Quote:
Originally Posted by Wingbeats
Slower growth is healthier growth?
Sorry to randomly plop in on the discussion, but I'm new to snake-keeping and I hadn't heard this before. Why would growing more slowly initially be healthier? And how does one do this? (I'm assuming slowing down feeding or whatnot?) Does this apply to all boas, such as epicrates? 
/torrent of questions |
When I say that, I don't mean underfeeding them. I mean giving them a more natural, slower growth by using a more conservative feeding schedule. I also mean that power feeding, for any snake or reptile species, is extremely unhealthy and can lower life expectancy.
For boa constrictors especially, a much healthier grow pattern looks like this: 2'-3' at 1 year, 3'-4' at 2 years and 5'-5.5' at 3 years, with them reaching 6'+ in their later years of 4-6 years old. That growth will look much different for a "dwarf" boa constrictor, with them growing much slower and staying much smaller. They can also be a little smaller or a little bigger than those ranges and still be healthy as long as they are fed properly. After all, snakes all grow at their own rate.
The feeding regimen can also be adjusted a bit depending on your individual.
A feeding regimen for slow-growing a boa looks like this:
Up to 1 year old: every 7-10 days
1-3 years old: 10-14 days
3+ years old: every 3-6 weeks
I've been using the above schedule for my BRB for about half the time I've had him, and he seems to be doing well. He's not underweight or overweight, and he's got very very good muscle tone. He's growing steadily and is about the same size as my BCI was at a year, although the BRB is about 9-10 months old. So I'd say he's growing well, and is about where you'd expect him to be despite being fed slightly less often.
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