Rosy boa baby will NOT eat

[Kneff1175]

hey everyone,
I am beginning to have an issue and it is really worrying me. I have a 4 month old Rosy and she shows absolutely no interest in food. I have tried every single trick in the book. Or at least on the net. 3 weeks ago she looked so bad I had to take her to have her force fed. She has had to be force fed once since then. She just show no feeding response at all. Once the pinky is down her throat she's fine. Does not regurgitate and poops fine. She just will not eat. Her temps are 90 in the bask zone, 80 on cool side. She's in a smallish container with two hide, water dish, sand to burrow, and she seems active at night, and alert whenever I handle her. So I'm lost. Is this normal for Rosys? Will she out grow this? Should I keep manually feeding her. I feed pinkies, and I've tried live and F/T. Could the pinkies intimidate her? She's very little. I just want her happy and healthy. There is no sign of illness. She is such a sweetheart, and I just don't wanna lose her!

[Rattlehead]

Do you try to feed her in the terrarium, or in another container? Have you tried 'braining' the pinks? Do you usually try to feed her when she's more active (maybe leaving the pinky in the container overnight?)

[Sylphie]

The hard thing is that she don't want live too. But you can try scenting with adult live mouse, because they having a stronger scent than pinkies with no hair at all. That's what is working with my corns when they are off food recently.

The problem with force feeding is that they still don't eat on their own, and it can create a circle of: snake don't eat - snake force feed - snake won't eat because of the stress of force feed. But ofc it's good if the snake is losing a lot of weight, because you're saving his/her life.

[fedupdon]

sounds like to me she is stressed out . i would lv her alone letting her calm down keep plenty of water in her cage .i have found that most baby snakes don always feed on their own until they settle down keep your temps up give her a dark hide try lving the pinkie in the cage overnight just be sure to that nothing is in the room with i have had dog,catscaused my baby snakes to become stressed .i always have had good luck in feeding just by lv them alone and in a dark place once they start eating on their own then you can move her back out rosy will eat lizards but can be switched to pinkies easily

[Albert Clark]

How long have you had her? Did you make the seller aware of her feeding woes? Maybe it's a good idea to find out what the seller was feeding her b4 you got her. Maybe she doesn't recognize the pinkies as food bc they are to small? I would address these points as I am placing her back in her enclosure, not to be handled whatsoever until she takes a couple of meals on her own.

[Kneff1175]

I ordered her from Backwater, when she came she was very,very small. She did not eat for nearly 2 months. I emailed backwater and they said they make sure that all hatchlings eat 3 times, and they feed every Friday. However, I have my doubts because I telling you she was surprisingly small. Do snakes have runts? Or am I equating her to mammals too much? Is it possible the man I took her to to get her force fed hurt her. I've read it is easy to break jaws. She has no swelling though. But sometimes it seems like she can not open her mouth. Tongue flicks good. I've tried it all. Braiding, separate container, Dixie cup, dark rooms, overnight, everything. I scented a pinky with my tegu, nothing. I haven't tried feeding a lizard or frog though. I am at a loss. I really love this little guy. Can I be babying her too much? Worrying too much? Her issues have just made her work a special place in my heart. I do not want her to suffer.

[Sylphie]

Kneff, I totally know what you mean by worrying a lot about troublesome "child". I'm the same with my blizzard corn at the moment.

I would try lizard/frog or like I said scent the pinkie/fuzzie with adult live mouse (I know that can be hard, but maybe in pet store they will give you some of their mices bedding or something like this). How often do you try to give her prey? I heard that snakes can go off food if you are giving them preys all the time... I don't know what other can you do, maybe someone more experienced will have a good advice.

