How big is too big?

[AnniesMom]

Okay, I'm planning on switching my boa Honey bun onto rabbits. Right now, she is on jumbo rats. What I am wondering is if a 6lb rats, guts fur and all, is an appropriate size for her? I have not seen the rabbits, but my dealer called and said that she has some 6lb'ers in her freezer if I want.


http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/508/3225HoneyBun6.jpg

This is me with Honey. I am six feet tall to give you an idea of scale.

[Linds]

6 lb rabbits are the size of a small cat. I feed my 20+lb BCC 5 lb rabbits and they leave a large bulge that is there for a week. Jumbo rats are usually about 300 grams by most standards. 6 pounds is the equivalent to a bit more than 2,721 grams, which works out to be about 9 jumbo rats.

I would say your snake is a bit on the small size for rabbits that size yet, but it is hard to tell from a pic. Hopefully the info I have given you above will help you decide what is best for your snake.

[ReptiZone]

well it wold be logical thing to go buy at worst get a smaller buny just to see how she takes it down a couple of 2 Pounders every week for 1 or 2 monts this may sound dumb but a rat structure and a buny structure a similare but not the same so a 6LBs Bunny may scare her ''you never Know'' so start small and work your way back up to 6Lbs it will take no time at all basicly if she is smoknig them from the tongs she is ready for biger cause she understands how to get bunys down well.

I know this sounds verry theoretical and maby dumb but some animals went off feed because they did not understand the item in front of them was food. so buy giving them something smaller then useal they basicly react with out hesitation because it is smaller.

Personaly it is your choice you can jump to the 6LBs buny and maby nothing will go wrong but if she dosen't take it at least you were told here and you will have half of an idea and you will not have to come back and ask why she did not take it...LOL somthing like this will realy all boile down to how the snake reacts.

have fun and good luck with the exchange.

[AnniesMom]

I picked a 6lber up yesterday and I think that they are still too large for her. I went and saw some of the 3 and 4 lb'ers and think that those are a more appropriate size for Honey.

[Jamie]

I feed mine a max of 3lbs...a 6 lbs rabbit is huge and the boa in the picture doesn't seem to be that thick. After mine get finished with a 3 pounder they have a big lump for a while.

[cheekeebandito]

I think that you're wise to go with the smaller (3 to 4 lbs) size for now. My 10 foot female Bci eats 5lb bunnies , and she's as big around as my thigh. She's pregnant now, so I've scaled her back to smaller ones for now. I don't want to take any chances with her at this point. I won't pick her up or move her at all until after she delivers............. My male really likes guinea pigs (frozen, thawed) and he looks to be about the same size as yours, but a bit longer ............. hope this helps a bit....... Cheers, Les

[Ed_r]

My BCIs all get 1.5-2 pound rabbits and they are all between 7-8.5' they still leave a slight bulge in the belly, you really don't want to feed an adult Boa too large of prey. It would be different as if in the wild where it would be their only meal for 4-5 months, bu that isnt the case here. Feeding too large of prey could easily cause a regurge in Boids.
Another thing you have to think about is that it's winter now, most Boas scale back their feeding. My Adults eat 1 rabbit a week during spring summer and fall, but when winter hits, they refuse food. I MAY feed them once a month, and sometimes they still refuse food.
Large meals for adult Boas just isn't necessary. From the pic your Boa doesn't look overly heavy, so large prey like that could actually be dangerous.