Length of my male Boa

[spavdude2400]

I have a male red tail bcc im pretty sure. He will be aproxametely 2 years old in august and hes pushing close to 5 feet right now. I know you guys probably hear these questions every day and are getting sick of it, lol. I feed him xxx large rats every about twice a month but im not sure because i just started feeding him that size and he can handle it no problem. My question is for those who own or have ownid male boas before, and when do they start slowing down in growth. i have read many different articles and some guys say they grow the fastest within the first 4 years, others say 2 years then they slow down? im just wondering if some previous owners of amles could tell me how there male grew through the years, and yes i know it all depends on many factors. i know males dont get that big so im just wondering. i will post a picture of him for you guys.

http://G:\DCIM\102NIKON\DSCN0834.JPG

[presspirate]

Hey, a fellow Minnesotan! Welcome to the forums and where are you from? Sorry I can't help you with your question, as my boa is still under a year old. But someone on here will be able to. Can't wait to see some pics.

[Freebody]

welcome to the forum. i had a male boa years ago, he grew pretty fast when he hit 3 feet and continued to grew steady like that until around 6 feet or so then he slowed down. big contributing facter is if you over feed them they will grow faster, as all snakes will, but snakes heads dont grow to the food you give them, so if your snakes head looks in proper proportion to their bodies than its nothing to worry about. i just got 2 proven breeding snakes today from a local breeder, they both got little heads and big fat bodies so i can tell they were power fed to grow fast so they can be bread to produce $ which is a terrible thing to do as its very unhealthy for the snake:( hope that helps you :) Pics plz we love pics lol

[shaunyboy]

hello and welcome

sorry i only work with carpet pythons so i cant help with your question.some one on here will be able to help you out though.
cheers shaun

[marvelfreak]

Hello and welcome! Wish i could help with you question.

[Will0W783]

Hello and welcome. I have 3 red-tailed boas: a male Colombian, a female salmon hypo het anery and a male salmon hypo jungle. My female and male hypos are both around 2 years old and 4-5 feet long. My normal Colombian was a baby when I got him and has tripled in size in the last two years I've had him. My larger two are growing much more slowly.
I think boas generally grow the fastest the first two-three years, then slow down. At only 5 feet in length, I would consider xxxl rats too large a meal for the boa, especially if you are feeding two at once. In choosing an appropriate prey size you want something that is about as thick as the snake's thickest point, but is also not much thicker than the jaws.
I would like to see some pictures of your boa with something to judge size by him for comparison (ex. soda can, mayonnaise bottle). That will help us all be better able to tell you what size prey is ideal and at what point in his growth he is.

Also keep in mind that there are different localities of boas. The true red-tails (Peruvian, Guyanan, etc) tend to get longer and larger than Colombians (10-12 feet vs. 8-10). Your snake's particular lineage and locality will also play into how quickly he reaches adult size.

[spavdude2400]

Hellow again everybody,
Im sorry i typed my original thread kinda different. Lerch doesnt eat two XXXL every feeding. He only eats one every two weeks about. And im located in Northern Minnesota in Bemidji. Here is some pics of him. this was taken after he ate. Im so happy i finally joined one of these forums now. i also have a water dragon as well as a 12 inch baby iggy right now. Lerch ia also a little darker and is about to shed soon.

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[Freebody]

hes a good looking fellow.

[bladeblaster]

I agree with Willow the prey item sounds too large, the prey should be around the same size as the girth of the boa.

You have a Bci not a Bcc

[spavdude2400]

Alright. thanks a lot. im not trying to say your wrong or anything like that but the rats layed out are no bigger than his fattest area.

[Will0W783]

It's probably ok, as the lump in him in the picture didn't look too bad and if you are only feeding one every other week you're not really power feeding IMO. However, they are most likely not accurately labeled. What most vendors call XXXL rats should be about the right size for a 9-10 foot snake. For example, my 8 foot super dwarf retic gets a large rat every other week and is fine on that. She also gets anything anyone else doesn't eat. She's my garbage disposal for the snake room. Who do you get your rats from? Also a good way to judge the proper size for the snake is by watching how long it takes that lump to go down. If you can still see a significant lump in him 3 days after feeding, I'd drop a size. He should swell a bit when he first swallows it but after 3 full days it should be mostly gone.

[Freebody]

your right food size the same as the fattest on your snakes body is a good rule of thumb, but in the pic of your snake looks a little fat although he just ate like you said so its hard to tell, he should have a rather consistand gradual increase in size from head to tail, not like a ball python that look fat in the middle, i would give him smaller food sizes :) i prefer to feed my snake once a week and smaller food than i could give her vrs every other week at a bigger feeder size,but we might have others who disagree.

[Lankyrob]

Sorry to kinda hijack the thread but can someone tell me what BCI and BCC means and what the difference is?? Thanks

[percey39]

As long as you are not feeding too frequently i would stick to the prey size you have/are feeding. A lot of people underestamate their snakes abilities and underfeed with small prey items. If you think about it, if you feed 5 items like some people do vrs one item of the same wieght as the five who is the silly one? It is cheaper for you and snakes are not that stupid if it was far too big for them they would not attempt to eat it.
When i feed my scubs and olives they have a massive bulge in them, i dont feed that frequently once they are taking large prey items (reach adulthood ) maybe once a month or every second month depending on their activity and size of their last meal.
You dont want to overfeed, but on the same note why waste money on multiple prey items when the snake can clearly handle larger prey items.

[Freebody]

i wonder if it sends your snake into storage mode like a human if you prolong their feedings? i guess not as snakes are pretty much all muscle and dont get fat like we do, hmm? i have just recently up sized my snakes food to much larger fats and still fed her every week, but now i dropped it down to just shy of 2 weeks as she started getting fat on me, now she looks perfect again :)

[bladeblaster]

Sorry to kinda hijack the thread but can someone tell me what BCI and BCC means and what the difference is?? Thanks

Bci = Boa constrictor imperator = common boa
Bcc = Boa constrictor constrictor = 'true' redtail boa

the simple answer is that the difference is the subspecies, but there are differences in looks, sometimes very obvious, sometimes more subtle.

[Lankyrob]

Thank you!!

[spavdude2400]

here he was after 3 days after eating about... closer to 2 or 2.5 days. so im pretty sure he has no problem. i also was feelin his midsection and nothing was solid in there it was pretty broke down already.


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[ineedsoap16]

Hey Freebody,

About the comment about their bodies growing and their heads not keeping up, If caught early enough in life will the head catch up or is it a permanent condition?