Very nice! I've got a pair of dumeril's boas myself, I adore them. Really neat snakes!

Ohh, Thanks

I have a question for you. I read somewhere that young Duremil Boas would eat lizards, and Masquerade is not eating the small mouse we got him an hour ago..He's about, maybe, a little bigger, or smaller, than a foot..Would that be the reason why he's not eating? Or do I just have to give him some time?


I'm sorry with all of the questions, I never had this kind of boa before..

Dumerils can eat lizards or even other snakes, the problem is if they get into doing that they may refuse all other food in the future and you'll be stuck buying increasingly bigger lizards to feed them.
It's possible your snake is used to rats and not mice, you might want to give that a try. They are also very shy snakes so it can be because he's stressed - especially if you just got him. I would wait and try again in a few days - also, how are you offering the food? Is the snake set up in a cage with good hiding places? Sometimes they need to be hidden like that so they can 'ambush' their prey and feel comfortable. Otherwise, if they are nervous, they may just ignore the mouse or try to get away.
Was he a rescue? If not you should be able to go back to the breeder or pet store and get info on what he was eating and when. :)

THANK YOU!
He wasn't a rescue, just a pet store. But it might be because he was either stressed and we didn't have his little cave that he likes in with him because he did try to get away and tried to dig.
My dad said he'll try next week sometime, I'll tell him we have to keep the cave in so he can be calmer.
Thank you again! You give great information, so don't be surprised if I come back and ask you again if I come across another situation.

You're welcome, feel free to contact me anytime. :)

Dumeril's are very short, heavybodied boas and they spend most of their time hidden in the leaf litter waiting for prey to wander by. Having them on a substrate where they can dig is something really important for them as well as lots of hiding places. I used to keep mine on cyprus mulch but now I use aspen bedding (just because I have many snakes and dont want to keep both materials around) with two hides - one on the warm side and one on the cool as well as a big dish to soak in. Dumerils will actually spend most of their time hiding and if you dont have multiple hiding spots they will sometimes hurt themselves because they'll choose hiding instead of moving to the right temp to regulate their body heat. Unfortunately it means you wont see your snake as much but for their well being they like to be very out of sight.

It's interesting though - when they are buried sometimes all I can see is the head and tail of my boa. And they do the 'caudal luring' where they twitch their tail like a worm . The idea would be some critter would come investigate this little moving object and BAM, snake comes up out of the ground and nabs them. :) It's very interesting to watch!

That would be interesting to see.
I do have to ask one more question-Is it alright to hold them everyday? Because that's what I've been doing and he's been great, but with what you've been telling me, I'm not sure if he would rather be hiding then held.
Yea, my boa likes to stay in his cave a lot, his head only visible. But if it is alright holding him, I don't mind not seeing him for awhile.

I would wait until your boa is settled in and feeding well to handle him everyday. It's a personal decision but it does stress them out a little, even if they are used to it. Also be careful not to handle for at least a full day after he eats so you don't upset his stomach and cause trouble - a stressed snake wit ha full belly can regurgitate their food which can cause no end of trouble. I always shoot for not handling 2-3 days after feeding. Also try to limit the amount of time he's out - no more than 20-30 mins if possible. An older snake on a slower feeding schedule (adult dumerils in good condition only need to be fed every 2-3 weeks to once a month - a LOT of dumerils end up obese because of being fed way too much, they are very sedentary snakes) - you can handle these guys more than babies. Baby snakes have a natural fear of most everything and are easily stressed, they calm down and become less afraid as adults - this corresponds to them being tiny and edible and having a lot of natural predators to growing into something at the top of the food chain.

Ok, I'll wait until he's eating to hold him again. He's been good though, he doesn't move much and he's not jumpy.
Thanks a bunch for the loads of information! You've been a great help for me.

dont eat me!!!

Haha! He won't, he's just a baby!

still scared