when to feed rabbits to a boa??

[djc3674]

Just wondering how big a boa should be before attempting to feed a small rabbit. My boa is 6ft+ and jumbo rats put nice lump in him but not a huge one. As you can see in the pic...he has a jumbo rat in him. Also, if and when I do try rabbits I am assuming I should kill it first (if he will eat it dead) or are rabbits better prey for bigger snakes like burms and retics? Here is a pic of him in his old tank, taken almost 2 months ago and he has shed once since then so he is a bit bigger. I know he is 6ft because the new tank is 6ft long and he goes all the way across it with a few inches of his tail leftover.

[stormyva]

The best rule of thumb is one prey item that is equal to the thickest part of the snake. Unless you snake is very heavy bodied at 6' the jombo or colossal rats should be about the right size.
Always try to feed your snake frozen/thawed or at a bare minimum pre-killed prey. Your boa will more than likely take it if offered properly.

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

I second stormy's post. The thickness of the snake should regulate what size food item.

[Zoe]

If you do feed rabbits (or ANY prey, for that matter) it MUST be killed first. A rabbit or adult rat can inflict a LOT of damage to a hesistant snake. Just one good bite can kill or blind.

But yeah, one XL rat should be enough for a snake... Or if not, maybe a LG and a MED rat.

Zoe

[reverendsterlin]

a rabbit can easily gut a snake with it's rear nails, the feet are strong and fast. All 3 of my boas eat rabbits, even the male at only 15lbs.

[jadegrasse]

You can get small rabbits that are smaller then jumbo rats so the question boils down to size.

Alain

[fateamber]

I like the boa

[Zoe]

Just a side note... the snake's tank does not appear to be very deep. I'd suggest getting a cage that is at LEAST 2 feet deep for the boa to have enough room to be comfortable.
4W x 2.5D x 1.5H would be a good size.

Zoe

[Lisa]

Rabbits can be mean, although you can find appropriate sized rabbits I suggest killing them first or best yet buying frozen rabbits.

As for the cage, the rule of thumb is 1 square foot per foot of snake... you might want to look at a cage that's 4'X2'X1' (not too hard to build)

[Zoe]

Lisa - that rule does work, but always. If his cage 6 x 1, thasts 6 sq ft (the length of the snake) but not really enough room for the snake to be comfortable.

I prefer to use this rule: Length is 3/4 the length of the snake, and width is 2/3rds the length. Height varies.

Zoe

[unknownclown]

I think it all depends realy on when you wanna start feeding them rabbits. I mine is only a little over 3 feet and eats newborn bunnies. So yours should be ok as long as the size is right. Personaly, and I dont know if it realy matters, but Id rather feed mine rats than the small bunnies since they arent much but fat and bones and the rats have some meat on them. Plus bunnies can be expensive if you dont breed them yourself. Oh and deffinately kill the bunny like the others said. I keep 1.4 adults here and they wont think twice to attacking the cat or going nose to nose with the dog.

[djc3674]

Hey everyone..thanks for all the advice. I appreciate it!

[paul_le_snake]

well said zoe! dead is always best
cheers
paul

[Linds]

You don't want a huge lump in your snakes belly after a meal, just a noticable one like in the picture. Many boas can stay on rats their whole lives, but certainly the larger boas can make the move up to bunnies. Also, as jadegrasse mentioned, rabbits can come smaller than even large rats, however at that size it is cheaper to feed rats than bunnies. If you are up to feeding two jumbo rats or more, then it's time to make the switch up to a larger prey item such as rabbits, although it is fine to stay on two prey items per meal (but I woudln't recommend more than that).

[snakemann87]

i agree with what everyone has said here, but im wondering........yesterday i caught a baby bunny, if i fed it to my burm what could happen. I mean id never ever feed a wilid caught animal but im just wondering what exactly would happen

[Zoe]

Well, it could have diseases or infections (etc) that it could transmit to your snake. Parasites, worms, you name it. It could be covered in pesticides, bacteria, dirt or sand. It could have eaten some sort of garbage and have very little nutritional value, it would have very little fat and lots of stringy muscle. Also if its alive, it would be more prone to attacking violently.

All I can think of, but I'm sure theres more.

[ReptiZone]

I would not recomend it but I am sure it would nothing good can come out of it.