My Dumerils has started biting me!

[Mikoh4792]

Yours looks longer though.

[rocknhorse76]

Lol yeah, he's over 6 feet long, but I'm just showing how heavy bodied these snakes are in relationship to their length. His definitely needs some fattening up.

[KWenger]

rocknhorse, your snake looks positively HUGE compared to mine......even accounting for the fact he is longer, his girth is considerable. About how old is he? Weight? Given the age of my snake (3 years) if I feed him correctly from now on, which I certainly intend to do, can I expect him to eventually reach the size of yours?

[rocknhorse76]

Yeah, he's a big boy. He's about 4 years old, 73" long, and weighed 4244g (9.3 lbs) this morning. I got him when he was about 2 years old and 44" long. He weighed about
1200g at the time if memory serves me correct. He has grown substantially every time I increase his prey size and extend the feeding intervals. He's eating a jumbo (400g+) rat every 3 weeks right now.

[KWenger]

Beautiful snake! I'm confused though about what you said regarding him growing in size as you increased prey size and extended feeding intervals. Are you suggesting my guy will grow more quickly if I feed him LESS frequently than I presently am.......once per week? I am getting conflicting advice about how often to feed my Dum. Every week? 2 weeks? 3 weeks? The consensus seems to be he should be eating prey that is large enough to leave a slight bulge for a couple of days. The 170 gram "med" rats seem to do just that. I can just barely see the bulge of the rat after he eats, and within 3 days the bulge is gone. Since he is clearly underweight, I thought it would be best if I continued him on the weekly, medium rat feeding regimen until he fattened up. But maybe that isn't right?

[rocknhorse76]

I would expect yours to get at least 5 feet long if you feed him correctly. Just remember that these guys grow a little slower than other boas and have a slower metabolism. I'd go 10-14 days between feedings since you're increasing the prey size quite a bit. Once he's up to a large rat, every 14 days will suffice, and then go to every 21 days once he's on an XL and larger rat. Mine will be on a 3-4 week schedule in another year or so.

[rocknhorse76]

I don't like feeding them weekly after about 2 years of age. Mine put on weight better with longer intervals between feedings because they actually use the nutrients in the rat for growth rather than just digestion.

[Snakesitter]

I'm impressed to see a thread in which everyone has made peace, with both grace and dignity. Great 180° from where people accused this place of being just a few short months ago. Great job to all, especially the OP and Chuck.