Rainbow boa age

I have a rainbow boa who is around 20 inches long and about 1 inch in diameter. I know that is not a lot of information but I am trying to get a rough estimate of his age, for feeding purposes. He was a rescue and is my first snake. A lady i know let her son get him and then he decided it was to much work. They were only feeding him once every 2 to 3 weeks. I have been doing once a week and he devours his food, but i am worried about over feeding him. I only feed him one thawed baby mouse.

Thank you all for any help! This is all new to me and I am trying to learn all I can.

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Originally Posted by Chaos11185

I have a rainbow boa who is around 20 inches long and about 1 inch in diameter. I know that is not a lot of information but I am trying to get a rough estimate of his age, for feeding purposes. He was a rescue and is my first snake. A lady i know let her son get him and then he decided it was to much work. They were only feeding him once every 2 to 3 weeks. I have been doing once a week and he devours his food, but i am worried about over feeding him. I only feed him one thawed baby mouse.

Thank you all for any help! This is all new to me and I am trying to learn all I can.

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How long have you had him? How long did the lady that you know's son have him? How much does he weigh? Help us help you.

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Originally Posted by Chaos11185

I have a rainbow boa who is around 20 inches long and about 1 inch in diameter.......I only feed him one thawed baby mouse.....

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Snakes growth is totally controlled by the amount of food they have access to, & their ability (enough warmth) to digest it. It sounds to me like yours is under a year old, since according to the Smithsonian's Nation Zoo, neonates are usually 15-20", & can grow to 36-40" in their first year [if fed adequately].

I'd continue feeding him/her once a week (to allow adequate time for digestion) but it's really important to know what SIZE mouse you're offering. When you say 'baby mouse', if you're feeding a pinkie or fuzzy, that's way too small. He should easily be eating hoppers (ie. weaned mice or even small adults) at that size (20" long & 1" diameter body) so no wonder he's hungry! Sounds like he needs more food!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chaos11185

I have a rainbow boa who is around 20 inches long and about 1 inch in diameter. I know that is not a lot of information but I am trying to get a rough estimate of his age, for feeding purposes. He was a rescue and is my first snake. A lady i know let her son get him and then he decided it was to much work. They were only feeding him once every 2 to 3 weeks. I have been doing once a week and he devours his food, but i am worried about over feeding him. I only feed him one thawed baby mouse.

Thank you all for any help! This is all new to me and I am trying to learn all I can.

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I've bred rainbow boas and I still have a few. Bear in mind that because rainbow boas are kept at a lower temperature than other boids, they digest more slowly, so an appropriately-sized feeder every 2-3 weeks is fine for a juvenile and my adults eat every four weeks. At an inch around I would be looking at feeding a smallish wean rat, jumbo mouse, or perhaps a very small rabbit pinky, every 2-3 weeks; something 20-25 grams.

A pinky mouse weekly isn't enough, that's what a neonate would eat.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I've bred rainbow boas and I still have a few. Bear in mind that because rainbow boas are kept at a lower temperature than other boids, they digest more slowly, so an appropriately-sized feeder every 2-3 weeks is fine for a juvenile and my adults eat every four weeks. At an inch around I would be looking at feeding a smallish wean rat, jumbo mouse, or perhaps a very small rabbit pinky, every 2-3 weeks; something 30-35 grams.

A pinky mouse weekly isn't enough, that's what a neonate would eat.

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Best answer from someone with actual rainbow boa experience! I didn't know that- about them digesting more slowly (& forgot they're kept cooler than other boids)- how interesting. TKS! :gj:

Thank you all, I will try to put together more info. I am very new to all of this.

I have bred Brazilian rainbow boas for the last few years. My remaining 2023s, which are 10 months old at this point, are roughly 24" long and 3/4" - 1" in diameter, and around 80 grams in weight (I just pulled one out and measured). I'm currently feeding one fuzzy mouse (which is from 4-6 grams) once per 7 days, and I may bump them up to a hopper mouse on the same schedule somewhat soon but I'm not in any rush to do that.

This is the sort of feeding size and schedule my past growouts have been on, and seem to do fine with it. Given that they're semi-arboreal, I don't push large food on them (though they would eat it, I'm sure), and like most of my snakes I aim for adulthood/breeding size at about four to five years of age.