BCI weight Question.

Hello , Guys here is my first post , with this question:

I have 3 boas i feed them rats every 2 weeks , these are their measurements

BCI Male Costa Rican boa - 5 years - 3000 grams - 180 cm.
BCI Male albino kahl - 2 years and 8 months - 2610 grams - 160 cm.
BCI Female albino kahl - 2 years and 8 months - 1900 grams - 140 cm.

I have been reading and noticed that central American boas are not really big , but my concern is with my albinos I received the about 1 year and a half weighting 300-400 grams I feed them weekly during 1 year and got them up to size a bit , but I still think that they are a little bit small, the past 8 months I feed them every 2 weeks , but I have noticed that the grow have been reduced.
The animals are looking great and healthy , but my questions are:
Are these measurements “Normal” or Do you have any recommendation to get them a little more weigh (to be honest I think they are a bit smaller than they should jeje):P.


Thanks in advanced.:cool:

First www.redtailboas.com

Second I feed my BC Is weekly. They are younger than yours but not by much. Try feeding 7-10 days and how large are the meals you are feeding them.

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Originally Posted by ElliotNess

First www.redtailboas.com

Second I feed my BC Is weekly. They are younger than yours but not by much. Try feeding 7-10 days and how large are the meals you are feeding them.

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They are Currently Feeding large rats.

My only boa is a BCA male that is a little over 1.5 years old. My breeder recommended feeding every 2 weeks.. and I have read that is a pretty standard feeding schedule. Also, I have been told that you should feed a meal that does not leave a lump in the boa, but is close to the boa's width (at the widest part) in size.
It may help if you can post pics of each of them.. This may help determine if they are the right "shape". From what I've read, if they are the shape of a loaf of bread, they are good.

They should have a square look to there body if they look round they are over fed

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by ElliotNess

....I feed my BCIs weekly. They are younger than yours but not by much. Try feeding 7-10 days and how large are the meals you are feeding them.

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NO. No no no. That is OVERFEEDING any boa over 2 years of age. Sorry, you are giving wrong information. I'm not trying to be mean, I really am not, but please do more research before offering advice to others.

To the OP, you are fine with feeding every 2 weeks. Boas have a MUCH slower metabolism than ball pythons and do not need to be fed as frequently. They do very well at that schedule. You could even move your 5 year old to a 3 week schedule. A 7-10 day schedule is appropriate for neonates - not adults.

Feeding larger meals too often can result in blockage, regurge, or an unhealthily fat boa. Adults (and anything over 2 years can be considered "adult") cannot process fatty deposits and frequent meals like babies can. Adults grow at a MUCH slower rate than babies do. There is NOTHING wrong with your boas growth rate at this stage. They will simply grow more slowly naturally.

ElliotNess, I highly recommend you slow down your own feeding schedule. You are asking for trouble if you're feeding a 2 year old boa every 7 days (or even every 10). Again, I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to help you.

AndEGA, your boas will grow as fast as nature intends them to grow on a healthy and appropriate feeding schedule. Growing too fast will result in a very unhealthy animal and also an animal that won't reproduce well, if at all, and most likely will die young. Boas can live up to 30 years in captivity, but ones that are power fed often die by the time they are only 10yrs old. If your boas have a nice lean, squarish shape, are active and passing waste regularly, then you are doing things right.

I would be very careful of your prey size too. Larger prey is not good. If in doubt, always go smaller, although this would depend on the actual size of your rats - one person's "large" is another person's "medium" so size is relative. But the rat shouldn't be any larger around then the boa. You do not have to see a lump.

Keep in mind that every snake is different. Your boas will grow differently and at different rates than mine will. And they will grow at different rates from each other too. They all hit growth spurts at different times. Just be patient and enjoy your snakes! With proper feeding, you'll be able to enjoy them for many years!!

I won't say much more than what Evenstar just said, other than this:

Even if your boa was under fed by the previous owner there is no need to "catch up",,,, you simply just need to feed your snake appropriately and it WILL grow.

An analogy would be when you see people from less fortunate countries that have been starving. Their bodies are not capable of processing mass amounts of food all at once, really, it's not good for anybody, but especially those that have been deprived of food for a long time. They are fed very basic, "stomach friendly" small digestible meals to start.

The system goes into shock, and people have all kinds of problems if they jump into high caloric, diets without working into it and without constant exercise it is still not good for you.

Your snake may have been fed too infrequently for a certain amount of time, but consider just getting on a "normal, healthy" feeding cycle a major improvement!

Your snake's own genetics will catch up in due time, and then the larger meals will come as the snake grows and then the time between meals will spread out.

Energy spent digesting is energy that CAN'T be spent growing. Feed, let the snake empty out, cruise for food, gain some muscle and start the cycle over.

I read an article by Jeff Ronne (The Boaphile) where he stated power fed boas usually die before 5 years of age.

Anyhow,,, take Kali's advice and you will see a major improvement and you'll wind up with a lean, muscular, sexy looking boa!

Thanks a lot for the help guys , it seems like i am going to keep feeding the snakes every 2 weeks like i always do.

here are some pics of the boas so you can see how they are doing, (soon i will be posting a thread of my entire collection and the home made cages).
female.
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8fc92ec6.jpg
male.
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps12a27872.png
Costa Rican male.
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...psb81a5209.jpg

Those are beautiful snakes!! Very nice indeed. And thanks for posting the pics!

I do think they are a bit on the heavy side and could loose a little weight. I would stick to the 2 week schedule, but maybe drop them down to medium rats instead of larges. I think you'll find that will work very well for you! :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

NO. No no no. That is OVERFEEDING any boa over 2 years of age. Sorry, you are giving wrong information. I'm not trying to be mean, I really am not, but please do more research before offering advice to others.

ElliotNess, I highly recommend you slow down your own feeding schedule. You are asking for trouble if you're feeding a 2 year old boa every 7 days (or even every 10). Again, I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to help you.

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I am not overfeeding my boas. They are also not over 2 years old. I feed mine on a 8 day split roughly and maintain appropriate sized meals for them.

2 well taken care of boas here :) Thanks for watching out...

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...pse0701ea9.jpg