[Albert Clark]

Yes, snakes produce runts. Backwater said they feed their animals 3 times but what specifically did they give to your rosy boa? Whatever you do don't ever force feed your guy again. There is what's called "assist feeding" where a prey item is placed into the mouth of the snake far enough back to entice him to begin to consume the prey on his own. That shoud only be attempted if the animal is very severely malnourished. Then tube feedings are much less stressful on the snake. Why don't you consider a herp vet wellness visit? It might be something really minor that we all are missing but the vet will see. The animals jaws may be injured anyway.:) :) Good luck

[Kneff1175]

She is still not eating. I had to place a pinky in her mouth and give it a light push for her to eat. This is twice now. Also her skin looks like it's pruning up. I included a pic of what it looks like. It is usually worse than it looks, I just soaked her for a few. And she has always been a very slow mover. I have six other snakes and have never had this problem. I don't want her to die, but I don't want her to suffer. I use cypress, her temp on the hot side is 100 in the day and her cool side is 80ish. She has 2 hides. Humidity is usually 50. But the last few days I've sprayed her tank because I'm worried she may get dehydrated. I know they supposedly go long periods without water, but she's not wild so if she can have water why not give it to her. She has got me totally stumped. Are they just difficult when they are babies as a species or am I doing something. I'm lost and there are no real herp vets here. Any suggestion are helpful.

[bigsnakegirl785]

So wait, you're housing your rosy boa on sand?

Have you considered having x-rays done to see if it's impacted? Sand is a serious no-no for just about any reptile (the few exceptions are not common in the pet trade), and having your rosy boa go off feed is huge red flag paired with the improper bedding. Sand causes impaction and can cause infections if a grain is caught in soft tissues such as the cloaca, lip, nostril, etc.

I first suggest completely cleaning out your enclosure, and replacing it with something else. Paper towels would be my #1 choice right now with it being sick, paper towels will help you to easily track bowel movements or anything unusual. If you really want to use particulate bedding, switch to aspen.

Once the bedding is changed, even if it hasn't caused impaction yet, keep trying to get it to eat with the advice provided. If you change the bedding to something appropriate at least you can rule out that part.

(Just read in the newest post that you're using cypress, so I'm confused as to what you're actually using here. Is it sand or cypress? Or do you just offer a box of sand for it to burrow in? I'm confused where the "sand to burrow in" is coming from at this point.)

[ManSlaughter33]

[bigsnakegirl785;974604]So wait, you're housing your rosy boa on sand?

Just curious where you ready sand? I read Cypress.
EDIT I see the sand part . Sorry

[Aaron_S]

Alright let's slow down and take a look here.

1. I'm going to assume you've since changed the sand to cypress. Wise choice.

2. Is the hot spot 90 or 100? Why is the cool side so much cooler than the hot side? I would raise that up to 85 since you say it's "80ish" which means it can be in the high to mid 70s.

3. I'm going to assume you still handle this snake. It looks that way from the type of pictures you're taking. Stop that. Entirely. The snake isn't going to become some evil creature if you stop for a few weeks. Think of the alternative, you could be killing your beloved pet.

4. Stop trying so many things. Stick to one and go with it. I recommend live pinkies or live fuzzy mice. Just one. Once a week. At night. Drop it in the enclosure and leave it overnight.

5. Side note, your snake may not live in the wild but it's body still acts like it is. Snakes are made to retain humidity pretty well so your snake doesn't need to be sprayed daily just because you think it does. It's fine with access to a water dish. It will do as it pleases.

6. Your snake doesn't need soaks. Stop that. Refer to #3.

7. Double check all your gauges/instruments for checking humidity and heat. They could be faulty and giving off wrong readings.

[PsychoSnake]

Alright let's slow down and take a look here.

1. I'm going to assume you've since changed the sand to cypress. Wise choice.

2. Is the hot spot 90 or 100? Why is the cool side so much cooler than the hot side? I would raise that up to 85 since you say it's "80ish" which means it can be in the high to mid 70s.

3. I'm going to assume you still handle this snake. It looks that way from the type of pictures you're taking. Stop that. Entirely. The snake isn't going to become some evil creature if you stop for a few weeks. Think of the alternative, you could be killing your beloved pet.

4. Stop trying so many things. Stick to one and go with it. I recommend live pinkies or live fuzzy mice. Just one. Once a week. At night. Drop it in the enclosure and leave it overnight.

5. Side note, your snake may not live in the wild but it's body still acts like it is. Snakes are made to retain humidity pretty well so your snake doesn't need to be sprayed daily just because you think it does. It's fine with access to a water dish. It will do as it pleases.

6. Your snake doesn't need soaks. Stop that. Refer to #3.

7. Double check all your gauges/instruments for checking humidity and heat. They could be faulty and giving off wrong readings.
+1

I agree, she sounds stressed. Dial in her temps so you know them exactly. 100 on the hot side is too hot. Lower it to at least 90-95. 80-85 on the cool side.

