New baby Brazilian Rainbow Boa not eating

bigsnakegirl785 · 10-19-17, 01:20 PM

Always give a new arrival 1-2 weeks without handling *before* offering food, your boa likely needs more time to settle in. Give her 1-2 weeks from the day you offered the food, and then offer again. Make sure you're feeding small enough prey, at just over a month old she's probably still going to be on fuzzy mice, too big of prey items can sometimes intimidate them and keep them from eating.

Even a baby rainbow can easily go months without eating, especially since she's already eaten several meals. She isn't going to die in the next week or two just because she hasn't eaten.

Shauna0522 · 10-19-17, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

Always give a new arrival 1-2 weeks without handling *before* offering food, your boa likely needs more time to settle in. Give her 1-2 weeks from the day you offered the food, and then offer again. Make sure you're feeding small enough prey, at just over a month old she's probably still going to be on fuzzy mice, too big of prey items can sometimes intimidate them and keep them from eating.

Even a baby rainbow can easily go months without eating, especially since she's already eaten several meals. She isn't going to die in the next week or two just because she hasn't eaten.

I have pinky mice that I will feed her I'm not sure what a fuzzy is she is the first baby snake I have ever had. I will hold off feeding her though thank you.

bigsnakegirl785 · 10-20-17, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shauna0522

I have pinky mice that I will feed her I'm not sure what a fuzzy is she is the first baby snake I have ever had. I will hold off feeding her though thank you.

Fuzzies are the size above pinkies. They have a full body of hair, but haven't opened their eyes yet. The next size are hoppers, they have opened their eyes and started moving about hence the name "hoppers." I generally don't see a switch to hoppers until about 6-8 months old for BRBs, and they'll stay on hoppers until they're 1+ years old, if you don't overfeed. (I have experienced this with my BRBs and had this information verified by my BRBs' breeder as well. People who feed heavier will notice more rapid growth, but it's healthier for them to be slow grown.)

Shauna0522 · 10-20-17, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

Fuzzies are the size above pinkies. They have a full body of hair, but haven't opened their eyes yet. The next size are hoppers, they have opened their eyes and started moving about hence the name "hoppers." I generally don't see a switch to hoppers until about 6-8 months old for BRBs, and they'll stay on hoppers until they're 1+ years old, if you don't overfeed. (I have experienced this with my BRBs and had this information verified by my BRBs' breeder as well. People who feed heavier will notice more rapid growth, but it's healthier for them to be slow grown.)

Ok thank you do you happen to know and what age I should switch to fuzziest? I definitely don't what to over feed her I want her to be as healthy as possible.

bigsnakegirl785 · 10-22-17, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shauna0522

Ok thank you do you happen to know and what age I should switch to fuzziest? I definitely don't what to over feed her I want her to be as healthy as possible.

They should be able to be started on fuzzies from birth. The meals might seem large-ish, but fuzzies aren't that much bigger than pinks, and they're more nutritious. She should grow into them quickly, but I'd be afraid of pinks not being enough food for proper growth.

Shauna0522 · 10-22-17, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

They should be able to be started on fuzzies from birth. The meals might seem large-ish, but fuzzies aren't that much bigger than pinks, and they're more nutritious. She should grow into them quickly, but I'd be afraid of pinks not being enough food for proper growth.

Ok thank you

Shauna0522 · 10-22-17, 05:17 PM

[QUOTE=bigsnakegirl785;1031054]They should be able to be started on fuzzies from birth. The meals might seem large-ish, but fuzzies aren't that much bigger than pinks, and they're more nutritious. She should grow into them quickly, but I'd be afraid of pinks not being enough food for proper growth.[/QUOTE

So I just called the person that I got her from and they said that they are they were feeding live pinkies but I'm trying to feed Frozen thawed cuz I don't want her to get hurt is there something that I can do to get her to be enticed by these dead mice any tips and ideas would be great.

bigsnakegirl785 · 10-23-17, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shauna0522

So I just called the person that I got her from and they said that they are they were feeding live pinkies but I'm trying to feed Frozen thawed cuz I don't want her to get hurt is there something that I can do to get her to be enticed by these dead mice any tips and ideas would be great.

Just give her time to settle in, and keep offering f/t until she takes it. You can also try heating them up, the warmer it is, the more enticing it is for them. I had a baby that would sometimes give me troubles. Running it under the hot tap for a few seconds just so the outside was warm, and then just wiggling it around until he finally took it generally worked. If that does't work, you can try leaving it in overnight, sometimes they'll eat it later when no one is looking. Make sure you're waiting 1-2 weeks between offers, offering too much can stress them out. She can go a long time without eating, so it's basically just a waiting game.