Any ideas on how to fatten up this BRB?

About a year ago, I was browsing Craigslist and came across a posting:
'Brazilian Rainbow Boa - $100'

The juvenile in the pet shop was $300.

And the ad said he had no health problems...
So I bought him on the spot, the following Saturday my brother brought him down from the cities for me.


What I got was a:
Severely mite infested (absolutely CRAWLING)
Underweight
Dehydrated
Blemished (I assumed the idiot had a heat rock)

3 foot Brazilian Rainbow Boa


Oh boy. Was I excited.


I promptly set him up in a 20 gallon tank with paper towels and a nice big water dish. I gave him a nice, warm soak and then the next day bought a massive bottle of all-natural mite spray.
And thus began the six month road to recovery.


Now, he is a happy, healthy snake. But the problem is...he's still small. He never misses a meal, sheds frequently, has a beautiful color, and is mite free. But he's still not quite there around the middle.

Anyone got any suggestions on how to 'fatten 'em up'?
I most certainly am not going to breed him, but it would be nice to see him as a properly sized BRB for once.

Get it checked for internal parasites, treat if neccesary, then feed more.

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

Get it checked for internal parasites, treat if neccesary, then feed more.

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He's has a perfect bill of health. But how much more should I feed? He gets a very small rat once a week. Passes everything normal. Has never regurgitated anything.

Two every other week or two every week...?
Or his normal meal, plus a smaller offering?


I just don't want to overfeed him.

if he's eating well, he's probably well recovered, eating is the number one sign of good health(and unless a snake is "off feed", a lack of eating can often mean distress for a snake) Have you been keeping track of any weight gain?

You could up his feeding to every 5 days instead of every 7, that's probably better than offering bigger/more food once a week.

Weight gain isn't instantaneous, but like you said you've had him for almost a year.. I guess I wouldn't expect a seriously underweight snake to make up the weight in a single year eating what you would be feeding a healthy snake normally.

There shouldn't be anything wrong with feeding a normal meal every 5 days as long as he isn't overweight and still feeding aggressively.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

if he's eating well, he's probably well recovered, eating is the number one sign of good health(and unless a snake is "off feed", a lack of eating can often mean distress for a snake) Have you been keeping track of any weight gain?

You could up his feeding to every 5 days instead of every 7, that's probably better than offering bigger/more food once a week.

Weight gain isn't instantaneous, but like you said you've had him for almost a year.. I guess I wouldn't expect a seriously underweight snake to make up the weight in a single year eating what you would be feeding a healthy snake normally.

There shouldn't be anything wrong with feeding a normal meal every 5 days as long as he isn't overweight and still feeding aggressively.

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I'll up his feeding schedule to every five then :)
I haven't been keeping track of his weight gain (sorry x.x) but he has really filled out since I first got him, not quite what he should be just yet, but much better than before. I wish I had pictures, he was really a sad sight.

Now he's an impossibly cute, curious, active little dude. I haven't measured him yet, but I think he's getting up towards four feet in length now. He last shed maybe two weeks ago x)