Growth question

Is it normal for an 8 month old female rtb to be on small rats?

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Originally Posted by rlondon1231

Is it normal for an 8 month old female rtb to be on small rats?

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Yes and no is my answer.

When you use the term "RTB," are you actually speaking of a TRUE red tail boa as in BCC?

I personally think almost any of the true BCCs should be fed mice until one year of age and then move to rats. There are exceptions as always but for the most part the Suriname and Guyana BCCs do better if they are fed conservatively with mice for their first year.

If you are speaking of BCI, then I see no issues at all.

Ok and I am talking about a bci

If it is actually that age and eating small rats it has been way, way over fed. My 1.5 year old bci are eating a single large adult mouse or rat pup every 10 days currently.

Bci should be fed a meal that does not leave a visible lump after feeding, and at more spaced out intervals. Normally up to a year myself and other responsible boa keepers feed one appropriately sized feeder every 7 to 10 days, after that they are moved to a 10 to 14 day schedule.

Every animal grows at different rates, but an 8 month old bci eating small rats is just an animal that has been powerfed. You could probably go to a regular feeding schedule and hopefully the snake not have any long term I'll effects from the power feeding early in life :)

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She gets one every other week so it's not like it's every week rat pups were getting to small for her if you would I could show you a picture of her

And it was one time usally she does eat rat pups but I was out and all I had was a large weaned rat / small rat so I fed it to her

At 8 months mine was still on fuzzy rats iirc, I raised my own so as soon as they got an entire coat of fur they went to him, so they may not have fit the exact sizes that most rodent feeder providers use. He didn't get on small rats until he was around 1.5 years old, roughly.

That said, you want to aim for either no bulge or a bulge with no scale separation in your boa constrictors. Smaller bulges as they get older.