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help with baby boomslang
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by speed_demonsc on February 8, 2006
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got a baby boomslang at this past columbia show and still not feeding cage requirements are great just wont feed was told to tube feed it to get it started but i just dont know
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RE: help with baby boomslang
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by BobH on February 9, 2006
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Baby boomer are notorious for not eating on their own. One way (very difficult and dangerous!) is to pin and force feed small newborn pinky mice. This is really hard on them and you! and fingers end up dangerously close to those rear fangs. Probably the best and safest method is to get them in an appropriate size tube that has been shortened to maybe six inches long. Give it just enough slack to get its head out of the front of the tube and tease it with a pinky-literally slapping it with the prey item. Most can be induced to bite the prey and if you are really really lucky and don't move anything--it might just go ahead and swallow it. If that doesn't happen start the teasing over again and as soon as the snake grabs the pinky pull the snakes head and pinky back into the tube. You can now use a small blunt wooden dowel to very carefully push the pinky down the snakes throat. Most of the time if you get it about 1/3 of the way down the snake will go ahead and move the prey into the stomach. You can use the dowel to help move the prey item while still in the tube but using the dowel on the outside of the snake. Some individuals are prone to regurgitation even after all this so be patient. Boomer have pretty high metabolic rates and if it works the first time, I would repeat the procedure after may 3-4 days. Good luck and remember to think everything through ahead of time. Be really careful!
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RE: help with baby boomslang
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by Chance on February 9, 2006
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Bob is absolutely correct. I've started a few baby booms by assist feeding, though I personally don't use the tube method. I've found that I'm pretty easily able to keep my fingers out of reach of their fangs, but I have fairly slim fingers. Without a doubt, these guys have much mobility in their fangs, and they can swing them sideways a little! If something in hanging on to its head, the snake is going to try to bite that thing. I usually place the pink's head into the snake's mouth as soon as it opens, at which time the snake bites down (ferociously!). It usually makes a couple of chews, and if the snake is new to this process, I go ahead and push the pink farther down into the throat with a soft piece of thin plastic (actually, zip ties work great for this). For the first few times, the snake will usually try to spit out or possibly even regurge the pink, though I've seldomly had them do that. Once they get used to it, you don't have to push the pink very far in any more until eventually you just put the pink into its mouth and it takes it from there. It is usually after this point that it will begin feeding on its own. By the way, it's common to experience some amount of mortality in the clutch when doing this because it's stressful to the snakes. Something about boomslangs just makes them one of the more difficult species to successfully propogate in captivity.
And again, never underestimate the range of flexibility these snakes have in their fangs! Just because it's a baby doesn't mean anything in regards to its venom. Afterall, the one that killed Schmidt was described as a juvenile.
-Chance
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