Is she in a glass terrarium? I had a stressed out adult boa constrictor that would not eat at all because he felt too exposed in a 75 gallon terrarium with one hide. Once I put him in a smaller plastic tub with the same hide he has eaten faithfully for me ever since. I also have a very shy baby green anaconda that will only eat for me if a) I don't disturb him or his accessories at all during feeding day, b) I feed him around dusk, c) place the warm thawed rodent just outside his hide and leave it, and d) I don't watch him. In fact I cover his tub entirely with a towel to make sure he feels safe. I peek under the towel after about 1-2 hours to see if he ate his rat. I could only get him to eat voluntarily once a month after I first got him.

The more you bother a stressed out snake the more stressed they become. Force feeding and even assist feeding is traumatic, which is one reason why it's not recommended much. Do not take her out for handling, bathing, or anything else unless it's absolutely necessary. Put her vivarium in a low traffic area and cover most of it so it's dark, quiet, and secluded. Don't screw around with things in her terrarium. Avoid spaying her with water. It's probably scary to her. She needs peace and quiet. Offer food every five days but not more than that.

Have you tried offering live in a cup and placing the cup in her terrarium? With live pinkies you can leave them alone with your rosy because they are completely defenseless (unlike older mice). Pinkies shouldn't intimidate her. She just won't eat if she doesn't feel her environment is safe.

Now I don't want to worry you, but there are some important signs to look for if your rosy is getting critical: if you can see her spine protruding or her body develops a triangular shape she needs to be assist fed or force fed by a vet asap. Lethargy and weakness is a bad sign too. Lethargy is not the same as being slow. Rosies are naturally slow movers.

Also it is not normal for a baby rosy to refuse food like that. It could be a result of poor breeding and/or being stressed out from being shipped on an airplane and then not acclimating to the new home well. Rosies are generally little monsters when it comes to food, however some are more easily stressed than others. It took eight months for my first rosy to eat reliably for me.

[marvelfreak]

hey everyone,
I am beginning to have an issue and it is really worrying me. I have a 4 month old Rosy and she shows absolutely no interest in food. I have tried every single trick in the book. Or at least on the net. 3 weeks ago she looked so bad I had to take her to have her force fed. She has had to be force fed once since then. She just show no feeding response at all. Once the pinky is down her throat she's fine. Does not regurgitate and poops fine. She just will not eat. Her temps are 90 in the bask zone, 80 on cool side. She's in a smallish container with two hide, water dish, sand to burrow, and she seems active at night, and alert whenever I handle her. So I'm lost. Is this normal for Rosys? Will she out grow this? Should I keep manually feeding her. I feed pinkies, and I've tried live and F/T. Could the pinkies intimidate her? She's very little. I just want her happy and healthy. There is no sign of illness. She is such a sweetheart, and I just don't wanna lose her!
I high lighted the problem with your set up. You should only set a small water dish in the cage once every three to four days. Leave it for no more than 24 hours then remove. Humidity is not good for Rosie. If the humidity to high it will cause you all kinds of problems.

[Kneff1175]

Thanks. I will try all of your advice. I'm pretty much tapped out though. Meaning I have tried everything. She's in a ten gallon, two hides, 93 on the hot side. Drops to 85 at night. Cold side is 83. I check with a digital infrared therm. I've tried live, f/t,scented, if I hadn't assisted her eating twice she would be dead. I'm at the point where I'm going to leave it as it is. I'll offer her a pinky every five days. If she doesn't have a drive to survive I guess I will let nature take its course. I just don't wanna see her waist away and suffer.

[ManSlaughter33]

try braining. sounds gross but puncture the pinkys head (FROZEN THAWED PINKY BTW) till the brains come out a bit. I thought I tried everything with my sand boa.. I thought she was going to die.... I brained the pinky and i hadnt even lowered it to the tub and she shot out like a rocket and snagged it.. i've done it everytime since and she eats everytime.

[Albert Clark]

Kneff, try switching the substrate to aspen also. Most Rosy boas are a Mexican species but some are indigenous to the hills and rocky areas of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. They don't require high or even medium amounts of humidity. So drier is better with Rosies. Water dish is fine , keep it very clean. You can stop misting the enclosure bc that is absolutely not indicated for them. Dry substrate should be aspen. Once that is accomplished , no handling until she has taken 3 meals on her own. :blink: Rosy boas are for the most part a desert, dry climate species. That is for the North American sub species (lichanura trivergata trivergatta) AKA Mexican Rosy Boa.

