Breeding size of adult female boas

Well wild Boas are wild Boas... They have to free range to get their own food... Do you think they are lean by choice?

You know those anorexic supermodels... Yeah not healthy!!! A girl with some extra 10 lbs looks better and is healthier... All extremes are bad.

My breeding adult female Boas take two XL rats every two weeks...

Males on the other hand they eat every two weeks still, but they only take 1/2 the meal a breeding female takes...

My adult Boas do not get huge lumps after a meal... Its more, you can hardy notice they have eaten...

I guess I am in the middle of the road... Every two weeks a moderate meal... NOT a big meal every week, and NOT an extreme meal once a month either...

It does make sense that energy to digest could be used for growth... I guess a good size rabbit takes 2 weeks to digest... A couple rats takes a less than a 1 week...

Do you guys also reduce the temperatures to slow down metabolism?

Luis

Originally Posted by mxracer4life

So to sum up what I just said, feeding an adult boa is healthier, they obtain a smaller size, they live longer, they require less space to house them in, it saves you money on feeders and there is less poo to clean up.

I am looking at this theory with an open mind...

The only thing I have an issue with is that if you want a small snake that requires less space to house, why not get a Ball Python instead?

Boas are bigger and they do require larger cages, and they eat and poo more...

Controlling the size of your Boas by feeding them less, for personal convenience... It just does not sound right to me...

Luis

I don't know that they stay smaller...but it takes them longer to reach "full" size (boas will continue to grow throughout their life. I suppose that one could restrict food enough limit their growth, but that is not what most of us are talking about.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

I don't know that they stay smaller...but it takes them longer to reach "full" size (boas will continue to grow throughout their life. I suppose that one could restrict food enough limit their growth, but that is not what most of us are talking about.

Exactly.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

I have snakes that were not raised on a conservative feeding plan, and some that were...looking at them as adults, (IMO) the ones raised slower look better.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

I don't know that they stay smaller...but it takes them longer to reach "full" size

I pretty much follow the same feeding schedule Tom posted. I've also been accused of not feeding my snakes enough or 'maintenance feeding' cause they aren't 6' in the first few years. I have some '06s that are going be over 5' this year (some growing about 1/2' faster than the siblings, all on the same schedule). First time breeding will be in 2012, they will be 6yrs old.

I personally will no longer breed any female under 5yrs of age. just my opinion and outlook on it. I'm not saying other people are wrong for doing so. It would be interesting to see how long some of those boas live that are pushed up and bred so quickly...

The feeding schedule seems to work fine for my boas, I've got an '89 common boa that I've had for 14 years, 3 boas that are '98s (albino, het and normal) that I've had for 9 years and all are thriving. They get fed about once a month. If my boas all live over 20 years I feel I've done a good job. (Oh and the '89 was 5.5' when I got her at 9yrs, now estimate her to be about 8', maybe 8.5'.)

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

I pretty much follow the same feeding schedule Tom posted. I've also been accused of not feeding my snakes enough or 'maintenance feeding' cause they aren't 6' in the first few years. I have some '06s that are going be over 5' this year (some growing about 1/2' faster than the siblings, all on the same schedule). First time breeding will be in 2012, they will be 6yrs old.

I personally will no longer breed any female under 5yrs of age. just my opinion and outlook on it. I'm not saying other people are wrong for doing so. It would be interesting to see how long some of those boas live that are pushed up and bred so quickly...

The feeding schedule seems to work fine for my boas, I've got an '89 common boa that I've had for 14 years, 3 boas that are '98s (albino, het and normal) that I've had for 9 years and all are thriving. They get fed about once a month. If my boas all live over 20 years I feel I've done a good job. (Oh and the '89 was 5.5' when I got her at 9yrs, now estimate her to be about 8', maybe 8.5'.)

What's your opinion on size? I have a 4 year old, 4 1/2 ft female that I am considering to breed her this fall, she will be 4 1/2 years old this fall. We are all curious on others opinion on breeding a female that is under 5 - 5/12 ft, but atleast 4 years old.

Originally Posted by mxracer4life

What's your opinion on size? I have a 4 year old, 4 1/2 ft female that I am considering to breed her this fall, she will be 4 1/2 years old this fall. We are all curious on others opinion on breeding a female that is under 5 - 5/12 ft, but atleast 4 years old.

I'd give her another year; not for the size (5.5' would most likely be okay, especially if there's CA blood in her mix, I think she's a DH meaning salmon blood/panamanian blood is in there) but I would want to give more time for maturity. I prefer them to be at least 5yrs or older. And always give them a year off in between. Doesn't mean I'm right.. those are just my theories and opinions

I understand. Thanks April.

And just so everyone knows, when I stated a smaller boa COULD breed easier every year, I wasn't implying that you should.

Originally Posted by HerpHobbiest

Well wild Boas are wild Boas... They have to free range to get their own food... Do you think they are lean by choice?

Not by "choice" Luis. It's by mother natures "design" that they're lean in the wild. You have to think outside the box. You do not find obese animals in the wild. NONE! Not even the ones that live on the grass plains with the grass that they eat.

Ever seen any of the big breeders post pictures of their older animals? I mean 10 yrs old or older too, not their 07 Boas that are already breeding for the second time. Except for an elite few, they don't have them around to post pictures of. Those elite few also don't feed as frequently. Try and get them to talk. I did. LOL

Conservative feeding ain't gonna have that big of an effect on their over all growth. Maybe how fast they get there, but they'll get there. Aurora was a great example.


Also Jeremy, now that I think back on it, I have yet to breed a Boa younger then 5½ yrs old. I might try a 4½ yr old depending on her situation, but so far I just haven't tried it.

Luis, you're right, if boas had the choice, they would all be obese and die of fatty liver disease by the age of 5-6. If I had a kid, should I feed them McDonald's every day because they want it? Boas are ambush predators, meaning they are designed to eat whenever possible, because food usually doesn't come around that often. Only animals that don't have a plentiful food source develop it.

It's sorta like camels developing the hump on their backs to store water, but too much water can't kill a camel. I have never thought about feeding a boa an 8 lb rabbit. I've only fed rabbits when I couldn't find rats. I have an 8' female boa that eats one jumbo rat every two-four weeks. BTW, got any outdoor shots of that sunglow on your avatar?

Chris