thanks all, and some more info

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Posted by rick s. on May 10, 2003 at 16:33:22:

In Reply to: Feeding problems with a "rescue" posted by rick s. on May 10, 2003 at 12:18:32:

Thanks for the info everyone!

I forgot to mention the housing it is now in! It, not positive on sex and didn't see any reason to sex until it is situated and comfortable, is now housed in an enclosure that is 6'Lx2.5'Dx3'H. The temps are 85 on the ends, about 88 in the middle. There is a good hide in with him and a large water source that he can get completely in with no problems. It doesn't seem to hide a whole lot, but definitely doesn't care for handling. It isn't bitey to this point, but it is very jerky and squirmy when handling has been attempted. Once it is out of the enclosure, it calms down, but doesn't seem to be very comfortable. Comparing it's weight to other boas I have here that are similarly sized it is right where they are. I'm going to give the small f/t rat a try and then try mice.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks,
Rick

:Hi All,

:I recently rescued a 5' Colombian boa from a guy who had no idea what he was doing. When I went to pick the snake up, it was in the floor joists in his basement. It took two trips to get it out because it was in a spot where it couldn't be reached. It has good body weight, and seems to be in overall good health. The problem so far has been that it refuses to eat. It is definitley big enough to take medium to large rats. I tried the first time with a frozen thawed large rat. It showed no interst at all and I pulled the rat and waited a few days and tried a f/t medium, again no interest. I really don't like feeding live if I can avoid it, but I tried a live medium rat. The snake stayed as far from the rat as it could and any time it was touched by the rat it would jerk away. I have checked him pretty closely, and I don't see any scars or bite marks, it actually has a really nice clean pattern. This isn't my first rescue, and I have been able to get boas that were eating exclusively live swithced to f/t without much problems, but this one has me scratching my head. The guy I got him from didn't have much info other than that he had gotten it to watch for his brother while his brother was based out of the country. He only had it for a month or two. He kept it in a cardboard box, until it got loose. After it got loose, his wife said it had to go, he contacted his brother and he said that he could give it away as he was unsure when his overseas assignment would be over. It is obvious that the snake was eating pretty well at one time, it still looks good overall, but I'm worried it may not eat in the future and I would hate to loose it. Any ideas would be great!

:Thanks,
:Rick

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