New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions

[Johnmb]

Yesterday I bought a 2 1/2 year old hypo boa that is stunning but the kid I got her from was only feeding her once a month and never handling her. Needless to say I was bitten 2x before I left his house. She is only 4-4 1/2 ft long and weighs 1500 grams roughly (just guessing but its close). She is obviously underfed and my question is should I feed every 10 days as a normal boa is recommended or should I feed her a little more often as she is very skinny. I'm assuming that the striking is mainly hunger and partially from lack of handling but I'm curious as to what those that keep boas have to say in that regard. Any additional info is appreciated. Thanks

[DooLittle]

I would only feed her every 2 weeks. 10 days is more of a recommendation for youngsters. And you dont want to feed anything that will leave a noticeable lump. Boas have a slower metabolism, and too frequent/large feeding isnt good for them. Boas shouldn't be round, they should have a lean/muscular/boxey shape. Part of the biting is probably from not being handled. She probably just needs to be worked with. Do you have any pictures? Here is a good body shot of one of mine for comparison. This pic is a couple weeks old, I weighed her a couple days ago, and she was 902 grams, and just over a year old.

[Evenstar]

I would only feed her every 2 weeks. 10 days is more of a recommendation for youngsters. And you dont want to feed anything that will leave a noticeable lump. Boas have a slower metabolism, and too frequent/large feeding isnt good for them. Boas shouldn't be round, they should have a lean/muscular/boxey shape. Part of the biting is probably from not being handled. She probably just needs to be worked with. Do you have any pictures? Here is a good body shot of one of mine for comparison. This pic is a couple weeks old, I weighed her a couple days ago, and she was 902 grams, and just over a year old.

Totally agree with this. Feeding every 10 days might be too much of a shock to her system. And be sure to keep the prey sizes on the small side - not only because it's better for boas in general, but you actually need to be careful to not over do things at the moment.


Also, I am fairly certain she will calm down once she a) gets used to being handled and b) she isn't so hungry anymore.


Good luck and keep us posted!

[norwegn113]

I have several boas and I agree with the above mentioned as well. 2 weeks is a good feeding schedule for a boa. My BCI female is about 1 year and 3 months old and 3 1/2 feet , 940 grams. she eats a small rat every 2 weeks. Im sure your little guy will calm down with some handling and a healthy diet! Till then .... have a snake hook handy! lol.

[Johnmb]

Ok so here's the info that I have on her so far: She is a Robert McPhee hypo possible super hypo possible cyclone (two of the saddles are connected in two places) and is 2.5-3 years old. As of today she is 53" and weighs 1327 grams. How is that compared to what she should be by now if anyone could give me an idea please. Has not bitten me since I've brought her home. Although I am positive it is going to happen lol. Absolutely stunning snake with a nice green sheen to her.

[DooLittle]

She sounds thin, but seeing pictures of her would better help us judge her condition, as snakes all grow at different rates.

[Johnmb]

Sorry for the crappy quality pic and not being able to post pictures in a thread yet. Obviously phone pictures do her no justice at all. She is about as big around as a golf ball. http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/show...mageuser=29659

[DooLittle]

That picture is really too hard to tell. But from what I can see, she doesnt look too bad. I wonder if they had her age off??

[hypnotixdmp]

I say....pictures or you didn't get the snake!!! lol

EDIT: Use IMGUR on your phone to post the picture to the site!!!

[Johnmb]

I say....pictures or you didn't get the snake!!! lol

EDIT: Use IMGUR on your phone to post the picture to the site!!!

And I say look at the pic I posted instead of being a smartass