boa - Page 2

Lankyrob · 02-26-12, 01:50 PM

How do you defrost and warm the mice that you feed - some snakes are particular about the temp of the prey they are being asked to eat.

carolthomas · 02-26-12, 02:16 PM

I defrost in hot water.. then reheat with a blow dryer to give it that "appearance" of heat.. but still nothing.. I've even tried defrosting with hot water... drying it off and putting it in the viv, but nothing..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

How do you defrost and warm the mice that you feed - some snakes are particular about the temp of the prey they are being asked to eat.

alessia55 · 02-26-12, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolthomas

I defrost in hot water.. then reheat with a blow dryer to give it that "appearance" of heat.. but still nothing.. I've even tried defrosting with hot water... drying it off and putting it in the viv, but nothing..

Make sure the head and the hips are especially warm. Also, defrosting in water might wash some of the rat smell away. You might want to consider defrosting at room temperature in a container, and then warming up with the blow drier. Might be something worth trying to maintain more of that rat smell when you feed him.

carolthomas · 02-26-12, 02:14 PM

I am in Colorado, so it is quite arid here.. I read your post on salt testing them.. Ill mist her this afternoon and see if that helps.. still doesn't solve the not eating part =(

alessia55 · 02-26-12, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolthomas

I am in Colorado, so it is quite arid here.. I read your post on salt testing them.. Ill mist her this afternoon and see if that helps.. still doesn't solve the not eating part =(

Actually, any issues with your husbandry (i.e.: humidity) may lead him to refuse to eat. So I'd fix all of that first and see if it helps fix the problem with the water dish territorial behavior and the feeding issue.

Skumbo · 02-26-12, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolthomas

I am in Colorado, so it is quite arid here.. I read your post on salt testing them.. Ill mist her this afternoon and see if that helps.. still doesn't solve the not eating part =(

it might actually, rather than being so focused on not dehydrating (much worse than not eating, especially for a snake which can go a long time without food) it will be able to "go into feed mode" and feel safe doing so, a snake wont feed unless it feels safe and that itll be able to sit and digest somewhere safe for a while.

youngster · 02-26-12, 02:22 PM

Just wondering, how is his name pronouced?

carolthomas · 02-26-12, 02:24 PM

La Cr Oi the X is silent.. it is french for the Cross... she has a perfect cross on her head..

Quote:

Originally Posted by youngster

Just wondering, how is his name pronouced?

carolthomas · 02-26-12, 02:34 PM

I put her water bowl back in, and a damp sponge .. and fixed the cover, I am going to go get a few hygrometers, and some Cyprus mulch and change out her substrate and, grab a misting bottle, and try this .. see if it helps.. Thanks for all the help!

carolthomas · 02-26-12, 07:07 PM

A better view.. now the humidity is up to 70

BarelyBreathing · 02-26-12, 02:48 PM

Always measure humidity and temperatures digitally. Also, sorry if this has been covered, but what type of enclosure is she in? I'm in Colorado, too, and in fact, I'm in a much more arid region than Colorado Springs. I have no problem keeping enclosures at a stable 90% humidity, so that shouldn't be a problem as long as you're housing her properly. Sterilite type tubs are best for holding in humidity.

carolthomas · 02-26-12, 07:03 PM

photo.jpg This is her viv, I changed her substrate to coconut, they didnt have the other, they didnt have any digital hydrometers so I will have to order one, so I got the one you can see in the picture, I built her the mini spa with sphagnum moss, and put some green in and added a new hide.. she is still in the water dish the humidity is up to 60, I also bought two new thermometers to monitor the temps on both sides.. the warm side is 93, the thermostat is set at 91, so that just shut off, and the cool side is at 72 right now.. so now I wait..

Skumbo · 02-26-12, 02:55 PM

you can "shenanigan" a moist box (preferably use sphagnum moss)

do this to a plastic container of some kind, and fill it loosely with crumpled up wet paper towels:

make it just big enough for her to hide in snugly and make the holes easy for her to get in and out, if she spends time in there she can regulate her humidity between there and whatever the cage is at if she feels she needs more humidity without needing to soak

(this was taken from rainbows-r-us site, rainbow boas need very high humidity or they can dehydrate very easily, so this is a hide thats normally kept in a BRB enclosure)

BarelyBreathing · 02-26-12, 07:11 PM

You can get digital at Home Depot, or at Scales N Tails on Academy and Woodmen. Call first, because that store has gone way down hill since Chad left.

BarelyBreathing · 02-26-12, 07:12 PM

Another thing you can do is cover your screen top. Screen is notorious for letting humidity escape. You can use aluminum foil or Visqueen, just be sure it doesn't come into contact with your heat source. Your set up looks good otherwise.