worried

phalangus · 03-29-11, 08:06 AM

I purchased this Indian/rough scaled sand boa (not sure which) yesterday the owner said it was male and 3yrs old and hadn't fed it in about 2 weeks so i took the snake put it in a different cage and tried to feed it a frozen mouse i let the mouse thaw in hot water for 10min should i be worried that he wouldn't eat it

dshin963 · 03-29-11, 09:06 AM

If its only been 2 weeks a couple more weeks wouldnt hurt him.
That also being said you should just leave him alone for a little bit
Let him get use to his new home

He may not eat just because hes stressed
Also WELCOME! beat wayne!

dshin963 · 03-29-11, 09:08 AM

Wayne I am gonna also steal your pic

Lankyrob · 03-29-11, 10:58 AM

There is a split in the herp world with regard to snakes, some say they should be left totally alone apart from water changes for at least a week and others say they should be offered food almost immediately.

Personally with my snakes i let them all settle for a week before offering food.

presspirate · 03-29-11, 11:02 AM

If you just brought him home, I wouldn't get worried if he doesn't eat. Leave him alone for a week except for water changes and try feeding him again. Welcome aboard!

CanadianEryx · 03-29-11, 11:37 AM

The snake looks healthy at this point so don't worry. Try to feed him in a week and keep his feeding schedule on a weekly basis. It may take a couple of weeks for him to get back into eating (that's not an unusual occurrence), but he'll figure it out. Any idea when he shed last?? If he's getting ready to shed, that might also keep him away from eating. Nonetheless, don't worry and don't panic. As long as he continues to look healthy you are doing fine. BTW, welcome to the forum!

presspirate · 03-29-11, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

There is a split in the herp world with regard to snakes, some say they should be left totally alone apart from water changes for at least a week and others say they should be offered food almost immediately.

Personally with my snakes i let them all settle for a week before offering food.

A differing of opinion/experiences, but yes it seems to be there, along with feeding in a separate enclosure. When I get a new snake, I try to stick with it's established feeding schedule. If I get the snake on Saturday, and it is scheduled to eat on Sunday, then I will offer it food on Sunday. More often than not, it will eat. And, I do feed in the enclosures as well.

marvelfreak · 03-29-11, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phalangus

tried to feed it a frozen mouse i let the mouse thaw in hot water for 10min should i be worried that he wouldn't eat it

Hello and welcome! For one i am going to say the mouse most likely wasn't thawed all the way. I would let it thaw longer then run super hot water over it to get it real hot. The hotter the mouse the better the feeding response.

Wolfus_305 · 03-29-11, 03:31 PM

just something I noticed with my BP:
If i heat the rat up in a bag he won't eat it. when i don't heat it in a bag he eats it. Could be something like that, or that it wasn't hot enough, get it hot all the way through. I like to thaw in two steps.. letting it soak in hot water to that and then refill the hot water and let it warm up after it's thawed out
Hope this helps, good luck

Shmoges · 03-29-11, 05:40 PM

It looks just like our rough scale. Its possible your rough scale doesn't like large meals like ours. It could easily eat hoppers possibly adult mice but only likes pinky mice and will only eat if you isolate him in a small tank and cover it with a towel. We will be trying f/t when our order arrives but 2 pinky mice a week is what ours does and its over a year old.