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Old 03-02-2018, 10:09 PM   #1
OE542
Feeding question..

My baby is getting big. She been eating live since i 'adopted' her almost a year ago. Thats what the previous owner started her on. I want to switch to f/t eventually. Shes almost 2yrs old and I feel like her size should be eating Med. rats. The first Med. rat went down easy. The next two were kinda nerve racking. Meaning it took a couple days to succesfully get a good hold and take it down. Stressfull for the snake me and the rat im sure. So ive went back to small rats.

So my question is should I give her 2 small rats and if so how long after the first should i give the second?
 
Old 03-02-2018, 11:53 PM   #2
Randall Turner
I would go ahead and get her switched over to frozen thaw. Will make things easier and be less stressful if you do it.
 
Old 03-03-2018, 12:51 AM   #3
OE542
Thanks Randall ive been looking at a few frozen feeder retailers. Any suggestions and tips for doing so?
 
Old 03-03-2018, 01:12 AM   #4
hotlips
Most boas switch easily from live to dead* prey (*either fresh killed or frozen-thawed)- have you ever tried offering dead prey? You should, it's much safer & snakes are no less enthused about grabbing their meal, but sooner or later your snake WILL get bitten by a live rodent, & even IF she "wins" the battle, she may be disfigured & harmed by an infected bite (also may need expensive vet care)...all of which you can avoid.

I don't want to advise you exactly how much to feed a snake that I cannot see, as prey size is related to the snake's body size, & different people (both sellers & snake owners) don't always mean the same thing by "small" or "medium". The best way to choose prey size is to feed a rodent that is slightly less wide than the widest mid-body part of your (un-fed) snake, & no bigger. This applies to boas & most snakes.

Don't feed 2 rats, you're asking for a regurgitation. If you feed what you think is an undersized rodent, feed only one, but give the next meal maybe a little sooner. A young boa that's 2 years old & big enough to consume sm/med rats should basically be fed every 2 to 2 1/5 weeks, & skip the meal when she's in shed. So if you feed a small rat instead of medium, you might feed again in about 12 days...ok? It's not an "exact science" but it's far better to under-feed boas a little, than to over-feed them a little.
It's what many of us call "grown slowly" & it's healthier for the snake.

Another plus for using f/t rodents is that you can keep a little supply on hand in the freezer, in case your source runs short of the right size when it's time to feed again.

If you have any difficulty with changing your boa to dead prey (or if changing from mice to rats, the same technique works well) there's an easy way to do it: first feed a much smaller rodent of the type your snake is used to taking, then once that is swallowed & they are still pumped up for food, then offer a smaller than normal rodent of the new type. They nearly always chomp it right down...this gets them used to accepting the "new food". Important note: the sum of both smaller rodents should not be bigger than what your snake is used to consuming as one rodent. After you feed a snake this way a few times, most readily take the "new" food just by itself.

To answer your last question: it is preferable to only feed one prey item, unless you have to use the technique I just described in order to switch her over. If & when you feed 2 prey items, they should follow closely together, otherwise your snake is likely to regurgitate them both. (The first gets partially digested, & the second one interferes with that, needing more digestive enzymes than what is available, & up it all comes!
It can harm the snake, and it smells really gross...a "lose-lose" deal. Rats are fairly challenging to digest, so feed only one sm or med at a time.)
 
Old 03-03-2018, 01:14 AM   #5
Randall Turner
Tips for finding a good supplier? First thing I'd do, if I was purchasing for only 1 snake would be to see if any local pet shops offer frozen thaw. I'd also see if any local rodent breeders will gas and freeze them for you.
 
Old 03-03-2018, 01:30 AM   #6
OE542
I always keep watch with a live feeder just in case. But i agree f/t will be better for us both. I did try a fresh kill onve and shes wasnt having any part of it so thats when i went to Sm rats again. Shes around 4ft +/- and i do inow about the thickness standard. My thoughts were once a week untill 2yrs and shes only missed 2 meals since in my possesion.
I buy from a mediocre pet shop a few blocks away and no pet shop i know of in Philly sells f/t.
Thanks for you alls time and replies
 
Old 03-03-2018, 02:06 AM   #7
hotlips
Feeding once a week is for young snakes (under a year, actually usually under 6 mos.).
You're pretty much "power feeding" her at once a week. It's not that many snakes will turn down the extra food, hey a lot of us like to over-eat too, lol...but it's not healthy.

Here's the thing about how you've been feeding: she wasn't THAT hungry when you offered her a fresh killed & she refused. She is used to the motion of live, and you absolutely need some long feeding tongs (or non-locking hemostats) so you can give a slight jiggle to the dead rodent. When I had a BCI, I had a hard time opening her cage...she "knew" it was feeding time & she was ready to pounce. Maybe if you wait 2 or 3 weeks she'll be "happier" taking dead prey? Trust me, she won't starve.

Live feeders are faster to bite than what you can intervene...and seriously, you don't want to try to break up a rodent biting a snake that's biting the rodent. As your boa gets larger, that can also be dangerous for you. (we are "warm & wiggling" like prey, & when a snake is pumped up to kill prey, they can easily make a mistake & grab us instead...please don't go there?)

You should check for any herp. clubs in your area (-there used to be?)- members sometimes split rodent orders. The worst thing about buying frozen is the cost of shipping, so you don't want to order frequently.

I'll let others recommend frozen suppliers, I raise my own rodents, always have.
 
Old 03-03-2018, 10:32 AM   #8
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
 
Old 03-03-2018, 10:43 AM   #9
OE542
Heres a couple older pics.. When the weather gets better ill take some new ones
Attached Images
  
 
Old 03-03-2018, 11:46 AM   #10
hotlips
Quote:
Originally Posted by OE542 View Post
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
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)
 

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