live-f/t-freshly killed whats best

[BallPythonLover]

hello my name is michael and i currently have a 22 inch 3 month old boa that has shed 2 times not the growing shed but just for new cleaner skin. any way i have feed live to him and he takes it the minute it startes to move around. i have tried f/t but it takes a little bit more work to get him interested. i have not tried freshly killed yet..

whats best ???

and would it be ok to feed him live while he is young and does not take adult rat and then get him eating f/t or freshly killed ( what ever is best ) when he is larger and needs to consume larger and more dangerous prey.

the reason i am asking this is because i heard that boas will take f/t when adults better than young babies because they dont really care if it is alive or dead . adults think of it as free food . is that true

i am so confused

[peterm15]

http://www.redtailboas.com/frozen_th...wed.html#spot2

here read this.. i gave this site to you the other day.. did you read it???

f/t is by far the best way to go.. at least imo..

[BallPythonLover]

i only read the basic care part cause i had to go et dinner.
so my snake hasent been eating the mice and pooping it out . its been regurgitating them. so wonder why it smelled so much that gross.
what am i going to do with the rest of the fuzzies
how many fuzzies make a adult mouse?
and why does my boa always look so sad? or mad

[BallPythonLover]

and ever since i started feeding him mice he has no interest in going on the branch.
and he bit me yester day while feeding he got my arm instead of the mouse yes i used forceps he doesnt let go untili drop the mouse as if he is saying thats my mouse not yours now drop it. at least he didnt puncure my skin other wise my mom would say that the boa is trough. she almost wanted me to get rid of my corn when it bit me and only caused a prick of blood boas dont have a prick its bite bleed

[peterm15]

he regured???

dont feed for like 2 weeks.. get him over to f/t rats.. if you have to drive 45min you have to.. mice are no good...

Why feed rats only?

From talking to several different people and breeders, I strongly believe that rats are the best food source for our boas. Mice are far more likely to be regurgitated, especially in younger boas. Some think it is because of the amount of hair on mice. As well as mice really don't have very much meat on their bodies.

As boa constrictor owners, we will eventually have to feed rats anyway, just because of the size of adult boas. It is tougher to convert a snake from mice to rats as they get older. We should start as young as possible to switch our boas to rats. Start out feeding your boas "pinkie" rats, or "Fuzzy" rats. Your boa will never miss anything if you do!

I feed frozen/thawed rats exclusively, as does my friend Jeff Ronne of www.theboaphile.com fame, and many, many others. The picture comparison photos are also compliments of Jeff Ronne.

straight from the site..

Frozen Thawed
Why frozen/thawed rodents?

The next biggest step you can take is to convert from Pre-killed to frozen/thawed rodents. These rodents are frozen solid for storage, usually in vacuum packed, sealed containers, then fully thawed at the time of feeding. Frozen/Thawed rodents are the best solution for boa owners. They come in all Sizes.

1) Freezing the rodents kills any parasites, internal and external. "DEADER IS BETTER"

2) Frozen rodents are readily available to you at any time you wish to feed.

3) Vacuum packed containers allow long storage times in your freezer. 6 months to 1 year or longer.

4) Prices are MUCH less expensive than purchasing live rodents at pet stores. Many shippers are available that ship overnight. Even with this shipping cost, they are much cheaper. Especially when you are talking about rats.
How do I feed frozen/thawed?

These rodents must be completely Defrosted. You should NEVER attempt to feed the prey while it is frozen! You must thaw it thoroughly and warm it to at least room temperature before feeding it.

I use a Rubbermaid type container large enough to hold the number of rodents I will be feeding. Here is how I feed frozen / thawed rodents.

Fill the rubbermaid container with regular cold tap water. Place the rodents in the container. Let stand for an hour. This hour is based on many rodents. One to just a few, may not require as much time. I do not thaw the rodents fast. If you are feeding "pinkies" or "fuzzies", thawing fast will cause them to burst open during feeding. But, if you thaw slowly, as describe here, you should not have a problem.

After an hour, I will run warm water until the entire container is filled with warm water. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Finally, I run almost hot water into the container, just prior to feeding. This hot water added to the warm water will heat the rodents to a feeding temperature. They MUST be above room temperature. This also makes the rodents "smell" stronger to the boas.

The rodents should be drip dried, not towel dried. This extra moisture will aid the boas.

Feed the rodents using tongs or hemostats. Never use your hand to feed. Remember your hand may be "warmer" that the rodent. The boa will smell the prey, but possibly sense your hand with more heat.

