Boa Question - Page 2

RedtailArmGuy · 07-09-13, 11:45 PM

A large rat is wider than her head. She's 6 foot but not 8 inches around. I may feed more offer but I'm not switching to jumbos yet. The store I got her from had her in a 40 gallant aquarium,which being 4 feet long must not have been comfortable,or optimal. She's grown approx an foot in a year in the new tank. But mostly in length she has yet to full out. Even large rats she seems to really work at eating

KORBIN5895 · 07-09-13, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedtailArmGuy

A large rat is wider than her head. She's 6 foot but not 8 inches around. I may feed more offer but I'm not switching to jumbos yet. The store I got her from had her in a 40 gallant aquarium,which being 4 feet long must not have been comfortable,or optimal. She's grown approx an foot in a year in the new tank. But mostly in length she has yet to full out. Even large rats she seems to really work at eating

Why ask foe advice from experiences keepers if you won't follow it.

Just to back up my claim here are a couple of posts I made on prey size yesterday.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

I don't know how to post videos from my phone but I will be feeding her one more rabbit before I cycle her so I'll try to do it. It takes forever because she is blind and will search for the head forever.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

She was. she didn't start hunting for almost 5 weeks then I gave her a 474g rat. I fed her the rabbit on May 11th and the rat on June 27th. I'll give her another rabbit next week.

Mikoh4792 · 07-09-13, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedtailArmGuy

A large rat is wider than her head. She's 6 foot but not 8 inches around. I may feed more offer but I'm not switching to jumbos yet. The store I got her from had her in a 40 gallant aquarium,which being 4 feet long must not have been comfortable,or optimal. She's grown approx an foot in a year in the new tank. But mostly in length she has yet to full out. Even large rats she seems to really work at eating

Have you seen videos of boas/pythons eating in the wild? It takes them a good minute.

It doesn't matter if it is wider than her head, that's why snakes have the type of jaw they have. To eat things wider than their heads. You should compare the rat to her body.

RedtailArmGuy · 07-10-13, 12:01 AM

I have seen the videos yes. Upon thinking about my statement it seems foolish. I'll start her on jumbos tomorrow. she simply may be under fed which I feel ****** about. The store re assured me on that feeding interval today,which is interesting.

although this to my knowledge has been her feeding size/schedule for a long time. But yes I figured a change in the frequency of feeding was due,an advice is noted with respect.

Ddub · 07-10-13, 01:00 AM

Advising someone of the size prey they should be using is kinda subjective since sizes vary from supplier to supplier and sometimes vary more than they should just from a single supplier. The size of the thickest part of her body is what you should use in determining prey size, not her head. It should be 1-1.5x the size of the thickest part of her body and you are in a better position than any of us to judge that since you have the advantage of a firsthand visual. It should leave a noticeable bulge but not inhibit her ability to move or coil. In my opinion, if you're feeding an appropriate sized meal, once a week for a boa that size is too much. If you're not breeding her or growing her big every 3-4 weeks is not a problem and can certainly sustain her provided the meals are appropriately sized, however I would not push it back as far as 4 weeks until she's fully mature and finished for the most part with lateral growth. Pay attention to her behavior though. If she's pacing the cage after two weeks looking for food, you may want to up the frequency.

Mark Taylor · 07-10-13, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Feeding a six foot boa every week is a little much.

I missed that I feed every 2 weeks

I would sort out temps and humidity first before upping the food size as it may not be able to digest it properly.

Here's my temps and humidity this morning, Cool side 76, hot side 91 basking 97 and humidity 58%.

KORBIN5895 · 07-10-13, 05:26 AM

To clarify I feed my 4'-5' boas a 275g-375g rat every 2-4 weeks. I usually wait till they're on the hunt.

Terranaut · 07-10-13, 07:09 AM

I was going to chime in but there is no need. All the info is here already.

bcr229 · 07-10-13, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

To clarify I feed my 4'-5' boas a 275g-375g rat every 2-4 weeks. I usually wait till they're on the hunt.

Ah, that does make a difference - the supplier I use defines "large rat" as 174-274g, and after five days my six foot girl is out hunting.

RedtailArmGuy · 07-10-13, 07:50 AM

Temp this am. Upper 82- 85 warm. 90 basking. Lower 78-82 humidity 50 percent. Temp are alot warmer. I'm gonna install my humidifier today. She was all stretches out in the warm this morning, hope she's more happy.

KORBIN5895 · 07-10-13, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcr229

Ah, that does make a difference - the supplier I use defines "large rat" as 174-274g, and after five days my six foot girl is out hunting.

That is the proper weight for a large rat. You really need to up the prey size. My snakes are a foot smaller than yours and eating prey items at least 100g or more.

Amadeus · 07-10-13, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedtailArmGuy

Temp this am. Upper 82- 85 warm. 90 basking. Lower 78-82 humidity 50 percent. Temp are alot warmer. I'm gonna install my humidifier today. She was all stretches out in the warm this morning, hope she's more happy.

Good. How did you make your humidifier?

Ddub · 07-10-13, 09:36 AM

It's also probably worth mentioning that boas don't handle fatty foods such as jumbo retired breeder rats as well as pythons. As far as rats go I stop at larges. If they need something bigger I'll do two larges or throw a rabbit in the mix.

smy_749 · 07-10-13, 09:45 AM

Something nobody here mentioned, and you seem to try your best to provide proper husbandry (you had me worried disagreeing about prey size for a second there but all is well).

Anyways....whatever your petstores say, you can forget it.

Ddub · 07-10-13, 10:05 AM

^^^ this is very true! Pet stores in general have a well earned reputation for being misinformed about proper husbandry and passing their misinformation to beginner reptile enthusiasts.