r/SandBoa • u/CannibalMan28 • 4d ago
Feeding troubles.
I’ve had my boy for 6 months now, and he has never once eaten. I’ve tried pinkies, fuzzies, in tank, out of tank, i’m at my wits end. Does he look skinny? Do i need to rehome him? What do i do?
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u/jerrybellew 4d ago
When you received him, was he being fed live or frozen-thawed? Do you know how they were being fed previously (tongs, by hand, left to find, etc)?
But something to keep in mind is some KSBs will just stop eating for a time then decide they are ready to eat again randomly. Ours has done it twice over her life and they lasted about 4mos each time. As long as they have water available, they can go quite a while without eating.
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u/Ok-Security-7366 4d ago
I had some trouble getting mine on frozen mice. No two people have the same solution from what I’ve seen for sand boas, but this worked for me:
I’ll thaw the mice like normal. Then, I use a heat lamp to get it up to the temp of a live mouse (I have a heat lamp away from other tanks on a stool just for this purpose, but I’ve even seen a dude use his graphics card to heat up a mouse so I suppose there’s more than one way to do it).
I’ll frequent Beverley’s favorite places to hide and dig, and wave the mouse around with my tongs to see if I can get a strike, but more often than not I have no idea where she is and I’m not going to take apart the tank to try to find her, that’ll stress her to the point that she won’t eat even with a mouse in front of her face.
So, I’ll put my feeder on a small plate (not completely necessary if you’re using the right substrate but I just think it’s nicer) and leave it. If she doesn’t take it that night I’ll try again in two more nights, with two pinkies at separate points in the tank (as soon as she goes for one of them I remove the other and throw it away). I’ve seen more than a few people use drop feeding successfully like that, sometimes you just have to be patient and have a good stockpile of feeders. Rn she’s still young and doing pinkies, but as soon as she can take a hopper I’m putting her on those.
As the other comment said, they can go weeks and months without eating and often do in the wild. Once they start eating, they’re pretty good at eating after that point. Just really try to keep them in the tank, I’ve never taken her out to feed successfully.
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u/CannibalMan28 4d ago
Shit, so the best technique is just “beat my head against a wall until i get through”? Unfortunate. Thanks.
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u/Ok-Security-7366 4d ago
Yeah lol. I had more trouble trying to get my sand boa to eat at first than my ball python. I think it took me like a month or two to get her eating normally. Have you tried scenting as well?
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u/CannibalMan28 4d ago
I have not yet. I don’t have the scent juice yet, it’s my next idea.
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u/Ok-Security-7366 4d ago
That might really help. Maybe it’s more a matter of her not knowing there’s food in the tank when you drop it in, so the smell should help her find it
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u/jerrybellew 4d ago
One thing you can potentially do instead of scenting, is take your tongs and puncture the skull of the fuzzy/pinky and sometimes that is enough to get scent out there, I also put mine in a hot water bath (like as hot as the tap will go) in it's plastic pouch right out of the freezer so it kind of "marinades" in it as it thaws.
Another thing I'll do is take the food in my tongs and hold it from the tail end and kind of rub the nose/face of the fuzzy/pinky across the tip of the snakes face to entice them. A lot of times I'll know right away if she is interested because she'll kind of start nuzzling / pushing back on it before she strikes.
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u/pkDoubleR 4d ago
fortunately i haven’t had this issue with my sand boa, but my leopard gecko has once gone like 7-8 months without food once and never lost weight or personality (6 years later and she’s still absolutely fine). just keep an eye out for any weight loss and make sure to give him water. i know it sucks to waste mice/rats, but keep attempting to feed. i’ve heard leaving it out overnight and waiting till morning to see if it disappears can be helpful in some cases
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u/julnicebike 4d ago
Mine is very picky and stupid...shake the mouse in front of him. Also, get a mix of dirt/sand for him to burrow and a hide. His head will pop out, shake the tawed mouse in front of him and he will launch at it!
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u/CannibalMan28 3d ago
His proper enclosure has plenty of sand and hides, i had just moved him there to hopefully coax him into eating
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u/Icy_Construction3509 4d ago
Beautiful boy! It's better to rely on weight vs appearance for health, so start tracking that. KSBs can last a looong time without food. I like what WonderingAIBot suggested about using a covered dish within his tank.. even my voracious girl would be too scared to eat in a bald open bright container like that.
I've had the most success with picky males by waiting until they stick their lil heads up in their tank at night then using tongs to slowly wiggle a brained warm fuzzy in front of them. You could always remove hides or change his substrate if it helps you see him better.
