General newb questioning!!?! - Page 2

ZeldaTheRosy · 06-21-13, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starbuck

Irs unlikely that the cage DEFENSIVNESS has anything to do with feeding... this might be a problem later on (unlikely), but right now it just sounds like a scared baby snake. She will get better with time and age

I agree 100%

And yes, aggression and defensive are two different things.

ZeldaTheRosy · 06-21-13, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

When you feed pinkies there isnt much "waste" for the snake to pass, i wouldnt worry too much

Makes sense. Cool, thanks!

Starbuck · 06-21-13, 06:10 PM

what color/locality is your rosy?
mine is a chocolate brown/light tan, with very solid definition between stripes

ZeldaTheRosy · 06-21-13, 06:12 PM

Thought I'd throw in acouple snapshots for y'all. I love her colors! I can't wait to see her all grown up.

Locality I am not sure, her parents I believe are from harcaveur mountain range in AZ. I'll confirm this when I pick up some new foods for her.

Starbuck · 06-21-13, 06:17 PM

very cute, she is sure to be a stunner when she grows up (is she a confirmed female?)
I know you have been advised to up your feeding schedule, but i just wanted to state that i do think she looks a little too lean for her size; do you have easy access to a gram scale to weigh her? I would definitely up her schedule to every 5-7 days, and as lankyrob suggested, try a larger prey item (up to 1.5 times her widest girth).

If i could have purchased my rosy from a baby (mine was a rehoming situation), i definitely would have gotten one of the brick reds, like yours

ZeldaTheRosy · 06-27-13, 05:33 PM

I am not positive I guess. The breeder, my friend, writes sex, date of every feeding and amount/what fed. So I just assumed he knew what he was doing. But of course I am not certain I'll leave room for error.

I fed her my last 3 pinkies the other night (22nd) I plan to bump it up now to the next size(as y'all say 1.5 her size)
How many should I feed? We verified the diameter but what amount?

BryanB · 06-27-13, 06:34 PM

I would go with 1 rat fuzzy every 5-7 days. if I am wrong I would like to know that seaming I may get a rosy very soon

Starbuck · 06-27-13, 07:16 PM

If the snake is eating a prey item 1.5x her diameter, one prey item/5-7 days, as suggested, is sufficient. Over feeding a snake can be just as dangerous as under feeding.

you certainly COULD feed a rat pup/appropriately sized rat (instead of mice), but imo there is no NEED to. I have never met an ADULT rosy boa who could comfortable eat even a small rat (100 grams or so?), so if you chose to feet rats, you will likely never get beyond the weanling stage.

My 15 year old rosy eats 1-2 small mice every 10ish days. As stated above; there is no reason NOT to feed rats, though they do tend to be a bit more expensive than mice. Also, compare a rat and mouse of the same size (old mouse, baby rat), the mouse will have more bone mass and roughage. I believe it is really a personal choice, and neither is better than the other.

**Aaron_S** · 06-27-13, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starbuck

If the snake is eating a prey item 1.5x her diameter, one prey item/5-7 days, as suggested, is sufficient. Over feeding a snake can be just as dangerous as under feeding...

I believe this to be poor information.

If you're feeding 1.5x diameter you should not be feeding the snake as frequently as 5 - 7 days. 7 - 10 days is much better.

The only time you feed more frequently is when the size of the prey is smaller.

Personally, I use weight to feed my animals and no longer care about the diameter. I roughly use 10% - 15% body weight.

No reason to not buy a simple kitchen scale for this reason if you're so inclined.

Starbuck · 06-27-13, 07:29 PM

i think the 5-7 was mentioned because the snake was very young, under one year.

smy_749 · 06-27-13, 07:31 PM

I don't keep it so exact. I grab a mouse from the freezer, sometimes its a bit large, sometimes its a bit small. I feed when I remember to feed him (within reason, probably between 6 and 11 days). I don't see the harm in it .... Ofcourse if I had more snakes and some sort of breeding project going on I'd probably have more of a 'system' but for just a few pets, it works for me.

**Aaron_S** · 06-27-13, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starbuck

i think the 5-7 was mentioned because the snake was very young, under one year.

Still shouldn't feed it larger meals if that's the frequency.

All my babies get fed as I mentioned above on a 5 day schedule.

ZeldaTheRosy · 06-28-13, 12:26 AM

Good reading. I'll keep all these comments in mind around feeding time and decide which works for me, they all seem to be preference anyways.

**Aaron_S** · 06-28-13, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeldaTheRosy

Good reading. I'll keep all these comments in mind around feeding time and decide which works for me, they all seem to be preference anyways.

Preference is where you're wrong.

My method, through a lot of bookkeeping and trial and error I found that smaller meals roughly 10% - 15% of body weight had the snakes keeping the most amount of their meal for growth and the like.

I found larger meals left them digesting for too long and more lethargic and the growth rate wasn't as steady or as good as smaller meals. The snake wasted more of the meal.

This is just my findings and doesn't make it scientific but it's what I like to see in my collection.

franks · 06-28-13, 08:24 AM

It looks like a borrego locale, but it is sooooo hard to tell between the minute differences. But my guess is borrego, maybe coastal.
Rosy boas have very small little heads at this age, but do not be fooled, they can put down decent sized prey. Ignore the size of the head and try to get something a little thicker than the largest part of your snake.
Regarding substrate, if you want to go with something natural, you can get stone dust or crushed granite. I use silt stones with stone dust on one half, and aspen on the other half. This is what it looks like:
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