Just a little curious

[gypsygoddess723]

I have a columbian red tail boa shes a little over a year old my question is ive seen pics of other 1 yr old rtbs and they all seem to be much larger then she is i feed regularly and temps are perfect i know all snakes grow at different rates but the difference is too much for me not too at least check into.....any info is appreciated

[iCandiBallPythons]

Are you feeding size appropriate food?

[gypsygoddess723]

yeah shes on sm. white mice right now and everytime i look at rat pups or something like that they always seems too big for her

[Lateralus_Love]

WOW that's extremely small prey. Even adult mice are too small for all of my 08 ball pythons, let alone for a yearling boa?

When I adopted my 07 boa, her previous owner was feeding her medium sized adult mice once a month..So I jumped her to weaned rats every two weeks, then slowly worked her to medium rats once a week. She's put on a little under 600g the past three months, and she only weighs 1090g right now. She's a little over a year and a half old.

[Bruce Whitehead]

Your prey item, as noted, is WAY too small.

If you want, just move her up one size per meal till she is on something the right size.

These snakes grow very fast, and that is not enough food to supply her with what she needs.

As for the right prey size, not sure what size she should be on, but I am sure lots of people will chime in with the right size for a boa of that age.

My baby BPs get larger prey items than what you are feeding your boa.

Bruce

[starmom]

I just last week bumped my year old boa up to a medium rat (80g). I feed her every 10-12 days.

[frankykeno]

Do you have pictures or a weight and length on this snake? I'd agree that mice for a fast growing boa like you have are not an appropriate prey and likely why she is not growing much.

[gypsygoddess723]

I just feed her 4 days ago but the next prey item I get her will be bigger and hopefully that will help.....if I fix the problem immediately will there be any long term effects on her overall growth?

[Lateralus_Love]

I don't know about longterm effects on her overall growth, however, there could potentially be issues with her.

What I mean to say is, my boa acts VERY odd. She doesn't have good balance, at all. She flails around alot if she doesn't feel secured in place (meaning, if her tail isn't wrapped around my bra strap or wrist, she throws her tail around until she gets hold of something and puts a death grip on it). It's like she's constantly dizzy/clumsy/unable to balance. I have a hard time taking her off of me because she'll wrap her tail around some part of me and not let go. The only time she's happy and calm is if she's secured in a spot and knows it. Each time I pick her up out of her tub, even if she's coiled up and I try to grab her in her little bundled up state, she'll immediately thrash her tail around until she secures it somewhere on my hand. =/ It wasn't so bad when she was still extremely thin, but now that she's got her strength back, it's a little disconcerting because she puts a death grip on whatever she grabs hold of to secure herself lol.

The reason I don't worry, is because she's healthy in every other way.

[JimiSnakes]

As some have said, a yearling boa should be on at least pup sized small rats by now. My 07's are all eating small-mediums, some are on larges. My 08's are all eating medium-large mice. I have in the past always fed rats from birth on up to my baby boas, but I'm going to be feeding mice to them this year because I've noticed that the fat content in rats makes for "pudgy" looking baby boas until they start to gain their size more. With mice they get a leaner more healthy look and seem to develop muscle tone faster too. I'll be keeping my baby boas on mice until they are ready for pup rats starting this year.

Sorry, I went off topic, lol. Your boa should be eating (at the minimum) large mice at a year old, BUT it does all depend on what kind of boa you have. If you have a central american or nic boa, they don't grow so fast and could easily be on small-medium mice still. Still a little small, but not nothing to worry too much about.

Do you have any pics?