How often should a one year old 4 foot long retic eat

[millertime89]

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

No need, I agree with you that the rabbit is not too big for the boa. I'm just stating that it is overweight.

It's not the best picture to really gauge the size of the animal IMO. But that's a discussion for the boa section

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by millertime89

It's not the best picture to really gauge the size of the animal IMO. But that's a discussion for the boa section

In my opinion, that photo is very telling of the animal's overall shape. Boas should have a lean, "bread loaf" structure. In that photo one can tell it is round on the sides. And if he is going to post a photo of it in this thread to make a point, I think it's worth noting.. since the animal's health is at stake. I don't care to wait for a thread posted in the boa section, just for the sake of relevance.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Originally Posted by millertime89

Who knows why? Sometimes that's all the person has available. There could be a dozen reasons why.



No, he wasn't. He asked a question. Sure he said he gave a 2.5 ft ball python a jumbo, but that doesn't mean he's going to feed jumbos to a 4 ft retic weekly. He said in post 49 he would feed jumbos every other week, which is exactly what I recommended.



I don't have a lot of experience with boas and balls which is why I only talked about the retic. Also, it's in the giants section. That said, It's hard to judge the size of the rabbit and the boa from that one picture. If it's a 10lb boa and a 2 lb rabbit then it's fine. Rabbits are shaped funny and the bodies kind of bunch up, but then stretch out and look really thin. I need to set some food out to thaw so if I remember I'll take two pictures to demonstrate.



No, it's not unhealthy for the retic. Unnecessary? Sure, but that doesn't make it harmful to the snake. If it was insurmountably larger then the animal wouldn't be able to eat it.

Insurmountable; adjective: too great to be overcome.



It was big, but that's not a reason not to feed it to the snake.



Just saw this post. That's not fat deposits, that's poop, the snake is going to leave a stinky brown and/or white present.

Actually, a 10 lb boa should be eating a rabbit that's 1 lb or smaller (1lb being the largest the snake could physically get down; 1/2lb being the size that would allow the snake to maintain a healthy body tone). A 10 lb boa is a 6' boa, which is the size my boa is. He's 8.5 lb and getting on average 4-6 oz rabbits, with 8 oz being the biggest. He also gets large rats, but a 2 lb rabbit is bigger than a jumbo rat. I honestly think his boa should be on large rats or 1/2 lb rabbits. He should also start lengthening his feedings. If his boa is really 35 lbs and 6', it's morbidly obese and needs to be on a diet now. I wouldn't go straight to a 4-6 weeks schedule, but starting it on every 3 weeks and then slowly working to 4-5 weeks would be best. It's so overweight you don't want it to go without food for too long or it could die. As it is, if the snake ever went on a feeding strike, the chances of fatty liver disease is extremely high, and the snake would probably die.

I also pointed out that the retic was probably going to poop as well. The retic honestly doesn't even look overweight to me. I'm just worried about him feeding that snake a jumbo rat all time, even if he only fed it every 2 weeks. I'd feed a rat that size every couple of feedings at most, because it is easier on their stomachs and easier to digest smaller meals. You'll get as good of growth off a 4' retic eating small or medium rats as you would one eating a jumbo rat.

[millertime89]

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

Actually, a 10 lb boa should be eating a rabbit that's 1 lb or smaller (1lb being the largest the snake could physically get down; 1/2lb being the size that would allow the snake to maintain a healthy body tone). A 10 lb boa is a 6' boa, which is the size my boa is. He's 8.5 lb and getting on average 4-6 oz rabbits, with 8 oz being the biggest. He also gets large rats, but a 2 lb rabbit is bigger than a jumbo rat. I honestly think his boa should be on large rats or 1/2 lb rabbits. He should also start lengthening his feedings. If his boa is really 35 lbs and 6', it's morbidly obese and needs to be on a diet now. I wouldn't go straight to a 4-6 weeks schedule, but starting it on every 3 weeks and then slowly working to 4-5 weeks would be best. It's so overweight you don't want it to go without food for too long or it could die. As it is, if the snake ever went on a feeding strike, the chances of fatty liver disease is extremely high, and the snake would probably die.

I consider a meal 10-20% of the body weight to be sufficient. Hence the 2lb rabbit/10lb boa example. I must've missed the 35 lb amount somewhere. Yes, that would be an obese boa and if that's the case the rest of your advice seems sound to me, but again, I'm not an expert in boa physiology.

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

I also pointed out that the retic was probably going to poop as well. The retic honestly doesn't even look overweight to me. I'm just worried about him feeding that snake a jumbo rat all time, even if he only fed it every 2 weeks. I'd feed a rat that size every couple of feedings at most, because it is easier on their stomachs and easier to digest smaller meals. You'll get as good of growth off a 4' retic eating small or medium rats as you would one eating a jumbo rat.

Yeah, the retic's weight looks healthy to me. I stand by what I said, a jumbo every other week is ok. Would I do it differently? Sure, but to each their own. At 4 ft I would feed med-lrg rats every 7-10 days.

[Albert Clark]

As for unhealthy, it certainly is. Especially when Kyle makes it clear that he is going to continue to feed the animals these oversized meals. As far as insurmountable, semantics. He swallowed it but it was a extremely excessive, massive meal. One that is frowned upon on every reptile feeding front.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Originally Posted by millertime89

I consider a meal 10-20% of the body weight to be sufficient. Hence the 2lb rabbit/10lb boa example. I must've missed the 35 lb amount somewhere. Yes, that would be an obese boa and if that's the case the rest of your advice seems sound to me, but again, I'm not an expert in boa physiology.



Yeah, the retic's weight looks healthy to me. I stand by what I said, a jumbo every other week is ok. Would I do it differently? Sure, but to each their own. At 4 ft I would feed med-lrg rats every 7-10 days.

Boa constrictors are NOT the kind of snake you want to be feeding 10-20% of weight to, even as babies. You want to go by girth. If you can get a weight on their average-sized prey item that's cool, but don't base their entire feeding regimen off their weight. Their metabolisms are eeeeextremely slow, even as babies. I'd say similar to blood pythons, if not even slower. They poop more often, but they grow slower and can make use of less food. I mean, it takes them 6 years to get full-sized. You, optimally, want to feed them something that doesn't leave a bulge, but as babies 1.5x width is ok until they turn about a year or two. Even what I'm feeding my boa now is slightly too much for him, he's put on some weight since I ended his fast. He's slimmed out slightly putting him on rats, but he could honestly be eating even less than what I'm giving him and be perfectly healthy. He's still a good weight as-is so I'm not worried about it that much.

Yeah, I'd personally back off on the food. I think that would be best for the snake tbh, but the retic isn't being as overfed as the ball python and boa constrictor were, by far....