With a red tail boa that my husband got almost two weeks ago, he is having a hard time feeding her, what to do

Question

My husband got a red tail boa almost two weeks ago, he tried to feed her and she want eat, she ate before he got her and the rat that she has eatten has not exactly digested and passed through yet. What should I do? Should he wait a little longer to feed her or what? Can somebody please help me out. How long does it take to actually digest? What all do I need to know about how to raise a snake? Please tell me what I need to know about feeding also.

Answer 1

Feeding
As a rule, younger snakes should be fed more frequently than adults. Smaller snakes can be feed every 5-7 days, intermediate snakes every 10-14 days, and full grown snakes every 3-4 weeks. Feeding should be adjusted to maintain a good body condition in your snake. Keep in mind that many snakes in captivity are overfed, and obesity can be a problem. Hatchling snakes can be fed mice, moving up to rats and then rabbits (one per feeding) as the snake grows larger. An adult will eat a few rats at a meal, or one rabbit.

Never feed a snake a prey item larger than the widest part of the snake. Also, avoid handling the snake for at least 24 hours after a meal, or regurgitation might occur.

Generally boas like to hide with their prey to eat it. Don't be surprised if your snake disappears into a hide with its meal and you don't see it for a while. It is a good idea to feed snakes in a separate enclosure, so that the snake only associates feeding with that location and is less likely to mistake your hand for food everytime you put your hand in the cage. An opaque enclosure will help a boa feel secure while eating.

Feeding time is the time when most care is required handling boa constrictors (as with any other snake). Do not feed by hand (increases risk of accidental bites), and since boa constrictors hunt primarily by their sense of smell, wash your hands really well after handling food, or the snake might strike at your hand. A handling stick can help push the snake away from the cage door at feeding time to help prevent problems.

Answer 2

Just a couple of thoughts. Has she been left alone to acclimate to her new home for 2 weeks or has she been handled a lot? She may need more time to settle in.

How old is she? Age and size will dictate how fast they digest and how often they will eat.

Does she have an Under Tank Heat pad, set at around 85 degrees (using a thermostat or dimmerswitch and probe thermometer). Very necessary for digestion.

This website has good info on food and size:

http://www.redtailboas.com/general_care/general_care.html#feeding

Answer 3

It may just not like what you are trying to feed it. If it is used to frozen, go with that. If it is big enough for rats, then it can definitely go for a while with out eating. Mine gets hungry for a large rat like clockwork every week, but only poos about once a month. Find out from the previous owners the feeding schedule it is used to and what kind of food it was on. You may have more luck. Also, it is getting ready to be cold outside, so be careful of it going into hibernation, which is not good for snakes.

Answer 4

ok the likely hood is that she won't eat while she is still digesting, i always wait for my snakes to poo before even thinking about offering food again. In order to digest their food they need optimum temps, check some care sheets and make sure the temps are good, too low and she won't be able to digest and it will make her sick, as the mouse will start to rot inside her.

if you have only just aquired her, then i suggest seting up her tank correctly then leaving her alone for a couple of weeks to get used to her new surroundings. Food for a snake isn't like food for us, the can go several months without eating, so leaving her for a while won't hurt.

When you do offer her food, i suggest either taking her out of the viv or at least using tongs to hold the mouse, you don't want a 10foot boa thinking you have/are food every time you go into her viv. so don't let her associate you with food.

Size of food to be offered should be no bigger than 1.5 times the girth of the thicketst part of her body. perhaps a little less than 1.5 to start with. i suggest prekilled rodents, rats or mice, steer clear of hamsters and chicks as they can get hooked on them, and the nutritional value isn't as good as that of mice and rats.

After the initial 2 week period where you leave your snake to settle, regular handeling is always good, you need to make sure you can handle her at this stage, and as she grows you will find better techniques for coping with her size. you both need to get used to each other, Boa's are typically docil, but have a great feeding response, hence why i say don't let her associate you with food. My red tail is as placid as anything, but when she gets a whiff of mouse she goes wild, and very protective over her 'kill'.

Good luck and email me [e-mail] if you have any probs

Answer 5

I know reptiles need heat to help them digest. Do you have proper heat sources? A basking lamp? Or a heat rock?

Answer 6

snakes can go awhile without food. try offering her food every other day, when she is hungry she will eat