Quote:
Originally Posted by OE542
Thank you for the advice hotlips. So I have been over feeding already? I dont want to hurt her long term health so thanks again. Past few feedings been 10day intervals and she seems hungry ie poking head out of hide and more active moving around the cage.
What would be the easiest way to kill a med. rat? Untill i can get a shipment of frozen? Thank u thank you
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Honestly can't tell much from the photos, other than she's a nice looking boa.
I'm glad you've gone to 10 day intervals already...what I'd do is just keep lengthening that interval, instead of abruptly making her wait longer. When boas are older ("middle-aged") the time between feedings should usually be longer still, 2.5- 3 weeks between feeding, but that's a long way off for yours. Your boa is a growing girl.
And you sound like a well-intentioned owner.
Normal boas (normal snakes) DO "seem hungry ie poking head out of hide and more active moving around the cage" long before we should be feeding them. Remember they live by instincts...in the wild, "there's no room service" so they must always be on the prowl & grab when they can; but also remember that they are far more active in the wild than they are in our cushy cages where it's easier for them to "pack on the pounds" before you realize it. It's very hard to reverse that. A healthy boa's mid-body should be shaped like a loaf of bread, not round, in (imaginary) cross-section.
I would be feeding what most sources call a small rat (larger than weanling) but not a medium to a boa that's only 4' long as yours is. Especially since you've gone to 10 day intervals, a medium rat is just too much food. You may see her missing those bigger meals for a while...I think their stomach gets stretched some, just like people who are used to eating excessive portions, but stick with it. Even when my BCI was 7.5' long she was mostly fed a medium rat (not large, as you might expect), and she was not thin.
(large/jumbo rats are generally older breeders that have more body fat, btw)