[PsychoSnake]

Just keep trying. Dying of starvation is a slow painful death. If the only thing that's working is assist/force feeding, continue doing that but always offer first.

[Kneff1175]

update....I had to force feed again as it had been 3 weeks since her last meal. I covered the front off her cage. Place the heat on a thermostat, took out the water dish, stopped touching or spraying her and that still did not work. I did not want to FF but my wife was very worried and pretty much threatened to show me what it was like to go so long without food. But really we were very worried. Anyhow shes digesting that, she didnt run and hide which I hope is a good sign. I have left her completely alone, nly to peer over the top to make sure she did not throw the pinky up. Everything was fine this morning. But I am not going to FF this snake her entire life. What am I doing wrong. Did I just get a defective snake?

[PsychoSnake]

Some snakes are force fed for an entire year before eating on their own. But once they start they are fine afterwards.

[Ciriculam]

Do you try to feed her in the terrarium, or in another container? Have you tried 'braining' the pinks? Do you usually try to feed her when she's more active (maybe leaving the pinky in the container overnight?)


That's what I do, but Most off the time my snake eats them once i leave him alone in the dark.

[Aaron_S]

Thanks. I will try all of your advice. I'm pretty much tapped out though. Meaning I have tried everything. She's in a ten gallon, two hides, 93 on the hot side. Drops to 85 at night. Cold side is 83. I check with a digital infrared therm. I've tried live, f/t,scented, if I hadn't assisted her eating twice she would be dead. I'm at the point where I'm going to leave it as it is. I'll offer her a pinky every five days. If she doesn't have a drive to survive I guess I will let nature take its course. I just don't wanna see her waist away and suffer.

update....I had to force feed again as it had been 3 weeks since her last meal. I covered the front off her cage. Place the heat on a thermostat, took out the water dish, stopped touching or spraying her and that still did not work. I did not want to FF but my wife was very worried and pretty much threatened to show me what it was like to go so long without food. But really we were very worried. Anyhow shes digesting that, she didnt run and hide which I hope is a good sign. I have left her completely alone, nly to peer over the top to make sure she did not throw the pinky up. Everything was fine this morning. But I am not going to FF this snake her entire life. What am I doing wrong. Did I just get a defective snake?

Your first post contradicts your second post.

You responded to my post posted on 9/21 on 9/30. Which doesn't give you much time to take "all of our advice". Or to allow nature to take it's course.

Further, you have no real proof that if you "didn't force feed the snake it would be dead." The fact that the snake hasn't died yet tells me this is untrue.

If it were that close to dying from starvation it's organs and body would have begun shutting down already and you forcing food down it's throat would most likely have caused it to die. Don't give yourself credit you don't deserve. The snake is surviving on it's own.

At any rate, no you didn't get a defective snake. You simply refuse to put into place the proper advice. Since I refuse to help those not willing to take the advice I'll simply wish for the snake to do better.

[Kneff1175]

You again. I really wish you would stop commenting on my post. Look at the tone of all other replies. Nice and helpful.[/QUOTE] My first one was.
Second who's is the proper advice? yours? Why. Because you were the first to get in line to moderate?

I don't know why you have a thing about me being a moderator. It doesn't make my experience better or less than anyone elses. There's been a ton of advice given and I haven't seen you really take any of it.

Third Your statement that theres no proof she would be dead if I didnt force feed her is really kinda foolish dont you think. No. I think making statements as fact is foolish.

I really dont even think I meant to respond to your post in the first place as I avoid anyone who tags themselves as a moderator like the plague. You should really just moderate, or referee, the posts. Not reply to them. Again with the moderator thing. You understand that I'm a person who isn't hired as a moderator. That I was a regular member here and was asked to be a moderator right? It doesn't discredit my experience or advice or that I shouldn't help the myriad of members here. There's plenty of threads that have my advice solely as others simply miss them or don't know.

Oh ans stop advertising your facebook page in your replies. That is just corny. This is called a signature. It automatically goes to the bottom of every post I make. You can do it too.