New to Boas:) Heres my first BCC Suriname and some Questions if you all don't mind...

[ReticMan123]

Ok well she just came thgis morning. I love her. I cannot beleive how tiny she is!!!! shes 26" 110 grams. Im used to retics so wow what a difference! sorry about spelkling my keyboard is a litytle jammed. Anyway I have not thought of a name yet I hoper everyone likes the pics she was very active and very tame. I held her for 10 mins then introduced her to her new cage. Its a 55 gallon tank so she has plenty of space. There is 3 hides and a water dish and a large branmch so She has plenty of places to feel secure in her large enclosure. Coolside is between 75-80 through the day and night and hot side is mid 90s for an uth. Light is on 14 and off 10. Does all that sound good? IM going to mist her every day...do I have too? The humidity isnt too good its about 30-40%. I have had retics and burms my whole life but now I think its time I stick to one snake that I can give all my attention too and that doesnt become a giant too quick. So few questions.....

1. How large does a female usually get? length? weight?
2. How long does it take them to get that size,? 1st year? 2nd?
3. IM pretty used to feeding I think I will be ok buty IM wondering everyone elses input. The retic I just sold was so finicky barly ever ate for me, he was aggresive, just a shame. Do boas have a good feeding response? I'd really like to know everyone elses feeding schedules.. LLL reptle had them on small mice weekly...I wanna get her on rat pups weekly./ They fed every wendsday so I was thinking trying tomorrow couldnt do no harm to see if she takes it. Shell probably be under her hide so is the best way to offer food just lift the hide and dangle the pup in front of her?


Thanks for all the help in advance and answering my many questions,....Also just toi throw it out there I have a feeding schedule in mind, Im big into statistics so I tried to map one out specifically. feeding 1/3 of their bodty weight every 2 weeks from now until 6 months. Example my snake is 110 grams...so she needs like about 35 grams every 2 weeks or a rat pup a week would be about that. then at 6 months to a year they get 1/4 every 2 weeks. So if they weigh 500 grams they wuld get 125 grams every 2 weeks or a weanling/small rat a week. Then at a year old until 18 months they get 1/5 every 2 weeks.....18 months to 2 years....1/7 and then on until they reach adult size then drop it to about 1/10 every 2 weeks so a full grown boa if they weigh 30 pounds could eat a 3 pound rabbit every 2 weeks....Sorry to throwe all these numbers out there I just like to be specific.. thanks everyone My name is Mike IM 24, I live in Philadelphia, look forward to joining the forum!:) Also would like to see pics of others boas

[Terranaut]

Hi and welcome to boas. These are my Sunglow female and pastel male. Both are 2008. This pic is about a year old so both are 4yr old boas.
Your boa can eat something double its girth. I go by size not weight. Feed weekly to start mine are every 2. There are many more experience boa keepers here than I. They will chime in I am sure.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-92.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-93.jpg

[Jendee]

I can help some, I have all bcis Ive never owned a bcc, but I can give ya some info :)
BCC can grow into monsters Ive heard them reaching 9-10 ft they do so at slow rate they'll reach full compassity around 5-6 yrs old. I know bcc breeders wont breed them until 6 or 7 because of this. My biggest boa at 5 yrs 8 feet and 25 ibs, to give you a rough Idea. females do tend to get bigger then males , although males get fed a "breeder" diet which is usually less then a female. giving a pet diet they can easily match a females size. If your boa reaches any where close to that size in the first or second yr you are over feeding.
In the wild boas are usually around 10 yrs old before they reach adult size weight, breeding because they really don't eat that often at home we feed weekly on a schedule, so we are super growing them. Try to keep that in mind as she grows up, nice and slow is best :) a healthy boa is a garbage disposal even after a big fat rat they will be looking for another one. The great thing about having boas imo but this can be where people get into trouble. Most reptiles are opportunistic eaters, instinctively they don't know when there next meal is going to come, so if they find a whole litter of rats in front of them they will gooble the whole litter because it could be another 6 months before they can find another meal.
I often hear, well I keep handing my boa rats as long as she's still at the door asking for more lol bad, bad don't do this please :) its just instinct not hunger she eats every week like a clock she is not hungey, just very aggressive about dinner time ;) just survival instincts. If your boa isn't slamming into her food, shes not a happy boa and Ive got a slew of tips for that as well.(watch your fingers..they do miss sometimes lol)
bccs are more delicate to keep then bcis so your temps, humidity need to be on point. I'm not a fan of glass tanks, but it can be done with some tweeking. Lights aren't needed unless your using it for added heat in the tank.

