Push a female?

Originally Posted by M.Dwight

Perhaps. But both myself and Hoppy were adding extra info for a better understanding of the subject.

It's definitely worth the extra effort to get the info here to have on file. I know people like me enjoy it and spend our work days reading old threads on Fauna on someone else's dime.

Originally Posted by M.Dwight

I think it's important here to not confuse power feeding with adding weight to a female prior to breeding. For the health of female boa its important to give them a slow growing maintenance diet of feedings every 10 to 21 days until they reach about 4 years of age. Then during the summer (before their first breeding trails in the fall) you greatly increase their food intake to "push" them into breeding shape/weight. This is only to add breeding mass and is not for overall growth. Most females won't eat much if at all during breeding and while gravid. So, this push prior to breeding is very important. In fact, most females will not ovulate without that extra fat/mass.
Pushing a young boa into breeding size however is powerfeeding and it has been proved that this method will shorten their lives.

Very well put.

The only thing I would add is that I feed newborns on a weekly schedule until they are a year old.
At that point (depending on the animal - there are no set rules here) I begin stretching out the feedings.

Well, let me add this to get your thoughts. Right now I have 2 normal females that are both in the 5.5 foot range. They have average weight and I am wanting to breed them this next season. Currently, I feed them about every 7 days which is right in line with when they are defecating. I do not, under any terms, want to powerfeed them or do anything that might be deemed unhealthy. They willingly eat and I know they will need the extra weight. I had always thought of powerfeeding as allowing your animal to start eating the rat and then continue to push a second rat down as they are finishing the end of the first one. Thoughts?

Griz

Power feeding can be feeding more frequently (ie twice weekly), or feeding larger than normal meals - either by chain feeding, as you described; bigger prey items; or just giving the little gluttons all they want. Frequently, temperatures are kept on the high side of normal to stimulate appetite. This practice, as has been mentioned, is not good for the snake; with potential for problems both in the short term and later in life. I will admit that with some of my babies/young snakes, I do periodically feed them on a 5 day cycle (usually when they are at a point where one size prey item is not enough, but the next available size is too big)...but after a couple weeks, I skip a meal and go to a 10-14 day cycle when I move up in size. I figure it all equals out. I also maintain my adults on a 7-10 day cycle, periodically skipping a feeding. I know that many recommend 2 weeks, but I keep the meal size appropriate to my schedule. (Funny, I get a snake [not necessarily a boa sp] that is maintained on "one small rat/week" and find that everytime I open the cage door, there is an open mouth flying in my direction. I bump them up to 1-2 med rats every 7-10 days and I can actually change the water without getting bitten. I think that as many people underfeed their snakes as overfeed)

I've had this guy since he was about a month old. He has never been fed more than every 10 to 21 days. He is now almost seven feet and very thick, solid and strong as an ox. Not much fat but VERY muscular. Perfect shape for breeding.