quickly move him up to fuzzies. He has had 2 fuzzies before (not at the same time), and I fed him in intervals of every 4 days. Basically he last ate a week from the 17th. He just has no interest and he just sits in his waterdish all day and night. Well most of the day and night. He is active outside of the cage and moves and looks normal, any thoughts? -sTEVE

p.s. his last shed was Aug 20. -sTEVE

[Panama_Red]

Young boas will shed quite often when fed a lot sounds like he's getting ready for a shed, sitting in his water, or it could be in the water because there is no hiding spot or to combat mites, all of these will put a boa off feed.

[oOSpOOkYOo]

Oh he has MANY places to hide. I made sure of it (see pic). He's got a habba hut, under some rocks, see the tree stump looking grape vine? I used a dremel and hollowed out the inside to make a nice cozy spot in there (that's his and my personal favorite), and behind the fallen tree stump. He is starting to get cramped because of his length, but i should have a boaphile 421D here anyday now. As for mites: I feed him only frozen/thawed prey to reduce the risk and I give him close examinations just about every day when I hold him. So I guess he is going to shed soon. He acted similar last time but his eyes were very milky, I guess that'll come later. b30.gif

-sTEVE

[Floyd]

I've had issues before with one of mine that wouldn't eat and what I did was take him out of his enclosure, and placed him in a decent sized tupperware box, (shoe boxes are what some call them)- poke a few holes, put a few paper towels at the bottom, place a heat mat under one side (no lights), and put the snake in there with the prey and walked away. leave it there for a few hours and turn off the lights. I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that these guys are more active during the sunrise, sunset part of the day rather than any other part of the day, and assuming that is correct, I would imagine that would also be when they are most likely to be on the prowl....I also have another that seems to be a little on the shy side when it comes to eating so I have to turn off the lights, cover his tank and all that other good stuff before he will even strike at his prey....

Just my 2 cents...

Regards,
Floyd

[dragons182]

My male boa is a finicky eater also. I have to put him in a misted box with the rats. I place the lid on the box and place the box on the heat mat. I have to cover the box with a towel and then he will start to eat. If I don't do this, then he will continue to run away from the food even though it is dead. It is wierd how he eats. But I had to keep playing around with different ways to get him to eat before I found the right one.

Maybe your boa is going into shed. Or he may be soaking to help him defecate. My boas do that sometimes. The beauty of owning snakes is learning the concept of patience. Just wait and see. It is almost impossible to put a snake on a set schedule to feed or to do anything.

[kasper22]

first off you probally don't need to feed him every four days, thats a pretty heavy feeding schedule. I would feed him around every 7 to 10 days. Like every one else said leave him in a "feed box" with a meal. Just don't leave him in the box with a live mouse or rat. bad things can happen if he doesn't want to eat. The most important thing is be patient, he'll eat when he is ready. I just had a boa go two months without eating.

[Doug]

HI,
 I had a finicky young Guyana, that wouldn't eat until I got the temps and humidty where she wanted it.
  So be sure its at least 82 on the cool side and the humidty is at lease 60%.  this worked for me.
we went from this at 6 wks
http://photo.redtailboa.org/albums/my-pets/holley.thumb.jpg

to today at around 20 mos almos 6 ft.
http://photo.redtailboa.org/albums/my-pets/Holley_0915b.sized.jpg
 Try and schedual your feeding cycles to the day, I use 3/5 cards., as the snake ages you should try and increase the delay to feeding my guyana eats every three weeks a large rat at 20 mos. I will proably cut her back  next spring to every 3-4 week feeding more isn't always better. they grow in spurts lenght  the width and so on. they look really thin around one year but then they fill out. Here's a pic of my male at one year he looks thin but has filled out without over feeding.
http://photo.redtailboa.org/albums/my-pets/Rudee.thumb.jpg
 He's a hungry little guy in the feed box..hehe
here's a more recent pic pre-shed ,,never feed your snake when they are gray, I don't handle touch or tick-off any of my boa's when they are pre shed
Ive heard its almost painful to them to be held during shed.
http://photo.redtailboa.org/albums/my-pets/Rudee_Pre_shed.thumb.jpg
.I ve heard they live longer if they aren't over fed..Just like people.. hehehe
    good luck they are sweet when they get big... hehe
   doug

psps here's a caresheet you should add to your favorites
I printed the whole thing and keep it in a notebook on my desk, and have given copies to new boa's owners..
cwm15.gif cwm15.gif
http://www.redtailboas.com/carelinks/carelinks.html
I usally read it during TV commercials in the living room,,,