Hey guys, long time no see, I know! I rescued a Kenyan Sand Boa '06 Hatchling. He hasn't eaten in 3-4 months, he has shed once in that time and I was just wondering how can I get him to eat. He has a basking temp of 88-92 degrees, substrate temp of 90 degrees and the cool side is 80 degrees. I just brought him home from the person I rescued him from today. This person said they have tried to feed the snake brained pinkies, pinkies with lizard spread all over it, and even tryed to force feed the little guy but nothing was working. I don't think he had the temps right at all for his snake. A month or so ago I told him the temps he needed and he didn't take action. So I took him today. Can you guys give me any other suggestions? How long should I let him sit with the "right" temps before attempting to feed? Yes, I know a trip to the vet would prove beneficial. I just thought I would check with you guys also. Thanks.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won Give him a week with correct temps, no handling, no walking by the cage. Get him used to his environment. Then he should eat voluntarily. If he still doesn't eat give him 5 more days then you can give the braining or scenting another try.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won When you try to feed it, place the boa in a small brown bag with the pinkie and leave it alone for 45 mins. or so. That's what I did with my problem eater KSB.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won If it's a pinky, it won't fight back so there's no risk of injury there. But f/t don't have any internal parasites or diseases, they are all killed in the freezing process. F/t are also more convinient. But it's really up to you.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won i would say use live, theyre much more likely to be interested in it if its warm and moving. like mine seems to like it alot more when the mice fidget more when he attacks them.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won I personally go for f/t, let chance of any disease... Just make sure to soak it in warm water to make some sort of heat target.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won Yeah, I know about F/T that is what I feed my corn snakes. I was more curious of whether I should use live because this guy hasn't eaten in 3-4 months. I didn't know if that would be better because of his lack of interest in a F/T pinky. I think I will try live first and then try braining a F/T if that doesn't work. Thanks again, you guys have been very helpful.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won Do you receive Reptiles Magazine? There was an article on getting picky feeders to eat using [something like] 30 different methods.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won No I don't but was it the May or April issue. I can get it from my local pet store. Thanks a bunch.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won yes. That, and I dont think the pet store would mind if you took a subscription slip (1 of at least a dozen; so annoying), out of their wholesale stack of mags. here's the link to their online subscription service. http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/reptiles/home.aspx
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won BTW the sand boa ate. It showed a little interest in the pinky but would not take action itself. So I tried force feeding it. This time it did not spit it out!!! I was so excited. It took him a while to get the pinky down but he did do it and it has been 4 days since and no regurg! Thanks for the help guys.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won yeah kenyan sand boas are suppose to be good eaters, but mine is a bit of a fussy eater as well, he wont eat on a regular schdule. like hell eat one week, wont get for two, then eat like 3 weeks in a row, kinda annoying.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won well congratulations (on the non-regurgitation), good luck with feeding in the future (hopefully, on his own).
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won Thanks guys. I just need to get this little guy back up to full strength. He is on his way. I will try to feed him again this sunday. We will see how he does. Hopefully he will eat. The more he eats the stronger he will get.
RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won I just thought I would let you all know that the Sand Boa ate again this week. I tried a live pinky in a brown bag. He coiled it but didn't have enough strength to finish the job. But he did eat! I was soo excited. Now, just a few more and he should start to gain his strength.
Re: RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won was the pinkie still in the bag when you gave it to him....? but congrats on getting him eating again, hopefully hell have his strength back up soon and get a good appetite. i cant wait till my sand boa gets his apetite back, he lots most of it from being on antibotics for his respiratory infection.
Re: RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won [quote="themowingmonk was the pinkie still in the bag when you gave it to him....? [/quote] I placed the Kenyan in the brown bag with the pinky yes. He wouldn't strike at the pinky with me watching. The brown bag worked wonders! I hope yours gets his strength back up as well. How did he get a respitory infection?
RE: Re: RE: Kenyan Sand Boa: Won lol ok you put the snake in the bag with it, lol just a little confused. it sounded like you just threw the bag with the pinkie in it into the cage. or maybe I'm just weirdo. as for my little guy hes getting his strength back quickly, the antibiotics are working nicely he back to himself again and he had a really good shed yesterday. so I'm gonna try and feed him later today and see if he eats, hes been picky since he got him infection. as for what caused the infection I'm not sure. my vet said it could be from a combination of things. like i kept him on aspen shavings which the oils can be irritating to their respiratory systems when they are this young. mines still a baby, hes 7 months old. so until he get bigger i moved him to paper rodent bedding, it allows him to dig but it doesn't have the oils and stuff in it. and having the humidity too high can also cause them. I'm just glad i caught it and hes getting better. hes been a lot more like himself since hes been on the antibiotics.
