Ball idiots......(sorry, another ball rant)

Make a fool of you - I couldn't agree with you more. Just when you think you have them figured out they throw you a curve ball. You made a good point - this thread shouldn't be a arguement/heated discussion - do what works for you - live and learn. I guess I let the whole "they WILL eat when ever food is offered" thing piss me off and your "typical" guy who owns a pair of corns and has never owned much less bred a group of bp tell you how you are doing everthing wrong when indeed it works just fine for you - no David not talking about you. No I don't think I know everthing about breeding snakes - learn something new everyday - No I don't think I'm a bp god - but I do learn from the gods of the industry who have had success and believe it or not I have had a little myself. Anyway got to get some sleep. Just my .02
BT

Personally, we will not feed live unless we ABSOLUTELY have to due to a stubborn non-feeding animal.

I have a female bci here (I know I know, this is about bp's) that has massive scarring from being fed live and a rather small head for her size. Her condition was caused by previous keepers. I haven't personally seen this with bp's, but who is to say it's impossible? She is my ambassador for f/t feeding. I have a female Savu that has decided to stop eating. Got her a live mouse and the stinking thing bit her when she constricted it! She let it go and didn't want anymore to do with it. *sigh* I think she's holding out for a finch.

Anyway, my point is this, I suppose: I prefer to feed slower, grow them slower and offer f/t because the welfare of our animals is the most important to us. We don't want them to be chewed upon with the possibility of death, nor are we in a hurry to breed them. We wait patiently for 4 years waiting for bci females to get to size, too. I see no real reason to breed bp's at 2 years old.... but that's just my opinion. Just because the "big-boys" do it in a certain way, does that necessarily make them right? It's the old, "If they jumped of a cliff, would you jump, too?" addage. I don't follow what everyone else thinks is right. I read what all have to say, then after putting it all together and sorting it out I end up going by instinct and so far it hasn't led me wrong.

We don't want them to be chewed upon with the possibility of death,

As I posted earlier, most of my animals are fed weenling rats, these things cant even come close to breaking my skin, so please tell me how they are gonna kill my snake?

I have bp's on small, medium and large rats depending on their size.. those could very well kill them if live.

Originally posted by realvenum
As I posted earlier, most of my animals are fed weenling rats, these things cant even come close to breaking my skin, so please tell me how they are gonna kill my snake?

They won't kill your snakes, Al...so stop bein a smartass. Weanlings aren't the only rodents out there ya know.

Not starting trash - but I pretty much feed weenling rats as well - even to my biggest girls - they just get more per feeding. Smaller prey item = easier digestion. But if we start the whole live vs. f/t thing that would be interesting. Ldydrg has a good point about the "big boys" but you have to be careful - whether you like it or not - with out the "big boys" they would be NO bp market - thats if your into investment quality animals. Do what works for you - I learn from people who have had success and from my own trial and error. 1 question about feeding f/t - as I've already stated all my bp's don't eat every time food is offered - I'm lucky if 65% - 70% eat on feeding day. What am going to do with 50 - 60 thawed rats - refreeze them? Trash?
BT

Ldydrg - You say you see no real reason to breed bp's in less than 2 years. So for the people who have HIGH dollor morphs who's males are up to weight and producing sperm plugs in a year - you say don't breed them? Doesn't make sense to me but to each his own. It all goes back to return on your investment.
BT

I understand the whole "return on investment" bit. We have here a yearling bci that we paid $1000 for and is only a POSSIBLE het (and MAN, what a project he will make!!). However, we will continue to feed him on a 'normal' schedule and grow him slowly to ensure a much healthier animal.

As far as the bp's go... when I feed a large rat to my near 5' male, he only gets one every 14 days. He has all the time he needs to digest that rat and get hungry again. If any of the bp's refuse to eat then we have any number of snakes that are only too happy to eat what they didn't, LMAO. The Ornate monitor gets any small rats that are refused. It is also feasible to refreeze a rodent ONCE if it hasn't been out and thawed for too long. A few bp's actually like their prey to be a touch 'gamier', so I've heard. When they all start to refuse I just leave them alone for a couple of months and try again. *shrug* Less stress for me and them. They have never lost a great amount of weight when fasting and seem to bounce back quickly once they eat again. So... I don't really worry about it.

Getting them up to breeding size in the shortest amount of time is not our main objective, you see? We don't support ourselves on breeding, it is just a hobby that we enjoy. As Morti likes to say, "The best way to make a million dollars from breeding snakes is to start with two million and work your way down."

Anyway, we will be at the Expo tomorrow, as well, manning the Herp Society's table after 12. Maybe we'll see you there and we can chat more about it if you'd like.

G'night!

Originally posted by DavidBeard
Maybe I'm a bit off, but isn't every 3-5 days a bit much for feeding boids?

What a blanket statement considering the amount of diversity between animals in the family Boidae dont you think??? Considering you have everything from retics to emaralds with alot in between....