thin salmon boa

slick_slider900 · 08-20-10, 10:29 AM

Hey got a few questions.I just bought a female salmon boa from a retile expo here in CO. and it seems to be a little thin to me. She is about 4ft. long and is currently eating small rats. So given her length and approx. date of birth which I figure is late 09 how much should she weigh? If she is under weight how should I with the exception of just feeding her more could I promote weight gain?

thanks....the Griz.

infernalis · 08-20-10, 12:54 PM

What I do to promote weight gain and growth is to shove as many reptomin sticks as I can down the mouth of the mouse/rat soon after it thaws.

Another way (sounds gross) is to shove an ice pick into the mouth of the prey item while it is still frozen, then I can get a little more reptomin in the resulting hole.

Once the food is thawed the reptomin will be soft.

With the reptomin stuffed into the prey item, the snake will not even know it's there.

If you are feeding live prey, then get switched over to F/T as soon as you can, and then just stuff the food item.

slick_slider900 · 08-20-10, 01:40 PM

Hey thanks. Good info for sure.

bladeblaster · 08-20-10, 04:13 PM

can you post some pics of the boa so we can see if it is underweigth?

Will0W783 · 08-20-10, 07:46 PM

What other snakes do you have? If you are used to, say, a ball python, then a boa will seem thin to you. Also, younger snakes are often thinner, and they fill out with growth. My question is, if you thought it was too thin, why did you buy it?

Post some pics of it and we can all get a better idea of its condition and suggest a good course of action. A vet visit for a new acquisition is never a bad idea, especially if you suspect something might be wrong. Best of luck with it though; salmon boas are some of my favorites!

slick_slider900 · 08-23-10, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

What other snakes do you have? If you are used to, say, a ball python, then a boa will seem thin to you. Also, younger snakes are often thinner, and they fill out with growth. My question is, if you thought it was too thin, why did you buy it?

Post some pics of it and we can all get a better idea of its condition and suggest a good course of action. A vet visit for a new acquisition is never a bad idea, especially if you suspect something might be wrong. Best of luck with it though; salmon boas are some of my favorites!

I have owned several ball pythons over the last couple of years so you could be correct with me seeing a problem where there is not one. Also she is a late 09 so she is relativly young. After reading some of the posts on here and doing so other research on the web she isnt under weight. I just wasnt paying enough attention to the info in front of me.

Thanks guys for your insight and posts.

The Griz....