Please HELP new boa not eating

Mike,
I bought 6, so I have 5 left and they are in a plastic bag inside of a paper bag. When do you think he should be able to move on to rat fuzzies? The rat pinkie definitely looked to be the right size for now.
Thank you again!
Nicole Corder.

Nicole,
The storage sounds fine and the on-hand quantity is not an issue. Had you purchased 50 of them, your snake would have outgrown them before the food supply was gone (not that you couldn't have just doubled up on the quantity per feeding).

As far as moving up to larger prey size, you'll need to make that determination based on the growth rate of your animal. There are a lot of factors that contribute to growth rate. ie: metabolism of the particular animal, ambient and high-low temperatures, prey size, and prey content - (rats are more nutritious then mice).

Just watch as your boy grows and adjust the size accordingly.

Hi Mike,
I just had one more question, I've now had "Amaretto" for 10 days and he has never came out of his hide. I know that this is normal for after feeding (which was Tuesday), but even prior to that he never came out. Although, after feeding he did drink quite a bit of water so I'm not concerned with him being dehydrated. Is this normal? Will he start to venture out once he begins to feel comfortable, or always remain in his hide?
Thank you again!
Nicole Corder.

Nicole,
I'm sure that Amaretto will relax and come around. Just give him some time. As he gets used to his new surroundings and people, he'll begin to open up.

I picked up a baby Hog Island in Daytona back in August and this little lady is just now starting to become a little more adventurous. I barely saw her at all for the first three weeks - other then feeding time.

Snakes, much like people, have different personalities and different ways of reacting to outside influences. Just love him for what he is and as he grows, so will your understanding of him. That's part of the fun of this crazy obsession we all share.

When do we get to see some pictures of this youngster?

Ok, I finally got some pics of little Amaretto, he's a 4 month old male Cancun boa, who was sold as a Hypo, what do you guys think, a hypo? I apologize the pics aren't great, but I tried.

Ok, Here we go! Sorry the pics are bad, but I had to cut them down so far that they're not very good anymore. What do you guys think? Do you think he's a hypo or a normal?

It doesn't look hypo to me, but then again, Hypo is a somewhat relative trait.
Precisely described, it means reduced melanin. With that in mind, any reduction of melanin in an animal would allow that animal to be considered hypo.

Regardless, he's a handsome young man.

Enjoy him.

Hello Mike or anyone else who would like to answer ,
I have yet another question, if you don't mind me asking. My boa ate one rat pinky about 1 week ago and still has not deficated. The past 3 weeks he has eaten and then deficated within 2-3days, and now I am worried. I double checked his temps and they are still about 89 on warm and 73 on cool and 91 at hottest point on warm side. He is not showing any signs of going into shed either if that would make a difference. Is this a problem and if so, any suggestions on what to do?
Thank you all for your time,
Nicole Corder.

Nicole,
I wouldn't worry about that at all. Baby boas grow very quickly and I've often seen cases where there was little to no defecation visable. In my opinion (no basis in scientific fact), sometimes the food items seem to be completely absorbed with little or no waste. This seems most prevalent when they're young and the food items don't have as much substance. A rat pinky does not have the bone structure and hair of an older food item. It may be that the stomach acids can completely eliminate it other then some urates.

When I have experienced this, it has always been my thinking that a little larger food item might be called for.

Regardless, it's not that uncommon - so don't worry about your guy.