baby nicaraguan boa
 

hello. i have to start by saying i'm an idiot. i ordered a baby nicaraguan boa from lllreptile oct 1st. baby got here the 2nd. my husband and i have struggled with this baby who won't eat or drink. temperatures are 92 hot side and 80 to 82 cool side. i'm at a loss as what to do for this poor dehydrated baby who stopped drinking oh his own 4 days ago. i'm sick to my stomach with worry. we are trying to get him to drink through a dropper. i gave lllreptile a good guy review for the baby. i didn't know the baby was sick.... i have kept in constant contact with lllreptile. i don't know where to go from here. i also hope i posted this in the right place.

Does he look ropey at all?

I wouldn't worry too much about a new aquisition not eating for a few weeks, depending on how he looks. If he looks reasonably chunky and is alert it might just be that he's slow to settle in.

As for drinking, how confident are you that he's not drinking when you aren't around to see it? I bought a Brazilian Rainbow in june and I still haven't seen her drink, but she has access to water, humid hides, has a fogger and is growing like a weed.

Where does he spend most of his time? Is he reliably huddled up the cool end or sticks to the warm end?

Make a vet appointment, might just need a run of panacur to knock out some fun parasites.

Did LLLReptile tell you what the baby boa was eating when he/she was with them? Also, what feed item the boa was started out on (if they know)?
What have you tried to get him/her to eat?
Is the boa being handled a lot?
Does he/she have hides in both the warm side and cool side?
Is the boa very thin or does he/she look filled out?
Are you positive that he/she is dehydrated? What brings you to believe he/she is dehydrated?

i believe the baby is dehydrated because he just shed and he's very wrinkly. he drank tonight on his own for 15 minutes straight tonight. he spends part of his time under the big fake ivy plant in the middle of the cage or up on his perch in the heat for the rest of the time. i tried hide boxes but he doesn't like them. i'm constantly watching him off and on 16 hours a day to see if he drinks. we have tried live rat and mouse pinkies, f/t pinkies and fuzzies. he's not chunky, he's about 18 inches long and skinny. lllreptile whom i'm in constant contact with, hasn't said what he eats. the problem is they tell me to leave him alone. if i would have done that, he'd be dead by now. Gratch the baby nicaraguan is handled 4 times a day, just to get him set up to drink. then a little love kisses and back to his cage.

What exactly is involved with this "handling"?

That was going to be my exact question. Also, are you taking the snake to a vet? This sounds very serious.

Welcome to the hobby. My first concern is how often he is being handled, 4 times a day if far too much. If you feel that he is dehydrated then mist him heavily twice a day and add an extra water bowl for his convenience. Second, I have found that in my experience boas do not thrive in 90 degree temps, I would take the hot side down to about 87-88 F . Pictures would help a lot here and I agree, if you feel that the animal is within immediate jeopardy, then you need to contact a vet.

When you purchase again, I would highly recommend buying from a private breeder who can give you more information and follow up support tailored to the specific animal you bought.

Agreed, a good private breeder can provide strong information and support that a store cannot match.

This, above, about sums it up.
He/She really does need to be left alone, for awhile, (aside from needed handling if taken to a vet) and, then, minimal handling until older or really settled in and an established feeder.
Also, don't offer food each day or every other day (don't know how often you are attempting to feed). Allow some days between attempts.
If your baby boa still refuses to eat (after following advice), and you need some feed tips/tricks, let me/us know.