Quick feeding question...

[xFenrir]

I've been feeding my RTB every 14 days now, but I'm wondering if maybe I made the switch too early? She's closing in on 5 feet (my boyfriend was gone on vacation for only 9 days and I swear she gained another 100g's in that time! ) The reason I say this is because she was WAY more anxious to get her mouth on the rat I gave her yesterday than she's ever been. She struck the second I opened the tub enough for her to see the rat, and when she missed she launched OUT of her tub in her second attempt to get it before I could get over the fact that she missed it the first time. Usually she's very patient and waits for me to put the rat in front of her face before she goes for it.

I'm feeding her a "medium" rat (I say "medium" because we've been having to buy frozen packaged rats from a pet store until our bulk order of rats come in, but these rats are about as wide as a paper towel tube and about 5-6 inches long excluding the tail, they don't seem "medium" to me) every 14 days on the dot. It's smaller than her thickest part, but the "large" rats are wayyy too huge for her.

EDIT: Here's a photo for you to get an idea of her size. She's put on maybe about 200g's since then.

[llovelace]

I feed mine on a 10 day schedule

[CCfive]

There's a lot of debate about feeding schedules for boas. They can very easily be overfed. Some people are in the camp of less is more. It comes down to personal choice. She'll be more than fine on a 14 day schedule, and she'll probably seem better once you get right size prey in your order.

[Wh00h0069]

Boas will overeat if you let them. Feeding them to often will eventually kill them. Overfed boas normally die at around five-years-old. Keep him / her on a fourteen day cycle, and once she is on extra-large rats, put him / her on a twenty-one day cycle.

[DasPyro2112]

I'm gonna agree with everyone else - 14 days is fine. I switch my Boas to 14 days when they get to about 5 - 5 1/2 ft. They're all doing great and from the pic, it looks like yours is too.

[mainbutter]

1) You might be surprised at what your boa can eat.

2) A boa with a strong feeding response is a good thing.

3) A boa without a strong feeding response might be overfed.

[TheWinWizard]

At that size keep the 14 day cycle going.

[Vypyrz]

I agree with everyone else. Stick with the 14 day schedule. I feed mine on a 10-14 day schedule, depending on feeder availability...