Behira - 2016 Female Ivory Ghost - First BCI

Behira is having another growth spurt. She's 3.3kg now.

She took another large rat this week. She's looking good and healthy and is happy as ever.

Behira is over 8 pounds now. She is 3.7kg +/-.

She continues to be a dream snake. Inquisitive, docile, beautiful, a great eater, etc. Her size intimidates some people but her demeanor usually wins them over.

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Aw, she doesn't look scary to me- what a big cuddly girl she is. Don't look now, but she's going for your throat! :O (haha, jkg)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Aw, she doesn't look scary to me- what a big cuddly girl she is. Don't look now, but she's going for your throat! :O (haha, jkg)

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She did! I am Ghost Writing this! dakski is my pen name!

I am kidding too. She really is a gentle giant.

It is funny too. She does not look as big to me in reality as she does in the pictures. I only take pictures occasionally, but see her almost everyday. Wow has she grown. She is heavy! A lot of snake to carry around. That's why I drape her on my shoulders.

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Originally Posted by dakski

She did! I am Ghost Writing this! dakski is my pen name!

I am kidding too. She really is a gentle giant.

It is funny too. She does not look as big to me in reality as she does in the pictures. I only take pictures occasionally, but see her almost everyday. Wow has she grown. She is heavy! A lot of snake to carry around. That's why I drape her on my shoulders.

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I had to do the same thing with my (late) "Snookems"- the 7.5+ foot BCI that I had for many years. She was huge for me, as I'm not :cool: but I raised her right & the bad attitude she arrived with changed to one of sweetness & trust. I know that handling a snake of that size (solo) can be a safety risk, so maybe I shouldn't have trusted her, but I did, & I think that if you expect an animal to trust you, you have to trust them too. Somehow there's a delicate & wordless communication at work. At least that has worked for me, many times- even though I officially urge caution for others.

Anyway, Behira is obviously a cuddly joy to have around...literally. :D

I urge caution with people too.

When fully grown she is as big a snake as I would want and would handle or feed on my own. I should point out that it is not just size, but species and individual snake behavior. Behira, as with many Boas, is calm and gentle.

I also take precautions like not letting her fully wrap around my neck. I handle her regularly and have her well hook trained. All that helps but does not make a bite etc. impossible or me immune from the effects. Snakes, as docile as they can be and without ill will, are still not domesticated. We should not fool ourselves.

I interacted and held full grown boas before getting Behira. I knew what I was in for. Many people do not understand their strength, size, and food response.

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Originally Posted by dakski

I urge caution with people too.

When fully grown she is as big a snake as I would want and would handle or feed on my own. I should point out that it is not just size, but species and individual snake behavior. Behira, as with many Boas, is calm and gentle.

I also take precautions like not letting her fully wrap around my neck. I handle her regularly and have her well hook trained. All that helps but does not make a bite etc. impossible or me immune from the effects. Snakes, as docile as they can be and without ill will, are still not domesticated. We should not fool ourselves.

I interacted and held full grown boas before getting Behira. I knew what I was in for. Many people do not understand their strength, size, and food response.

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Very well said.

I never planned or wanted a snake like the BCI I took in- she was a rescue & just a yearling at the time, & I figured I'd rehome her after I got her calmed down. That just didn't happen according to plan- I liked her a lot, & kept hoping she wouldn't get so big, until finally she did.

When she was up in years, I finally did re-home her with some friends that liked bigger snakes- & she had a couple years with them before she passed away. It was very hard to do, & I don't think she was as calm with them as she was with me- they had a lot more going on in their household that stressed her- just being in a different home is bad enough on a shy snake.

But overall, I'm glad she had so many good years with me, as many as I could give her. And btw, I didn't let her fully wrap my neck either, though if she really wanted to, it would have been very hard for me to stop her. It helps having lots of experience "reading" snakes, but it's not fool-proof.

Behira is doing amazing. She's still gentle and docile as ever, although big and strong.

She has been stable around 8 pounds (3.6kg) for a bit now. I assume she will have some more (dramatic) growth, but I am not sure. She turns 8 this June. She's healthy and lean. I am fine either way. I'll keep feeding her appropriately sized meals and see what happens.

