Eating like champs!

[Brent Strande]

My Bci are total rat maniacs! If I don't feed big enough they just keep on cruising!

This guy was at a friends for awhile, and I am still looking to sell him (66% poss het albino) but now he's back at my place unless he finds a new home!

Here he is already hammering down an adult rat! I have no idea of that is normal, but all three of my Bci continually cruise unless they get a nice large meal! What do you think?

http://bitz.net/~ato/Pictures/Brent/Male%20Poss%20Het%20Albino%20Eating%20A%20Rat.jpg

[guitrage]

I don't own a BCI, but that looks like a mighty large meal for that snake.

[snakehunter]

I also think you should switch to F/T ASAP

[Scales Zoo]

Any pictures of it when it was done eating?

Have you fed him those before, and if so, did he keep them down?

May just be the picture, but the rat looks bigger than I would suggest feeding a snake that looks that size.

Ryan

[foman]

I think it looks too big, the rat's head is way big for that boa's mouth.

[FoShizzleDizzle]

Yeah... That does look a bit too big. I thought I fed large items...

[lostwithin]

Looks a bit big for that sized snake you should aim a bit smaller to large a prey item can cause problems. There is nothing wrong with a snake cruising around after eating.

Devon

[Linds]

Big meal indeed! I agree with Devon, it is perfectly normal for snakes to cruise a bit after each meal, since feeding reflex can take a while to die down. However, some snakes can take big meals, you just have to cut down on the frequency of feeding to avoid overfeeding. A good example is the size of babies and their food. Often neonate snakes are forced by availability to take down enormous prey items in comparison to their size. Boa constrictors are designed to take down meals of varying sizes, so as long as they are provided the adequate environments, there isn't anything wrong with feeding them large meals IMHO. The larger the size, the more caution that needs to be exercised though. I think the pic also makes the rat look a little larger than it really is, correct me if I'm wrong. I too, would be interested in seeing the 'after' pics.

Originally posted by snakehunter
I also think you should switch to F/T ASAP

Absolutely nothing wrong with feeding prekilled rats. I actually prefer it over f/t. The parasites that affect rodents such as pinworms, are not capable of infesting snakes, and if it is bacteria you wish to kill, freezers actually preserve it. While freezing doesn't seriously impact nutrition, it does decrease some nutrient value :flick:

[latazyo]

he had a breeding colony going and we just ordered from rodent pro, so he has to kill the breeders off somehow

and I'm the guy who had the snake in my possession for about 6 months now before returning it to strande....from seeing the snake in person the prey is definitely not too large...the picture is just from a weird angle or something...the perspectives seem to be goofy looking and misleading

anyways...the snake is about 30-36" and weighs over a pound...definitely capable of the rat

btw...he's a beautiful snake might I add...it was tough tto give him back

brent is a very good and responsible snake keeper

[bistrobob85]

I still think a rat that size should be far from the safe feeding size...

[Brent Strande]

I thought I posted earlier, but apparently it never showed up???

The angle may have something to do with it...

The snake is between 600-700 grams and the rat is 265 grams. The rat is 'bunched up' and doubled over.

I'd prefer to feed him something in the 180-200g range, but as Leighton already stated, I'm whacking off the breeding project, and making due...

As far as switching to FT asap, I agree with Linds. I'm mostly a FT kinda guy, and froze feeders that I bred as necessary, but it was nice when I could go right from whacking to feeding... No having to wait to thaw!

I have no prob though with FT, just in case you were worried! And I don't feed live...

[Brent Strande]

http://bitz.net/~ato/Pictures/Brent/Male%20Poss%20Het%20Albino%20Full%20Of%20Rat.jpg

[Scales Zoo]

Funny how angles can make pictures look off. I'd have never guessed the snake weighed twice as much as the rat in the picture.

Ryan

[bistrobob85]

Yeah, it seemed like they were both the same size... I apologize, Brent Strande!

[Brent Strande]

Just measured and weighed him, came in at 43" and 725g ...

Not too bad!