do i need to feed more???

[kajunrebel6923]

my ??? is very simple, but i dont know the answer.(lol) i have a red tail boa and she is eating 1 pre killed large rat. she is about 5 foot and a lil over 1 year. the thing is i think she can eat more than just 1 at her feeding all my snakes eats every sunday. and they are very set on that. but it seems that she can eat more. there is no bulge when she is done and by wed. she seems as if she wants more. but i dont want to over do her at one time and if i feed her during the week then i cant handle her. all my snakes get handled often,please dont jump on me for it, i truely think they enjoy it, they are all ready to come out when its there turn(i guess i have them spoiled but anyway) i have been wanting to ask this. and i have put up a few other threads on other things. i have learnd a lot from this web site. and greatful to everyone for it.so if anyone can help i would love it.

[tonyj]

Try feeding her a jumbo size rat or perhaps a suitably sized rabbit at her normally scheduled feeding.

Allow her time to digest her meal however before handling. Also consider feeding your bigger snakes every 10 days rather than every 7.

You suggest that your snakes are 'set' on their regular feeding times. Remember in the wild they are opportunistic feeders and only eat when there is prey to be had. Hence snakes are generally 'hungry', in the event they could face a long wait before the next meal.

I agree with you that many frequently handled snakes, especially Bcs, seem to enjoy the handling sessions; it does provide them with a new set of stimulants and a little stretching and gives you a chance to examine them up close.

Have fun with your snakes.

[Bluzmn59]

If anyone "jumps on you" for handling your snakes regularly, they are an idiot. I handle mine on a regular basis, they seem to enjoy it and it keeps them very tame. I have a female Suriname Redtail that my fiance calls my "lap snake" as she will curl up on me and apparently sleep while I watch TV. Also, with regular handling, I never have the problem of always exhibiting a feeding response when I open the cage door. If I wanted animals I couldn't interact with, I would get some fish. I do leave them alone for 48 hours after feeding, though.

[jjpython]

i agree with your hadling, i try and do the same thing with my snakes but i have no choice, i have a burm, retic, scrub python, and anaconda, they all get big so i try to handle them as much as possible to keep them "tame"

as for feeding just upgrade the size of prey and wait like 8-10 days,

my burm will eat a 9 lbs rabbit and i wont touch him for a week then i dont feed him for about another 2 weeks even if he looks hungry. so he get a meal every 3 weeks

[Boakid]

Also feeding a snake too much does a lot more damage than feeding it less often. Lots of food and "powerfeeding", ie too big a meal too often, makes the snake fat and will shorten its lifespan dramatically, also making it very big very quickly. This is normally quite obvious because the snake has a very small head for it's body size. Handling them is a good idea not only because its fun and it keeps the snake tame, but also because its great excersize for a lazy snake.

[kajunrebel6923]

thank yall very much!!! my only other prob. is around here( Baton rouge l.a) i can only find the size rats that i feed. so should i go with 2 maby. and i do wait 3 days before i handle any of them. and i have heard that boas become very attached to 1 person. she loves to be with me. my b/f has handled her only a hand full of times, and she seems a lil jumpy with him but very calm with me, its kind-of like i have her spoiled i guess lol but anyway like i said should i just feed 2 or would that be to much at one time. o and by the way i am not tryin to power feed thats just the times and sizes i feed ( well at leat i dont think i am lol) thanks to yall again!!!

[tonyj]

Yes feed her two rats at one feeding if she is able to handle them, but try to be more flexible on her feeding schedule; 7 days, 10 days or 14 days or whatever between feeds is fine, as long as she's healthy and continues to thrive.

I agree that snakes are able to recognise certain individuals with whom they are very comfortable and relaxed, but seem to be more wary of other individuals and not so relaxed.

Tell your boy friend to warm his hands, and try a different aftershave!! It might work.

[Bluzmn59]

A juvenile boa like that should probably be eating one item of prey every week. The size should be approximately the same girth as the snake. If you are having problems getting the size you need, try here:

http://www.rodentpro.com/

Hope that helps.

[kajunrebel6923]

but the ???? is can i over feed her??? i dont want to feed to much at one time
thanks again

[hbwright]

Yes, you can overfeed and that can and will shorten her lifespan. I'm a little curious as to whether or not she is only a year old at 5 ft. That is a big yearling. Avg is 36 inches at year old. If she is 5' at 1 year I would consider feeding her every 10 days max. Your snake will be healthier if you feed her more conservatively then over feeding. Rather er on the side of caution. By giving two large rats that would be doubling her meal and if they are approximately the size of her girth then I fear the increased risk of regurg. Most snakes recover from regurg okay but for some it can cause an increased risk for future regurg and will effect the health of your snake.

[dance2water]

It sounds like you really care about your snake. As a animal behavorist I applaud that you take her out and handle her. Snakes may not the most intelligent of animals, but they still have a much more stimulating environment in the wild.

If you feel you need to increase her food intake do it by giving two smaller rats than you are currently feeding her. If you give her two rats that are just slightly more than half the size of what you are feeding now that will inrease her food intake only a little. It will be less lilkely to stress her causing regurgitation.

You could also alternate giving her one lg rat one time aand then two smaller rats the next.