[Jendee]

and congrats!! your going to love owning a boa!!

[Mark Taylor]

I don't know enough to advise but from what I have read jendee knows a great deal about boa's listen to her that's what I do lol.

My female is breading as we speak she is about 7' I thought she was about 6' but I managed to measure her with a piece of string my male who is older is 5'8". Mine are Bci's yours will be bigger.

[KORBIN5895]

I hope no one takes this wrong but the advice given is for bci not bcc. I am pretty sure you will kill a bcc trying to feed it like a bci. Jay , our resident bcc fanatic, recommends only feeding something as wide as the snakes girth nothing over. A bcc has a slower metabolism. I will send home a link so he can sort this out.

As mentioned before you need to fix the top of your tank for humidity reasons.

When you do feed her tomorrow night just drop the rat in front of the hide if it is a f/t rat.

[Jendee]

I didnt give any direct feeding instructions but informed him that bcc shouldnt reach full mature size until 5 or 6 because they grow much slower. Im a firm believer that people over feed their boas. Bcc or bci lol i feed my bcis like a bcc I guess bc there is no evidence of a fed belly within 24 hr.

[Calihusker]

a 55 gallon tank is a bit large for a snake that tiny, make sure she doesn't become stressed by the extra space. :p

1. I reckon they can reach 9-10 ft. as said above.
2. I'm guessing 2 years to max out, but that's more BCI knowledge.
3. Boas are notorious for being great feeders as a whole, but my knowledge on BCC's feeding in particular is void, sorry.

[Calihusker]

Some photos of my boas. :D

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u481/romanherper/photo23_zps758b7936.jpg

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u481/romanherper/photo20_zps09a97553.jpg

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u481/romanherper/photo6_zps53032df5.jpg

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u481/romanherper/downsized_0426121655_zpsac3726e4.jpg

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u481/romanherper/downsized_0504121523b_zps292bb606.jpg

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u481/romanherper/downsized_1009121855_zps4d22e21c.jpg

[Corey209]

Hi and welcome to boas. These are my Sunglow female and pastel male. Both are 2008. This pic is about a year old so both are 4yr old boas.
Your boa can eat something double its girth. I go by size not weight. Feed weekly to start mine are every 2. There are many more experience boa keepers here than I. They will chime in I am sure.


BCI grows faster then BCC and the size of the snake depends on the parents so your growth rate has nothing to do with his.

@Calihusker, I don't see any way a BCI could reach full size in two years unless you power feed. BCC can also get bigger then 10 feet.

[poison123]

BCI grows faster then BCC and the size of the snake depends on the parents so your growth rate has nothing to do with his.

@Calihusker, I don't see any way a BCI could reach full size in two years unless you power feed. BCC can also get bigger then 10 feet.

Ive never seen a bci max out at 2 years either.

Nice boa btw :)

[Calihusker]

@Calihusker, I don't see any way a BCI could reach full size in two years unless you power feed. BCC can also get bigger then 10 feet.

I forgot my CAB was raised for breeding and ate like a truck.
Noted*

Thanks

[Philmul]

I don't know enough to advise but from what I have read jendee knows a great deal about boa's listen to her that's what I do lol.

