do snakes slow their growth rate to fit in their cages?

[Reticsrule]

i was talking to a guy at the reptile show today and i told him that i have a male boa that is only three feet and over a year old. he asked me what size cage it was in and i told him 29"x14"x19". he said that it was in too small of a cage and the boa was slowing down its motabolism so it wouldnt grow out of the cage. what do you guys think?

[peterm15]

possible.. may not be able to strech out and get the exercise needed.. which in that case may be smaller..

[HetForHuman]

I think thats a load of bull. It all depends on the amount that they are fed, and also on their genetic make-up. I have female boas that are 1 year old and only a little over 3 feet. I now take it easy on all my snakes, as i am in no hurry for them to get real big real fast.

If you were to keep a boa in say a 33 gal tank it would keep growing and growing until it was full size. And untill it filled the tank up. But please dont do this ;)

[JimmyDavid]

Genetics and feeding are the most important things in growth.
It is possible, though, that when an animal feels "traped" inside an environment too small to feel confortable, it produces some sort of stress. Stress is known to release catabolic hormones wich, as a result, stunt growth and may never let the animal achieve it's full potencial.
But to wich level? I don't know. Maybe it can have as much as some 20% influence, that's my guess.

[mykee]

I'm with Het, load of crap. You've been Punk'd!

[Jeff_Favelle]

L o a d o f c r a p! Doesn't even work for goldfish, which was the original animal the tale was fabricated for.

[Reticsrule]

ok guys thanks for clearing that up for me.:)