Is my boa too small?

[BP Newbie]

Most of the research I've done suggests that a 2 1/2 year old female should be around 5 feet but mine is only 3 1/2 feet. Is that a result of being under fed?

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[ewaldrep]

the estimate is just that, there can be a wide range of variability in sizes. I don't know the locality of the boa you have either and some boas are generally smaller as well. Do you have access to the previous owner to ask about the feeding schedule? Does she look like she is skinny? At this point, however, the most important thing is whether or not she is healthy and that you plan to care for her properly. Congrats!

[Gio]

the estimate is just that, there can be a wide range of variability in sizes. I don't know the locality of the boa you have either and some boas are generally smaller as well. Do you have access to the previous owner to ask about the feeding schedule? Does she look like she is skinny? At this point, however, the most important thing is whether or not she is healthy and that you plan to care for her properly. Congrats!

This above is correct. You may in fact have an island locality or or some island locality mixed in. It's hard to say without knowing what your boa looks like. Post a picture or 2 and see if you can get some info on the snake. Are you certain it's a female? There are often mistakes made in sexing snakes.

[Evenstar]

I agree about the locality issue. Many of the insular localities are much smaller than their mainland counterparts. The Mexican BCIs are often smaller too - the Tarahumara mountain boa only reaches 4-5ft in length as adults!

There's no way for us to know if your boa is simply small or if it's undernourished or too thin without pictures. If you can post up a few, that would go a long way to help us help you.

Some boas simply grow very slowly. If yours is otherwise healthy, than there is no need for any concern. She will get as big as she's supposed to in time. I have a 9 month old that is still only at about 300gm, if that. Some simply grow more slowly than others. Don't be in a rush to get size on her - she will do better if you just let her go at her own pace.

[jason221]

I bought my Colombian female boa in September 2010 (she was quite small then. but I don't have the exact date of birth). She is currently about 5'6" and 6.2 lbs. And here I was wondering if she was too small for being almost three years old, compared to all the big female BCIs that I have seen.

As long as she doesn't look dangerously thin, she probably isn't malnourished. Boas grow at their own rates, and there is quite a bit of variability in size.