Note: Some people will place the frozen prey in the refrigerator to slowly thaw. Other people leave out on newspaper overnight. Other will use defrost settings on the microwave. There are many methods, I have just shared what works very well for me.

again straight from the site..

buddy.. if you dont have access to the supplies or food fo the animal you have.. you cant own that animal.. if you knew you couldnt get food big enough why get the boa.. your gonna have to get rats shipped.. which means you parrents credit card has to be used...

[BallPythonLover]

sorry reurgitated. what am i going to do with the fuzzy mice that are left flush em they wont know if i didnt or did flush em but thats a waste and my garter only takes live because he is w/c i caught her

[peterm15]

i dont know man but you can read my post.. MICE ARE NO GOOD!!!! who cares what you do with them.. just dont feed them to your boa..

look i dont mean to be a jerk but you should probably get rid of the boa... its no good for you... you cant care for it properly and you ask questions millions of times over.. that shows you dont are to do any reasearch on the proper care.. you just want someone to tell you how to do it.. its not gonna happen... 99% of these questions you should have already known the answer.. i think your parrents were right.. you should have gotten something easier to manage....

[BallPythonLover]

it just that my mom dosent like snakes and she said that this is my last snake in the house until i have a job and can buy and take care of a snake my self which will be when i am 18 and up. i am a nervous reck that it will die i dont want it to die i dont. and i know i know all about them well not ever thing it just that this the last and i feel like i lost all knoledge.

[rrrrr]

If he's regurging, it has nothing to do with the type of food item. Most likely your warm side temps are too low, or the warm side has no hide box so he hangs out on the cold side to feel secure when he should be warming up to aid digestion. If the temps are good, it could mean internal parasites or worse.

Umm...on an unrelated note, do you actually have a giant garter (thamnophis gigas)? I thought they were federally protected in the US.

Roy G

[BallPythonLover]

yes i ahve a giant garter and my citie has them swarming every were because we have klots of fish and frog and toads

[BallPythonLover]

its a female
i am trying to breed them i have caught males forr her to breed with bbut she keeps on eating them i know they are protected but i am doing the nation a service instead of a crime except for the part she is eating males.

[BallPythonLover]

i asked the local animal depart ment if a could let it go but they said no because of to much muman con tact she said takecare of it or turn it in and i was not going to turn it into a stay animal facility and animals including snakes get put down every week

[rrrrr]

Giant garters dont live in illinois. If you have a local wild-caught garter, it's either a common garter or a ribbon snake. If you have a giant garter, you didn't get it in your backyard. Umm...which local animal department did yo ucontact? They really should know a thing or two about local wildlife.

r

[Linds]

RRRR said it right, the reason your boa regurged has nothing to do with the item (unless it was seriously gone bad or still frozen - in which it would most definitely make a snake sick). Are your temps correct? The surface temps should provide a graident (measured either with a temperature probe or a temp gun) of around 78/80- 90/95degrees for proper digestion. Too warm or too cool temps will cause your boa to get sick. If your temps are good to go, you need to pay clozse attention to other things, such as adequate water supply and the rest of your setup. Did you give your snake a few days off after feeding before handling it? This can cause a snake to puke up its meal. I would definitely suggest you have a fecal smaple analyzed by a vet (at the very least), and the snake examined for possible parasitic or bacterial infection.

[QUOTE=peterm15]i dont know man but you can read my post.. MICE ARE NO GOOD!!!! who cares what you do with them.. just dont feed them to your boa..
QUOTE]

Mice are perfectly fine, and in fact, some boas will only start on mice. There is no sound reason why mice (especially fuzzies, which have little fur and bone mass anyways) cannot be fed to neonate boas. Generally it is best to try to get them on rats asap simply because they will have to be switched over very soon anyways, and mice are more appealing taste-wise, so it just saves a bit of hassle.

Originally Posted by BallPythonLover

i asked the local animal depart ment if a could let it go but they said no because of to much muman con tact she said takecare of it or turn it in and i was not going to turn it into a stay animal facility and animals including snakes get put down every week

I'm guessing you contacted the SPCA. That's pure ignorance that a snake cannot be released due to human contact, as they are driven on pure instinct. However you also cannot just release an animal anywhere, as it can be somewhat of a threat to the local population if not released in its original location. Only the SPCA euthanizes animals in the way described.

[BallPythonLover]

ok what the hell is it then its 3 ft long with a girth about ____________