The tale of the tail

jaleely · 01-16-12, 01:54 AM

So, my male dumeril's boa, Rusty, hasn't eaten since before August 6th, 2011 sometime. He pooped, and shed, a few weeks after i got him, but since then has been staying on his cool side and only coming out for a quick cruise and a drink. I have offered him food up the wazzoo. That's fine, that's fine...be that way. But, then i noticed that he started to look thin this past week. I finally decided i'd try live. It was that or the pinky pump, and since I don't have a pinky pump, and he was sold to me as "a great eater" i decided they must have meant live. So...went to petco and droped 3 bucks for a mouse. Who, after a quick peek into Rusty's hide, decided he could rattle his tail and then just live there. After all, no one was about to eat him!
SO, mouse got thumped and fed to another snake, and Rusty sat there sulking.
FINE.

Pinky pump or baby food it is, boyo.

AH! But today i was reading on the sand boa keepers page on facebook...something called "Tailing"! Apparently you take a fussy snake...and stick a mouse/rat tail in it's mouth until it swallows it *lol*

SO. Little brat won't eat, eh? Well everyone else ate tonight, and I hope the corn snake didn't notice his mouse was missing a tail, because that tail went right into Rusty's mouth!!!
I took the fat end of the tail, pushed it through his little stubborn lips, and when he opened his mouth, stuck it on down. He of course blocked it from going too far, with his throat muscles. But, it was far enough! He sat there looking mad for a while, then kept opening his mouth and soon enough it started working it's way down!!!
Ha HA!
So, after being mad....once it started to go down, I feel like he started to look sad *LoL* then it just went on down. He's sulking in the corner right now.

He will be tested on another day with some thawed food, but if needed, we will go to the rat tail next.

What do you guys think? I'm hoping it will be a bit less traumatic than shoving slop down there, and less dangerous as well.
I mean, i kinda feel bad, but at the same time I'm like HA made you EAT *lol*

Norm66 · 01-16-12, 06:45 AM

Wow, that's a first for me. Never heard of 'tailing' before. I understand the feeling of satisfaction for sure though. My problem child JCP will give me great pleasure when he eats.

jaleely · 02-13-12, 01:44 AM

Well a little update....I did this a second time with Rusty...and used a bigger tail. He kind of got the drift and swallowed this one right down, though I think he was still unhappy about it all. Dumeril's boas seem to be very forgiving and gentle in nature.
I have been worried because i have not seen any poop....BUT....yesterday he shed!
So that's a good sign.
He is still hanging out on the cool side of his tank though. I was mean to him and moved his favorite hide to the warm side, for a while, after he hate the tails...he didn't seem to be interesting in digesting them, so i kind of shoved everything on the warm side...so he went and sat there for a little while, and i then i moved it back. And he moved back to the cold side *rolles eyes*

But, i did get a shed out of him. Tanzy, the female dum seems to be a little bit more active since it's been warmer, and though she's refused food, has been on the warm side of her tank. I hope she will eat soon and Rusty will get perked up too!

Gungirl · 02-13-12, 05:57 AM

Hopefully you get him eating on his own soon. I think there is another post on the forum about Tailing.. I can't seem to remember who posted it though.

totheend · 02-13-12, 08:49 AM

I find that things have to be just right for baby dums to eat. For me, keeping them in tubs until they are established works very well.

Jay · 02-13-12, 09:18 AM

It sounds like you need to go over your husbandry

shaunyboy · 02-13-12, 09:35 AM

drop your hot end temperatures by 2 degree's F,every 7 days

once he starts to use both ends,you will know the temps are how he preffers them

i always let the snake tell me the correct temps for its tank

put a hide in both sides of his tank,prefferabley the exact same type of hide

after he eats a tail offer him a feed right away,he may still be in feeding mode and take it

or as the tail dissapears,place the head of a prey item in his mouth

also being in too large a tank can make a young snake feel insecure,how big is his tank ?

cheers shaun

Skumbo · 02-13-12, 02:11 PM

My first snake was a problem child (breeder replaced the snake)

5 months after being born and still hadn't had a single meal (too cold to ship, too far to travel, we finally met up again at a reptile expo in Manchester two weeks ago)

he ended up being able to get the snake to eat using lizard tails if any lizards shed one, and will be moving on to rat tails, he said he had only one snake ever before that just plain wouldn't feed at all, and he ended up getting it to eat this way without having to assist feed/force feed

jaleely · 02-13-12, 05:40 PM

Oh i agree about husbandry. I have tried everything. My final conclusion is that the ambient temperature is just not what dumeri's boas prefer.
He's been in different tanks, different hides, different temps and different humidity over the past six months. They both react the same to any change however, and still continue to live on their cold side.

It HAS been cold weather though, and at some point it's reasonable to assume they are just reacting to the time of year. When the weather warmed up Tanzy did get more active. I have notice that since his shed, he seems more alert and active, though still on in the hide.

The only thing i have not tried is the sterilte tub. I've worked with the humidity levels in his tank, and making it more or less ventilated, but I think I will indeed try the tubs. I think all this going on lately with my critters (we had an issue with a couple UTHs that i didn't post about) has made me realize I may have to give in and get racks. It's just going to be better for some of them.

I also will try following the tail with a food item. I was hoping not to do a tail again...I want him to come out of his "cold" phase on his own. Also decided against falsely raising the ambient temperature, only because the weather has been one day hot, one day cold down here and it was just too ridiculous to go around each day making such dramatic changes on the animals. The weather is just too much in transition right now and I didn't want to overheat them, etc.

Good idea about trying the same type of hide on both sides though, he loves his coconut shell...i will put one on the other side as well, instead of the wood, and pipe that's in there. (he has the pipe in the middle lol just in case, you know!)

unknownclown · 02-14-12, 06:09 PM

After you check everything and still feel you must go the force feeding route trust ft pinky. Open the mouth and get it as far down the throat and try to get it to bite down on it so the teeth get set in it. It's really not that difficult since the snake will be fighting to shut its mouth anyways. To make sure its set just barely tug the pinky that should set it. Then leave it alone where it won't be disturbed. This usually works for me especially when the teeth are in it good since initially it will try to spit it out but it has to chew it a bit to get the teeth out. You can almost see the expressions change as they chew from defiant to hunger.

unknownclown · 02-14-12, 07:20 PM

That's supposed to be try not trust dang cell phone

theapexgerman · 02-14-12, 09:32 PM

Damm I really never had a snake not eat my durmil is a champ he use to only eat if he alone now he let's me warch him but I only buy from the person I've been going to for years and no one else just can't trust then