Boa constrictor feeding schedule - Page 4

Starbuck · 06-14-13, 09:34 PM

To the OP; i wouldnt necessarily use a hair straightener; they get way way hot :/ try just feeding him in enclosure first, then if he is still refusing food you can try to create a hit spot for him.

Ddub · 06-14-13, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

A hot target isn't as important to a boa as it would be a python.

I agree here, its not necessary. My boas all eat at room temp. I don't even dangle them with tongs and their feeding response is great. I actually had two of them catch the rats before they hit the ground last feeding. Keep it simple and the variables to a minimum, just thaw and toss em in and be persistent. If it doesn't work wait a week or two and try again. They eventually come around.

bigsnakegirl785 · 06-15-13, 05:04 PM

Alright. I think I'm going to go ahead and try to feed him this coming Friday, and if he doesn't eat I'll try again the next Friday. I was kinda iffy on the hit spot, because he's never needed it, so it's good to know it isn't necessary.

I'm hoping to get some more breeder female rats for my males, as my other two females died of old age, and I don't expect their mate to last more than maybe to the beginning of this winter. I don't have the paper I wrote their birth date on, but they were around 2-2.5 years, maybe 3. I'll start typing them instead so I don't lose them. lol That will make this a lot easier, as the nearest pet store that sells feeders big enough is about 1.5 hour trip both ways. The Petsmart down the road only sells up to small rats, and only frozen. They don't even have live rats, just Guinea pigs and mice. That, and we have to sign agreements every time we get a live animal there.

waf · 06-15-13, 06:32 PM

Do you have the ability to raise your own rats? I do, and I don´t have to be finding-out rats every meal time.... All you need for a good start are 1 male and 2 females, you will have 8 to 10 rats each female. Think about it..

bigsnakegirl785 · 06-15-13, 07:00 PM

Yes, I used to, but my two breeder females died over the winter, and I haven't been able to find any more that were healthy. They were good breeders, they had between 9 and 16 babies every litter, each. They only had one small litter each, and that's because I didn't give them enough time between litters before I re-introduced the male. I like to give them a month to two months to recuperate. It allows them to have bigger babies, and more of them. I felt bad for the one, because she got a tumor. Judging by where it was, I'm guessing ovary.

Made me really sad, and I had to put her down. Her sister died two days later. I was able to raise two generations, but finding new females has been hard. Everyone only really has males.

bigsnakegirl785 · 06-18-13, 12:26 PM

So, today was a success! It's only been six days, but he pooped last night, so I figured he'd be ready for his next meal. The pet store was low on bigger rats again, so I got three small rats. They will be getting a new shipment later, so I I'll get two medium rats on Friday. He hit the first one like a starved lion and just about flung himself out of the tub. The next two he just gently opened his mouth and let me set them in his mouth. I fed him on the rock I keep in there for decoration, and he didn't pull them off. I tried to warm them up in a bag with the bag sealed and in a bowl of warm water, but it ended up leaking. -.- They didn't get too wet, though, and I dried them off as best I could.

