Old age in Emerald Tree Boa

Question
Six months ago, I got an adult emerald tree boa and have been told she is 6 years old and a proven breeder. This snake just seems elderly. She moves very slow, she is boney, and takes almost an hour to eat a small rat. I thought she just needed to recover from giving birth but I think I may have been suckered and she may be very very old. I know Etb's have slow metabolism and you cant feed them as much as other boas but I feel so sorry for her. I have a fog machine hooked up to keep her at the ideal humidity requirements and I mist her daily. I have to touch her before I mist her so she doesnt get scared because if you startle her she will fall off her perch! I got other emerald tree boas and green tree pythons and they are all very healthy and active and strong. She had been eating pretty regular but a 6 weeks ago she stopped. She tried to eat a couple of times, frozen thawed mind you, and she gives up. Last night I sat down in the chair with her and put the head of the mouse in her mouth and held it there and she finally ate it without me having to push. I helped massage the lump down her throat a bit and she seemed almost grateful. Is there any type of vitamin I could be giving her. Her stool looks normal and healthy. Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hey Jason,

A female will loose a good deal of weight after giving birth. They will fast before giving birth and the extra body fat stored is used throughout this time.

I would suggest you continue to feed her and try to double it. At least for the first month or two. I know some people will feed frozen thawed. I would never recommend it to a snake owner. My theory behind it is that you are taking away from their beauty and natural instinct. Another great concern for me in this is that if you accidentally feed a partially frozen prey item you can almost guarantee the death off your snake, and the same hold true with to hot a prey.

As long as you watch your animals when feeding you should not have any problems with you snake getting hurt.

I hope this helps,
Eric