Balls to Boas

gonhuntun · 07-07-10, 06:14 PM

Hi all. Had a Ball Python for over a year. Just got my first RTB. I'm amazed at the beauty of this animal. Shes supposed to be 2 yrs. old and shes 33 in. long. She seems a little thin to me but Im new to boas. Shes active, friendly and eats well but I think the mice that came with are too small and actually need to upgrade to rats. If so what size rats? Thanks in advance for any help.

infernalis · 07-07-10, 08:30 PM

small to medium rats should work fine.

As a rule of thumb, I never feed a rat that is so big that the snake has to struggle too much to swallow it.

Jenn_06 · 07-07-10, 08:46 PM

what size mice did it come with, can you post a pic of the snake by a coke can or something so we can see the size of the snake.

infernalis · 07-07-10, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenn_06

what size mice did it come with, can you post a pic of the snake by a coke can or something so we can see the size of the snake.

Very good post!

bladeblaster · 07-08-10, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenn_06

what size mice did it come with, can you post a pic of the snake by a coke can or something so we can see the size of the snake.

agreed.

Personally with boas I only feed prey that is slighty larger than the mid body girth. Boas are much healthier slow grown IMO.

gonhuntun · 07-08-10, 05:20 AM

infernalis · 07-08-10, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bladeblaster

agreed.

Personally with boas I only feed prey that is slighty larger than the mid body girth. Boas are much healthier slow grown IMO.

I agree that this is true with most any snake.

Breeders will sometimes "power feed" so they can get babies quicker, I don't think that is in the animals best interest.

bladeblaster · 07-08-10, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonhuntun

Hard to get a good idea of scale from those pics, but I would say small rat weaners probably. It doesn't look thin to me either, looks in good condition.

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

I agree that this is true with most any snake.

Breeders will sometimes "power feed" so they can get babies quicker, I don't think that is in the animals best interest.

Very true mate.

Lankyrob · 07-08-10, 05:49 AM

Don't own a boa myself but from the ones i have seen/handled i would say that Balls are much girthier in comparison - maybe this is why you are thinking its underweight?

Jenn_06 · 07-08-10, 07:19 AM

i will move to rats ASAP and get one thats one size up from the mouse, you dont want to really jump from a small mouse to a large rat.so feed it a weaned once a week then when you stop seeing a bump after it eats the weaned move up the small and so on. good luck you have a very nice BCI there.

oh and check your PM im going to send you a really good care sheet.

Will0W783 · 07-13-10, 05:40 PM

I would say small rats or large weaners should work. Different suppliers sometimes size their rats a tad differently, but I have found that rat weaners are usually about the size of mice. I would say it can handle a small rat (about the size of two mice). Of course, if you are feeding every week, a weaner may be fine. I feed my boids every other week. I grow them up slowly, as I've found it is better for them in the long run not to grow too quickly.
Your boa looks to be in great shape- beautiful colors and looks to be a good weight. Boas are much more slender-bodied than ball pythons. A pretty much fail-safe way to tell if any snake is underweight, regardless of body structure, is to look at the back and see if you can clearly see the spine. A small indentation where the spine lies is fine, but if you can see vertebrae or feel the spine sticking out if you run your finger down the snake's back, it needs to gain weight. If you can feel the spine, but also a good solid line of muscle above it, the snake is fine. Boas are susceptible to obesity, as people tend to overfeed them. I've seen too many fat and bloated adult boas. It's less common for youngsters to get fat as they just tend to go through growth spurts.

gonhuntun · 07-13-10, 05:57 PM

Got a pic to show what she's eating. I told you she was active hehehe!

percey39 · 07-13-10, 07:17 PM

I would go sub adult to small adult rats if it were me.
Wayne and blademaster, i have yet find any proof that powerfeeding causes any long term damage. I know there have been case where people have fed a stupid sized prey item and hurt the snake. As long as you slow them down around 18 months old they should be fine. I wont give you exact feeding routines, but one of my olive pythons is just on a year old and is close to 2.7m with a weight of 6.5kg. This snake is not overweight. Also his size is incredible considering the species average size for males is 2.8m-3.5m. I will be eagerly waiting to see if i have created a monster lol. I am also looking to get a hatchling scrub and do the same. God knows where a scrub might be at a year under this guy's feed routine. Give them plenty of heat in their hot spot and all is fine!!

bladeblaster · 07-14-10, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by percey39

I would go sub adult to small adult rats if it were me.
Wayne and blademaster, i have yet find any proof that powerfeeding causes any long term damage. I know there have been case where people have fed a stupid sized prey item and hurt the snake. As long as you slow them down around 18 months old they should be fine. I wont give you exact feeding routines, but one of my olive pythons is just on a year old and is close to 2.7m with a weight of 6.5kg. This snake is not overweight. Also his size is incredible considering the species average size for males is 2.8m-3.5m. I will be eagerly waiting to see if i have created a monster lol. I am also looking to get a hatchling scrub and do the same. God knows where a scrub might be at a year under this guy's feed routine. Give them plenty of heat in their hot spot and all is fine!!

There is plentyof evidence that 'power feeding' does lead to reduced fertility, and that it puts a lot of strain on the snakes internal organs, especially the heart. There have also been studies carried out that clearly show an increased mortality rate in relatively young adults from liver failure cause by fatty liver deposits.

Its not the snakes short term health that is being damaged necessarily, more its chances of leading a long healthy life.

percey39 · 07-15-10, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bladeblaster

There is plentyof evidence that 'power feeding' does lead to reduced fertility, and that it puts a lot of strain on the snakes internal organs, especially the heart. There have also been studies carried out that clearly show an increased mortality rate in relatively young adults from liver failure cause by fatty liver deposits.

Its not the snakes short term health that is being damaged necessarily, more its chances of leading a long healthy life.

Could you please refer me to these findings i would be very interested indeed to the fertility rate. As i feed my baby snakes well lets say a lot and when i breed my older ones who were fed the same i have had a nearly 100% success rate with clutch sizes and breeding . I believe overfeeding when they reach an age of 18 months or older is when the damage can be done to the liver. Also if you continue to feed rats constantly you will have problems. Adult rats/xl or bigger have huge fat cells and you would be a hell of a lot better feeding chicks of the same size. There is more benifit for the snake with chicks and they absolutely love them!!