Rat #3

Rat #2

NCHornet · 06-18-13, 05:09 PM

Wow!!!! What a thread with all sorts of opinions. Here's mine.
I have a BCC and a BCI both within a month of your boa. As a matter of fact your male looks exactly like my female and just a tad bit smaller which is totally normal. There is no way your snake is to skinny, anyone who says so doesn't know what they are talking about and probably are power feeding so they can walk around main street and show off their big snake to everyone, whether they want to see it or not, ok off my soapbox, sorry!!!!!
I highly recommend switching from pet store rats to quality frozen. Can't tell you how many people get mites from pet shop food and usually they aren't all that healthy. I use to use pet shop rats until one day and they were out and I was leaving on vacation and needed a rat. They sent me to the man they bought them from, one whiff and I knew it was going to be bad. Over crowded, dead rats in cages being eaten by others, the cheapest dog food from WalMart for food and filthy water. Not feeding anything like that to my snakes, sure not all pet shops are lie this but why risk it. I only buy from The Rat Deli and they are the highest quality feeders that I have ever used and I have used most of the big suppliers. I buy a year at a time and if you know anyone close to you who also has snakes you can place a larger order and save on shipping.
My snakes have been on XL Rats for 6 months now and eat every two weeks, neither of them have ever turned down a meal. Here is what I do. Rat comes out of freezer and is wrapped in a couple paper towels and placed into a sandwich sized zip lock and thawed at room temp all day. I will then take two bags and place them into a gallon sized ziploc bag with a weight in the bottom, I also squeeze out as much air out as possible. I fill a 5 gal bucket half full of hot water and submerge the bad for 12-15 min. By using two bags very little water enters the inner bag if any, and I use new bags each time I feed. If any water does get in the paper towels absorb it. I always feed at night just a few minutes before the timer shuts the lights off. The rats are placed on a Styrofoam plate and placed in each cage opposite where the snake is. Timer is advanced so lights are off and I leave the room and turn off all lights. Boas don't need UV lights and lights should never be used as a heat source 24 hours per day. I don't recommend using them as a heat sourc at all, but that is me. Snakes are most active at night so use this to your advantage. With mine around the 10-12 day they are cruising around the cage much more, so I know they are hungry. Dry rats mean little chance of ingesting substrate, which I use nothing but Aspen and the boas love it.
By the next morning the late is always open. My snakes no longer coil the prey which shocked me, they cruise up to it, open their mouth when they find the head and down it goes. But if I placed the rat on tongs and moved it in front of them it would be a different story!!!!!! Your temps and humidity are fine, light should be roughly 12 on and 12 off, I don't plan on breeding so I keep this a constant. I feel there are way to many people breeding that shouldn't be, why add to the mess we have in this hobby?
In the wild snakes can go a very long time without eating, you think a rat walks by them every 14 days? It is also far better for your snake to feed one properly sized food item than multiple smaller items. Not saying it will hurt your snake because again in the wild they aren't to picky on what they will eat, but it is healthier for them.
I would also feed in the cage, it is very stressful on the snake to be moved right after eating. Don't sit there and stare at them, this can also stress them out. Turn all lights off and vacate the room.
By the end of the year I will be moving up to small rabbits. Rabbits have more fat so you want to extend feeding times out to 3 to 4 weeks. All in all you are doing a great job, I wish everyone would take care of their snakes like you. Keep up the good work your boa is gorgeous!!!!!

waf · 06-18-13, 08:34 PM

Hey! good news! With by boas, I have learned a lot of patience, and it seems to me that you are in that learning way too... ha ha !

NCHornet · 06-19-13, 07:17 AM

One other thing I wanted to mention. I have discovered that heating the prey in warm water isn't needed. But they do need to be completely thawed at room temp. I still warm mine but no where near as long as I use to. If you don't have a temp gun get one, under $30 on Amazon, I have found that 12 min in the water the rats are 80-85 degrees over their entire body. I have read where people say the prey should be 100-105 degrees, this is plain wrong, you don't want to cook them, and getting them that hot causes the bellies to rupture and make a awful mess. If I thaw at room temp they still consume it, but it takes a little bit longer for them to start consuming. I will try and get some photos of mine so you can see how close our boas are in size. Later!!
NCH

sweatshirt · 06-19-13, 09:17 AM

I'm glad he ate! He's gorgeous btw

Amadeus · 06-19-13, 10:06 AM

Great that he ate and that color is very pleasing to the eye.

bigsnakegirl785 · 06-19-13, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCHornet

