Help Feeding a Sand Boa

[Thoth]

I managed to pick up a small (7") male sand boa at the Reptile expo in NH a two weeks ago. It had just shed prior to my buying it. It hasn't eaten since i've gotten it and I'm worried. Also I don't know if it had eaten before that

I have tried:
- leaving a f/t pinkie with in a small container overnigth.
- tried braining the pinkie
- tried rubbing on a lizard for scent
- tried rinsing it in water
- tried cutting it into small pieces
- even tried a mealworm out of desperation.

I haven't tried a live pinkie yet, they are notoriously hard to find up here and the ones I've seen are way too big for it.
Anybody have any ideas.

 

[Madeline]

My Kenyan is a pig and we don't have any problems feeding her, but we usually take the f/t pinkie with those long tweezers and shake it so the snake can see it moving and she usually grabs it lets go of it to get a better grip and constricts and then she eats it.

Edit: Is she warm enough because if she is cold she might not eat.

 

[bengerno]

Hi,

If nothing works and you decide to forcefeed him, use chopped rat tail.. my friend has many small sand boas, and he forcefeed several of them in this way. But first you have to try living pinky. As mentioned temperature is very important, If too low or high it could be a problem (no feeding, regurgitating(I hope it is the good word )).

 

[OldHag]

Ive raised Kenyans for 4 yrs now. Ive only had one that was a picky eater. This is how I got him to eat.

I got a snake bag and put him and the pinkie in together (F/T pinkie) Tied the bag shut, put it back in the cage and left it there over night. I did this 3-4 times before he finally ate.
Kenyans are wonderful eaters. If one has a problem eating there could be something wrong with it. Maybe stress, sickness etc.
I think if you just got him he may feel stressed. How are you keeping him? I know they will have a hard time eating if they dont feel comfortable. I keep mine in crushed walnut, they like the "weight" over their heads and the walnut is a good heavy substrate. You can also use shredded aspen, NOT PINE, I also keep a small butter tub with a hole cut in the side in the cage. This is where I feed them so they dont ingest the substrate. The hot side of the cage should be about 90-92.
If he is only 7 inches hes just a new born, did they say he had eaten yet? He may not know what to DO with a pinkie
Try that bag thing a few times.. NOT every night. Let him rest and get comfortable with his new surroundings and try it every other night or so til he eats.
Good luck.

Michelle

 

[Thoth]

I've had him for two weeks now. He's in 10 gallon tank with 3 inches of crushed walnut (Desert Litter), there is a humid hide, waterdish and UTH as a heat source.

Other than moving the location of his tank there only other source of stress is when I dig him out to feed. I'll try the bag, I've been using a small tupperware thing.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[Daisey_Boo222]

did you ever say what species it was? Kenyan, Egyptian...? Because the advice may vary. You might have said it, I probably missed it and now I'm asking again feeling stupid .

 

[Thoth]

A quick update. Tried first a live pinkie with no luck.

Spoke to the breeder I got him from and he suggested that in his experience with young kenyans and rosys that if they ignore pinkies try a live fuzzy, whether becauses its furry or just larger they will attack and try to eat it. So my kenyan killed the the fuzzy, whereas before it ignored prey items. It was to big for it to swallow it. So I took it out and put in a live pinkie and it killed and ate it.

Now next feeding hopefully it'll go for a f/t pinkie but at least its eating.

Again thanks everybody for your help.

 

[apadora]

I've had success with erycine type boas by making a rodent "nest". These animals actively forage in the wild and often will encounter a nest full of baby rodents. Take a used toilet paper tube and stuff one end with toiled paper. If you have some shavings from a rodent cage, add some of those as well. Finally, add a pinky (or, a few live pinkies, thus the nest) and leave it in a corner. I've had great success doing this, and usually, the snake will eat the entire nest worth (if you have a baby, obviously, don't use too many pinkies...you can freeze any it doesn't eat).

Cheers,

Apadora