Is this boa thin? Or am I going crazy...or both

Good morning everyone!

I was wanting some extra eyes on this snake for an opinion (there’s only so much my non-reptile hobbyist fiancé can put up with [emoji23]).

I feel like I have been struggling with this boa since the day I got her. I’m constantly under the opinion that she looks underweight. She also has quite a “soft” body tone compared to my other boa, i.e. my other boa seems to have a more firm muscle tone than the one in question. This is really only noticeable when she’s coiled up/ relaxing somewhere (her body doesn’t seem to hold that classic ‘square’ boa shape when she’s coiled up), when I pick her up she feels like a normally (albeit relaxed and calm) boa.

Some back ground on this animals—

I rescued her when she was about 1, she’s 4 years old now. She was is pretty bad shape when I got her, malnourished, dehydrated, no water dish, no heat source, the usual. I eventually tracked down the original breeder to learn there had been a power outage mid-pregnancy and the entire litter was born with kinked tails (you can see it in the picture).

Currently, she’s on medium rats every 3 weeks (late summer I usually bump up to every 2 weeks and stretch it out to 4 weeks during winter).

Other than her “softness” she is seemingly healthy. Eats every meal offered, aggressive strike/coil response, sheds, poops, climbs and explores her enclosure (although she does get lazy when I bump her up to meals every 2 weeks, sits in her hide and waits for the next meal. Hence why I only do that a few times per year).

These were her weights over the years:
July 2016: ~100 g
July 2017: ~400 g
July 2018: ~1000 g
Current: ~2000 g

I know boas grow slowly, but does she look underweight to you? Or am I going crazy! If she does look underweight, in your experience what is the best way to bump her up? Like I said going to meals every 2 weeks seems to create a lazy snake, but maybe it’s what she needs? I think a large rat is still a bit much for her (medium leaves a lump).

Anyway, it’s hard to say how much the power outage during her prenatal development affected her, it’s possible the soft muscle tone is linked to a slightly neuro defect. Who knows!! I’ll stop typing now I think haha.

Thanks for taking a look! These pictures are from March. I’ll take more when she’s out of shed.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4d448b114e.jpg


https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ff275df843.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f163b3ac2a.jpg

Ps. I know every snake grows at a different rate, however is was nice to see Jeff Ronne’s collection in Barczyk’s vlog a few weeks ago.. all his 4-5 year females looked about 5-6 feet and around 2000-2500 g. Those 8’ 2 year olds on Facebook always throw me off...

Regards,
Dillon


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She looks fine to me, body shape looks good for a boa.
I have some that are more 'soft' than others and get a little flatter looking when resting but when moving looks square again which may just be a muscle tone issue.
But yeah, she looks fine in my eyes.

Thanks for the feedback! Ya since I only have two boas my sample size is quite small. Definitely makes me feel better!


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Looks fine to me too, really nice looking boa
I've got a few boas and they all have different body shapes

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I'm not a boa expert (or a snake expert for that matter) but your post about her being softer and having a bit less tone than normal, and her in-utero issue reminded me of some of my pediatric patients. Some have hypotonia (low muscle tone) due to damage in utero or certain syndromes. I imagine it happens to other animals too. She seems like she has a nice home with you. :-)

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Originally Posted by FollowTheSun

I'm not a boa expert (or a snake expert for that matter) but your post about her being softer and having a bit less tone than normal, and her in-utero issue reminded me of some of my pediatric patients. Some have hypotonia (low muscle tone) due to damage in utero or certain syndromes. I imagine it happens to other animals too. She seems like she has a nice home with you. :-)

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Hmm that’s really interesting! Definitely a possibility that’s for sure. I’ve always wondered if she could still be suffering from issues related to the power outage. It’s funny, my partner is actually a NICU nurse... I’ll have to give her hell for not thinking of this [emoji23]. Thanks again!


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by richardhind1972

Looks fine to me too, really nice looking boa
I've got a few boas and they all have different body shapes

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Thank you! Ya she’s a great looking snake, and she’s very polite as well haha


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