Wow!!!! What a thread with all sorts of opinions. Here's mine.
I have a BCC and a BCI both within a month of your boa. As a matter of fact your male looks exactly like my female and just a tad bit smaller which is totally normal. There is no way your snake is to skinny, anyone who says so doesn't know what they are talking about and probably are power feeding so they can walk around main street and show off their big snake to everyone, whether they want to see it or not, ok off my soapbox, sorry!!!!!
I highly recommend switching from pet store rats to quality frozen. Can't tell you how many people get mites from pet shop food and usually they aren't all that healthy. I use to use pet shop rats until one day and they were out and I was leaving on vacation and needed a rat. They sent me to the man they bought them from, one whiff and I knew it was going to be bad. Over crowded, dead rats in cages being eaten by others, the cheapest dog food from WalMart for food and filthy water. Not feeding anything like that to my snakes, sure not all pet shops are lie this but why risk it. I only buy from The Rat Deli and they are the highest quality feeders that I have ever used and I have used most of the big suppliers. I buy a year at a time and if you know anyone close to you who also has snakes you can place a larger order and save on shipping.
My snakes have been on XL Rats for 6 months now and eat every two weeks, neither of them have ever turned down a meal. Here is what I do. Rat comes out of freezer and is wrapped in a couple paper towels and placed into a sandwich sized zip lock and thawed at room temp all day. I will then take two bags and place them into a gallon sized ziploc bag with a weight in the bottom, I also squeeze out as much air out as possible. I fill a 5 gal bucket half full of hot water and submerge the bad for 12-15 min. By using two bags very little water enters the inner bag if any, and I use new bags each time I feed. If any water does get in the paper towels absorb it. I always feed at night just a few minutes before the timer shuts the lights off. The rats are placed on a Styrofoam plate and placed in each cage opposite where the snake is. Timer is advanced so lights are off and I leave the room and turn off all lights. Boas don't need UV lights and lights should never be used as a heat source 24 hours per day. I don't recommend using them as a heat sourc at all, but that is me. Snakes are most active at night so use this to your advantage. With mine around the 10-12 day they are cruising around the cage much more, so I know they are hungry. Dry rats mean little chance of ingesting substrate, which I use nothing but Aspen and the boas love it.
By the next morning the late is always open. My snakes no longer coil the prey which shocked me, they cruise up to it, open their mouth when they find the head and down it goes. But if I placed the rat on tongs and moved it in front of them it would be a different story!!!!!! Your temps and humidity are fine, light should be roughly 12 on and 12 off, I don't plan on breeding so I keep this a constant. I feel there are way to many people breeding that shouldn't be, why add to the mess we have in this hobby?
In the wild snakes can go a very long time without eating, you think a rat walks by them every 14 days? It is also far better for your snake to feed one properly sized food item than multiple smaller items. Not saying it will hurt your snake because again in the wild they aren't to picky on what they will eat, but it is healthier for them.
I would also feed in the cage, it is very stressful on the snake to be moved right after eating. Don't sit there and stare at them, this can also stress them out. Turn all lights off and vacate the room.
By the end of the year I will be moving up to small rabbits. Rabbits have more fat so you want to extend feeding times out to 3 to 4 weeks. All in all you are doing a great job, I wish everyone would take care of their snakes like you. Keep up the good work your boa is gorgeous!!!!!

The rats I get from the pet store are frozen, and as I've stated several times, I am doing this because both of my breeder females recently passed away. I've put up ads looking for replacements, because I don't trust the ones from the pet store, but no one is answering the ad. And as far as the sizing, I believe just the size of the large rat is making him feel full, so should I wait a little bit to up him, or go ahead with it? As it is, he seems to eat later and later every feeding I give him large. The first time he was late feeding, it was one week late, the second two weeks late. Right now he's 4ft 10in. I'm hoping to switch him to rabbits soon as well, but I'll take the advice in this thread and wait until he starts eating normally again. And thanks! It's been great having him, after my ball python. He's not picky at all, and besides the few feedings, he's never missed a meal! Such a relief. lol Too bad there aren't snake role models, otherwise he might have been able to influence Bud. XD Although, even Bud is beginning to eat normally now.

NCHornet · 06-20-13, 03:59 PM

The prey should leave a slight bludgeon in him and be a little bit larger in diameter than the mid section of your boa. If he eats and you can't tell you probably should bump up to the next size. But as I said in the wild they eat just about whatever they can get down. No problem feeding two smaller items to use them up, but not ideal for long term. I have found no better supplier than Rat Deli for feeders. I hope they will carry rabbits soon. The owner worked at Mouse Factory before they closed. That is who I used for a long time.

NCHornet · 06-20-13, 04:03 PM

Also how are feeding him? Do you leave the lights on and want to watch him? Do you use tongs and wave it in front of him? Try placing it on a plate and shut off all lights and leave the room and check it in the morning, I bet it's gone. Many people stress their snakes out by leaving lights on and movement in the room with TV on etc....... No wonder their snake won't eat.

bigsnakegirl785 · 06-20-13, 04:29 PM

Yes, the two mediums leave a slight bulge in his belly, but the large leaves a very noticeable one. I'll attach some pictures of him after eating a large rat, but he's also grown an inch or two since these pictures were taken. I'm thinking the large rats were still a little big, and he felt full for longer.

Overhead once he got the rat all the way down.

5 days later...you can still clearly see the bulge. But he did end up pooping only 2 or 3 days later. So a total of about a week to digest, despite that bulge.