There have been scientific studies showing that feeding a reduced amount of feed extends the life span. I am sure that snakes do not get the generous level of food in the wild that we are inclined to feed them as our pets. :greenflam :greenflam

[jjpython]

dont worry about over feeding, just give the appropriate size prey once a week and you will be fine if you need to feed it a 200g rat for example and you cant find a 200g give it 2 100g rats.

less

[kajunrebel6923]

thanks again i will try to find smaller rats around here. and yes she is alil big i know but she is not like over weight big, i have records of every pinky to every rat this snake have ever eaten from the time it was bought so i know how old all my snakes are i went get my books and she was born june 04 by my books she was 6 weeks old and bought 8-04-04 so around that age lol....i dont know if everyone else does this sort of thing but i know every shed and everymeal they all have ever eaten. i do it just in case anything ever happens to them .......but anyway like i said i will try to find maby 2 smaller rats for her. does anyone else keep books like this or am i just a lil diff from others lol thanks again.....i wish i had good pics of her to show yall...now that i think about it all of my snakes are a lil on the big side my lil female ball is 8 months and about 2 and a half feet and my male is about 1year and 9 months and about 3 and a half feet so are they to big also lol ....i dont know all i know is that i love my snakes like kids and takes care of them just as well lol

[RB420]

I agree that snakes are able to recognise certain individuals with whom they are very comfortable and relaxed, but seem to be more wary of other individuals and not so relaxed.

I think it has less to do with WHO is hadnling and more to do with the way they are handled. I let my friends hold mine and tehre are some who are very relaxed and just let them do their own thing. But people who are a little more tense or nervous and haven't held snakes much or at all before the snake tends to pick up on that and act accordingly. just my observation.

[kajunrebel6923]

yea i guess, but he is very used to all the snakes i think she just likes me more lol

my new ???? is ....does anyone else keep these records like i do???

[kajunrebel6923]

lol i guess not thanks for all the comments and help

[Boakid]

Used to, too many snakes now, but I know when they all eat .

[kajunrebel6923]

ok i have tryed something new.. today when i went to the pet store i asked if they had any other size rats....low and behold they did and dont tell people for some reason, so all i knew they had was what was on display. but anyway what i thought was there large wasent lol it was there med. but they are a lot larger than other stores around here anyway they had smalls and large but the large was really big so i got her a med. and a small and she took them real well so all we have to do is now waite and see if she keeps them down. we also uped my balls size today he was eating 3 mice so we got him 1 mouse and 1 small rat and he also seemed happy with it........ so anyway thanks again for all the help and i guess i am the only one that keeps these books or maby i should make another thread on that to see lol

[Bluzmn59]

On the subject of a snake becoming attached to one person, I would relate what happened the other night. I had my redtail out for awhile and then my fiance took her for a little bit while I left the room, letting the snake sit in her lap as she had been in mine. I should add that my fiance is a veterinarian and certainly knows how to handle them. When I came back in the room, the snake started quickly flicking its tongue, picking up my smell. She then stretched out across open space for me. I held out my hands and she placed her head there and started pulling on me. We then watched in amazement as she drew herself across open space, finally letting go with her tail and allowing almost half of her body length to swing loose before finally wrapping onto my arms and pulling herself the rest of the way up onto me. This from an animal who is supposedly afraid of falling as much as anything else. I am careful not to attribute too much emotion to these wonderful animals, but this was clearly a snake that wanted to get back to me.

[tonyj]

This is an interesting story and is similar to a situation that I often see with an adult female Guyanan Red Tail boa (Bcc) that I have in my collection. The snake is possibly around five years old and is about 7feet in length and is quite heavy (not sure how heavy though).

My daughter who has made a fuss of the snake for the three or four years that I have owned the snake will visit us from out of town with her family on regular occasions.

If removed from her enclosure for a handling session during these family visits, the snake, who is a great favourite with the grandkids because of her placid nature, will eventually end up working her way across seats or chesterfields and into my daughters lap, and then seemingly take a 'nap' with her head nuzzled into the nape of my daughters neck.

The snake will stay in that position for as long as she is allowed to, and obviously would appear to have a strong attraction to my daughter.

We claim it is the perfume my daughter wears that is the real attraction, but the snake will react the same way even if a different perfume or no perfume is being worn. My daughter is by far her favourite 'tree'.

For what it's worth and knowing that these are not controlled scientific studies but merely observations, it seems obvious that some snakes at least, can be attracted to certain humans in a manner that can only be interpreted by us as 'affection'.

For many years my late wife and I raised and 'showed' Great Danes and Newfoundland dogs to championship level, and later we kept Pekingese dogs solely as pets. From those experiences I have a basic knowledge of how a dog interacts with humans.

I therefore make no claims that reptiles and in particular snakes can be equated to dogs, cats or other mammalian pets in any way, but for those of us who see snakes merely as instinctive and primitive creatures, whose sole reason for 'being' is to eat, poop and make more snakes, it certainly leaves us with the question that there may be just a little more than we care to admit in regards to these amazing creatures.

Thanks Bluzmn59 (not your real name I hope) for sharing. At least there will be more than one of us in the padded cell after the round up.

[Bluzmn59]

My Suriname Redtail adopts the same position - laying in my lap, stretched up my chest with her head over my shoulder next to my neck. Once she is in that position, she will also lay there for as long as I will let her.

And I already have my spot reserved in that padded cell.

[kajunrebel6923]

ok so i am not crazy lol so some snakes do tend to like 1 person more than others. i think she is just spoiled lol and everything they ate the other day stayed down well thanks again on that sub. its a wounder how these things get started on one sub. and go from sub. to sub. but i really dont have to many friends that like snakes so this is the only place i can talk to people other than going to the pet store, which i think she enjoys also...lots of att. there and she knows its dinner time afterwords..
i have a conv. mustang so a ride in the car is nice for her also, she gets in her spot around my neck and the only time she moves is when we are at a red light lol just enough for the people beside us to see her ...... i think she is worse than me about gettin att.

[tonyj]

Sheesh, now you really have opened a can of worms.

I prefer not to comment on this topic. I expect you'll get rained on (at least) however.