When to Start Bi-Weekly Feedings?

[hylia]

I have a Hog Island Boa, he is still small (~24"). He currently eats a fuzzy rat once a week. I was just wondering when you started feeding your Boas bi-weekly?

I read some places that say to go from every 7 days to every 10 days before going to every 14 days. How do you judge when to make the transitions?

Thanks for your insight.

[Will0W783]

I usually shift snakes over to every 14 days when they are a year old, depending on the species. Some colubrids, and almost all elapids, need to be fed weekly for their entire lives, but boas are usually fine to go to bi-weekly feedings at a year old.

[shaunyboy]

someone who keeps hog islands will be more qualified

but as far as my carpets go thery get fed every 7 days,up until sub adult hood (2 to 3 years)

then they get fed every 14 to 21 days with 1 large prey item

cheers shaun

[KORBIN5895]

Based on size it sounds like he should still be fed weekly but he is a hogg which stay smaller anyway. I switched my bci to bi-weekly when I moved her to small rats.

[Lankyrob]

Dont own boas but have switched my pythons and colubrids over to 14 day feeds at a year old :)

[hylia]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

[exwizard]

Not only for our Dums but also for our '09 Macklots, we switched to every other week when they were big enough to eat medium rats.

[MoreliAddict]

Is it considered power feeding to feed a snake a reasonable sized meal every 7 days throughout its entire life?

[Will0W783]

MoreliAddict, I don't think that every 7 days constitutes "power feeding", but it's more a matter of the size of the prey item. Keep in mind that a snake takes several days to digest its meal, then longer to metabolize the nutrients and use them for growth, or energy. Power feeding is when you are constantly keeping a meal in the animal's gut, so that it is always digesting. Power feeding will result in unnaturally rapid growth, fatty deposits on the heart, liver, and intestines, and an early death.

If you are feeding a small meal (less than or just equal to) the snake's girth, then every 7 days wouldn't really be power feeding. However, if you feed a recommended-sized prey item (1.5 times the snake's girth) then every 7 days is too often for full digestion/metabolism to occur.

[shaunyboy]

i agree with kimberly re power feeding

cheers shaun

[Ridge Runner_20]

The more I read about Hog Islands, the more it seems to indicate that feeding for slower growth is very important for healthy adults and a longer lifespan. The primary concern was an overfed, overweight snake that had a more cylindrical shape (too fat) as opposed to the desired "loaf of bread" body shape. I had been feeding my 6 mo Hog Island girl a rat pup every 7 days, but noticed she had begun to "round out" a bit, so I have gone to every 14 days for the past month and she definitely looks better. I guess being a "dwarf" locality boa and a bit less heavily bodied than a mainland BCI means they require a bit less food for optimal growth and health... or so I've read. Hope this helps!

RR_20 (Mike)

[hylia]

Thanks for the responses. Mike, thanks for sharing about how you feed your Hog. Would you recommend cutting down on feeding now, or waiting until he is on rat pups?

There was actually a post from another member here on a Hog Island thread who says that he even feeds his babies every 14 days. I am kind of wondering with all the conflicting info. I didn't get a b-day I am estimating him to be around 5 months old. If I remember correctly, I think he is quite a bit smaller than your girl, maybe because only his last few meals have been rats since he was being fussy. I had read that they may tend grow slower on mice, is this correct?

I don't think he has a loaf of bread shape, but I honestly don't really know exactly what that means. Does it mean when his body seems taller then it is wide? Seems to me like this is how he is. He is in shed now, but I will get a picture of him when he is done.

Thanks everyone for your help.

[Ridge Runner_20]

Thanks for the responses. Mike, thanks for sharing about how you feed your Hog. Would you recommend cutting down on feeding now, or waiting until he is on rat pups?

There was actually a post from another member here on a Hog Island thread who says that he even feeds his babies every 14 days. I am kind of wondering with all the conflicting info. I didn't get a b-day I am estimating him to be around 5 months old. If I remember correctly, I think he is quite a bit smaller than your girl, maybe because only his last few meals have been rats since he was being fussy. I had read that they may tend grow slower on mice, is this correct?

I don't think he has a loaf of bread shape, but I honestly don't really know exactly what that means. Does it mean when his body seems taller then it is wide? Seems to me like this is how he is. He is in shed now, but I will get a picture of him when he is done.

Thanks everyone for your help.

LOTS of conflicting info regarding prey items for sure. On the one hand, I've heard that getting a younger boa on rats ASAP is a good idea because they are more nutritious than comparably sized mice. I've also heard this is complete baloney. :hmm: Sooooo, the way I see it, one way or another, my Hoggie would end up eating rats at some point in her life as she grows, so why not get her used to them while she's still young? Makes sense to me!

My girls is about 8 mo right now and about 30" long. She's doing very well on one rat pup every two weeks and shows no signs of hunger or feed aggression. She's also thinned back to the muscular "loaf of bread" shape, meaning she has a more rectangular body shape, and a bit taller than wide.

While I'm certainly NO expert, I'd say once your guy gets closer to a year (and maybe 30"+), move up to rat pups/weaned and try once every couple weeks. I suspect I'll be doing this for the next several years until she's on large rats, and then maybe move to once a month. We'll see...

RR_20 (Mike)

[hylia]

Thanks again for your response Mike. And sorry for misinterpreting your first post, I thought you had said that she was 6 months at the moment, but I now see you said that you had cut down her feeding when she was 6 months.

[Ridge Runner_20]

Thanks again for your response Mike. And sorry for misinterpreting your first post, I thought you had said that she was 6 months at the moment, but I now see you said that you had cut down her feeding when she was 6 months.

Yeah, that's about right, she was between 6-7 months when I changed her schedule. I really want to get some more pics of her (Alessia is gonna be MAD with me! :p) to show you how she looks at ~ 8 months, but I am a TERRIBLE photographer! Oh, well, I'll bite the bullet and post some crappy pics ASAP. Maybe tomorrow, as she just ate yesterday. :D

RR_20 (Mike)

[hylia]

Pictures would be awesome!!!