My female is breading as we speak she is about 7' I thought she was about 6' but I managed to measure her with a piece of string my male who is older is 5'8". Mine are Bci's yours will be bigger.

I second that. If I need advice I always speak to jendee

[Corey209]

I forgot my CAB was raised for breeding and ate like a truck.
Noted*

Thanks

You can raise a snake for breeding without power feeding.

[Calihusker]

You can raise a snake for breeding without power feeding.

It was just how her original owner did it.

[ReticMan123]

Thanks everyone. I got her to successfully take a rat pup today. A little reluctant first then she ate it like a champ. Actually no bump looks like I need a larger rat pup or weanling. So doesn't anyone go by specific feeding schedules? Such as when to cut it back. After a year? After there full grown? I'm trying to get used to a slow growing snake when I'm used to retic and Burms.

[moshirimon]

I feed Bci's once a week. Once they reach about 6 foot I feed every two weeks. Just my way of doing it. By the way beautiful Bcc

[Jendee]

I feed babies to 4 months every 5 days, babies 5-12 months every 7 days after that every 2 weeks..by 2 yrs if its a male every winter I go down to 1 time a month. breeding females (5 yrs and up) will get bumped up to weekly for 6 wks through august. Sizes depend on the individual boas but for example...my 2011 babies are on weaned my 2010s are on small a few (3 of my 2010s) medium my 2009s large. I have bcis though, they grow/mature much faster then bcc. I would think you would need to feed your baby less then the example I have giving I recommend you email Gus Rentfro or Johnathon Brady just google their names with bcc and they should pop up. They both are pretty expert when it comes to locality boas

[Ddub]

Congrats on the new snake! What a beauty!Perhaps I can help, not many folks here seem to keep these boas. A big difference that I've found between keeping bci and bcc is the necessity for the proper caging and equipment. Their setups are not much different but the bcc will be less forgiving of husbandry errors. It is imperative to use a thermostat and temp gun to ensure a proper gradient for these animals. A proper enclosure made for snakes is arguably not necessary but it is much easier to achieve your goals using them as they hold heat and humidity much better than an unmodified aquarium. As for feeding, bcc can have sensitive stomachs in the first year. Feeding too large a prey item or too often can cause them to regurge. If you really want a strict, safe schedule to hold onto youcan feed every 7-10 days the first year the slow down to every two weeks for the next year or two. Once they reach adulthood you could stay at two weeks or even move it to every 3 weeks - month. It is nearly impossible to under feed a healthy bcc kept in the proper conditions. I used to use the strict schedule method but have moved to a more proactive approach. I noticed that all of my 2010 boas (especially a trio I purchased) that started off the same size and were fed the same size/frequency meals were digesting/growing at different rates. My schedule wasn't working for me because come feeding day I had some animals that were hungry and had pooped a week ago and some that had not even pooped yet. I started using their waste as a sign of when each was ready and feed appropriately. Now I feed a few days after they poop :) It has been giving me great results so far. They have great muscle tone, are growing and not a fat one in the bunch. Hope this helps!

[ReticMan123]

Thanks it helps a lot;) for now I'm going to stick to eat pups about 20 grams a week until she is a year. Then I will adjust to every 10 days or more depending on the feel. Thanks everyone;) ill keep the pics coming.

[Ddub]

Thanks it helps a lot;) for now I'm going to stick to eat pups about 20 grams a week until she is a year. Then I will adjust to every 10 days or more depending on the feel. Thanks everyone;) ill keep the pics coming.

She will probably need to get bumped up from pups before a year. I'm a conservative feeder and most all mine are on small rats by their first birthdays. I start mine on hopper mice, then move to adult mice then to small rats. Unlike pythons Bcc are sensitive to fatty foods which is why I go with the more developed older mice at first then on to small rats. Rat pups are nothing but fat. Like you said though (which was my main point earlier) you will have to just feel it out as you go. If you notice them getting a little too plump space it out more. Hitting the glass when you walk by? Feed more. Good luck!