Anyone keep constictors or boids?

[Dragons4u]

Pinkies are just baby mice with little to no fur. Drop a frozen on in a cup of warm (not hot) water for about five minutes then drop it in front of your snake. If it is hungry, it will eat it usually within five minutes. If he doesn't, just refreeze it and try in a few days.

 

[dc3085]

So a little update on "Sam". I'm going to attribute his initial feeding hesitance to the stress of the move and the increased frequency of feedings essentially I think he wasn't hungry some of the time. He'll eat anything now. Live, fresh killed, frozen thawed, mice, fuzzies, etc. He's actually a bit of a pig lol. Thanks for all the suggestions and advice on getting him off of the live feedings. I'd really hate to see him get scarred from eating live prey so this was pretty important to me. Thanks again everybody, especially Sill for the extremely detailed instructions on getting him interested in his feed.

Troy, would you recommend a rubber boa for a 10-11 year old kid, difficulty wise? My nephew is obsessed with my snake now and I don't want him to have anything that gets big since he has a younger brother and newborn sister.

 

[Dragons4u]

Rosy boa or Madagascar sand boa are extremely docile and stay very small. Usually eat crickets and bugs, but once full grown can eat pinkies. Either one are very nice "starter" constrictors only getting up to 12 to 18 inches.

 

[dc3085]

Nice! There is a place that takes surrendered reptiles near me so I'll put my name on the list and hopefully I can rehome one instead of buying him one.

 

[dc3085]

I was talking to Robby at JMF recently and he was telling me that the zoo near him feeds quail eggs to a lot of their snakes on occasion (I would imagine they have a schedule for it). I've looked around the snake forums and such and it seems like while it would be good for them from a health standpoint people have a hard time getting to them to take eggs. I haven't tried yet (just started lights so I don't have eggs yet) but any ideas on how to get him to accept them? I was thinking buying a live feeder mouse to rub against them and associate the smell but at this point i'm still just brainstorming.

 

[Dragons4u]

Warm it in lukewarm water like a pinky, or an incubator. Then give it to them. May have to roll it around a bit to draw their attention.

 

[Sill]

I was talking to Robby at JMF recently and he was telling me that the zoo near him feeds quail eggs to a lot of their snakes on occasion (I would imagine they have a schedule for it). I've looked around the snake forums and such and it seems like while it would be good for them from a health standpoint people have a hard time getting to them to take eggs. I haven't tried yet (just started lights so I don't have eggs yet) but any ideas on how to get him to accept them? I was thinking buying a live feeder mouse to rub against them and associate the smell but at this point i'm still just brainstorming.

I haven't tried it myself, but I've got balls and they are notorious for imprinting on only a few (or one!) food item. I think you are on the right track with scenting it with the mouse. Maybe try a step back before you start and scent the mouse with egg, then transition to the egg scented with mouse? Just a thought. Anyway, can't wait to hear how your snake accepts the new food item.

I've thought of getting a king snake, sort of as a reptilian garbage disposal since they are known for eating anything. Any time I have a ball refuse prey I can give it to the king instead of having to re-freeze it and wonder if it's still good enough to feed later. Dead in shell quail at the end of incubation? Another king meal.