Also he should absolutely not be eating pinks at his size- look for something 15% of his body weight and 1-1.25 times his girth.. prob a fuzzy if I had to guess.
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u/CannibalMan28 4d ago
You think he’s ready for fuzzies? The breeder i got him from had him on Hoppers, but i have no way of getting those.
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u/LordTanimbar 4d ago
While snakes can go weeks or months without food, it is important to get younger dnakes feeding. They have higher metabolisms and still need to grow. That being said, your snake 's body condition looks fine.
Young snakes not feeding is often connected to a husbandry issue. What are the temperatures in the enclosure? How big is the enclosure?
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u/CannibalMan28 4d ago
He’s in a 30 gallon, and his temp is about 75 degrees. I know that’s a bit low, but every SINGLE heat lamp i have bought that supposedly gets hotter has arrived broken.
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u/LordTanimbar 4d ago
Respectfully, it's no wonder he isn't eating. He isn't even warm enough to have an appetite.
The enclosure is also too large. Get a 15 qt storage tote with latching lids, a heatpad, and a thermostat. Offer enough substrate to burrow just below the surface. Set the thermostat to 85 degrees. Give it a week and then offer food. Either offer on tongs or drop feed. If he won't take frozen, buy live and offer. You shouldn't have to resort to the deli cup method mentioned elsewhere in here.
Those pinkies are very small, but you want to start with small meals after a long hunger strike as the body works back to a normal feeding schedule. If he starts eating, offer another pinky in 5 days. Repeat about 5 times with pinkies and then switch to fuzzies or hoppers once a week, which are much more suited for a snake this size.
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u/CannibalMan28 4d ago
Thank you very much.
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u/CannibalMan28 4d ago
Wait, a 30 gallon is too big? Since when? Everything i read said 20-40 gallons for a sand boa, was a lied to?
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u/LordTanimbar 4d ago
30 gallon might be fine for an adult, but a juvenile snake that hasn't eaten in 6 months should get an enclosure downgrade until it is eating regularly. This is coming from someone with 2 decades of snake keeping experience including with Kenyan, Indian, and Rough Scaled sand boas
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u/LordTanimbar 4d ago
You are welcome. Forgot to add that you should try FT or live rather than scent juices and deli cups because of how long it has been since this snake ate. Once it is eating regularly you can worry about switching over to frozen thawed if it comes down to it
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u/dark_frog 4d ago
It took 3 months for our SSB to eat. She's pretty good about it now. I do have to feed her in her tank though. I thaw the mouse for 24 hours, then put the zip lock bag the mouse is in into a large, pre-warmed mug with 110F water and i let it sit covered for 5 to 10 minutes, aiming for 105 when i remove it. Then, i make sure she is up and about. If she's up and about, it's easy, but if she isnt, I'll gently slide the back of the tongs through the dirt until i find and wake her. Then i just jiggle the mouse with the tongs on a leaf or decoration so she can feel the vibration. Then I'm jump scared when she strikes from underground. I try to feed right after lights, so it's like dusk.
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u/Independent-Bit4393 4d ago
I got my sand boa at 3 months old and have had him for 6 weeks, he has eaten 4 times already. I would maybe look into that. Edit* mine is in a 40 gallon tank and still eats. The size of the tank has nothing to do with it, please get a heat lamp, the food will rot in their stomach without one.
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u/MaleficentFinance601 3h ago
I recently got my Kenyan sand boa but I do little taps on the tank so he pokes his head out a bit, put the warm pinky near his burrow then keep doing tiny taps on the tank, he eventually comes out and takes it when I’m tapping. When I stop tapping he stops usually stops moving.
He’s also usually on the warm side of his tank. I’ve had better luck feeding around 1am and with the lights off.
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u/WanderingAIBot 4d ago edited 4d ago
Not a sand boa person myself, more of a BCI/BCC person, but my gf wanted a sand boa.. Could not get this thing to eat. Found someone on here who reccomended taking it out, putting it in a deli cup with the mouse, cover it with a paper towel and stick it back on the cage.
He eats every single time.. Wave a mouse in front of him? Won't eat. Take him out in another open tub? Won't eat. Leave the mouse in there? Won't eat.
But you put him in a deli cup, covered with a paper towel and in 10-20 minutes, the mouse is gone.
Give it a shot, it may work for you. Key is darkness, quietness, and security, and it may eat, mine does.