In the meantime, she still enjoys getting out and playing with my friends.

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Great stuff.

Glad to see the boa getting out!

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Originally Posted by Gio

Great stuff.

Glad to see the boa getting out!

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Thank you Gio! She gets out pretty regularly. All the snakes do, but the boas are a big hit with friends. They are really chill and I've converted many people who are timid, or worse, around snakes to being okay with them thanks to the Boas.

Cannot argue with how amazing and fun a docile large(r) snake can be. Yafe the CP and Behira are two of the favorites here. I have friends who ask for them by name to come out and "play."

B’s looking great there bro!!

Behira has been hovering around 3.6kg for a while now. She is eating a large rat every 3 weeks and seems happy and healthy. She turned 8 last month, so not sure how much more growing she is going to do.

I may mix up the feeding intervals a little. 2 weeks, 3 weeks, etc. I do not want to feed more than a large rat as the fat content is high and rabbits are not easy to get. I can look into frozen rabbit sources, but either she is good on every 3 weeks, or will grow a little on every 2, but she is lean and I like her that way. I want healthy over large.

She is a good 6.5 ft now and I know she will keep growing, but do not want to force the issue and have her grow quickly at this point. If it takes her years to grow another 1/2 foot or so, that's fine with me.

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Originally Posted by dakski

Behira has been hovering around 3.6kg for a while now. She is eating a large rat every 3 weeks and seems happy and healthy. She turned 8 last month, so not sure how much more growing she is going to do.

I may mix up the feeding intervals a little. 2 weeks, 3 weeks, etc. I do not want to feed more than a large rat as the fat content is high and rabbits are not easy to get. I can look into frozen rabbit sources, but either she is good on every 3 weeks, or will grow a little on every 2, but she is lean and I like her that way. I want healthy over large.

She is a good 6.5 ft now and I know she will keep growing, but do not want to force the issue and have her grow quickly at this point. If it takes her years to grow another 1/2 foot or so, that's fine with me.

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Rabbits are fairly easy to find. Layne Labs has 1-2 pounders. The shipping is a bit crazy but the quality of the food is very good. Sometimes they run out but usually they have them. I haven't ever had to shop around.

I personally would not feed every 2 weeks at her age.

A larger rabbit less frequently is better IMO.

Mix large quail, 1 to 1.5 pound rabbits and large rats into the mix.

If you follow a Rentfro or Vin Russo feeding program, you can take the winter off. They recommend not feeding a boa until all signs of the previous meal are gone. Feeding them before the elimination of their meal is detrimental. There are exceptions to the feeding interval if you are keeping your boa in eternally hot conditions. Obviously the animal will go through digestion faster and will become hungry sooner if this is done year round. I believe this will ultimately shorten the lifespan of the snake. Gus Rentfro had a breeding female in her 20's at one point. It is a shame Gus no longer breeds or writes about his experiences.

The boa here just hit 12 years old and is very lean. I have noticed growth in length especially after this last year.

I think your female will continue to grow. especially if you add rabbits to the diet.

Your animal looks very good. if you are just keeping her as a pet, feed her conservatively from here out and she will be around a long time.

Thank you, Gio! I greatly appreciate your response.

I will keep it at 3 weeks and large rats for a bit and then order rabbits from Layne Labs. I might also be able to get some from local source, but I am not sure of size or availability.

Can't hurt her to feed large rats for a bit more, I imagine.

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Originally Posted by dakski

She turned 8 last month, so not sure how much more growing she is going to do.

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According to her chart, her growth was pretty steady until she was 5.62 years and 2580g. Since, it's been like stairs with dramatic spurts and long pauses. If the pattern holds, she's due for another spurt. Time will tell.

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Originally Posted by Homebody

According to her chart, her growth was pretty steady until she was 5.62 years and 2580g. Since, it's been like stairs with dramatic spurts and long pauses. If the pattern holds, she's due for another spurt. Time will tell.

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I was thinking about this as well. It seems every time I move up a prey size after a plateau, she grows again.

However, at the age she is now, I want to move up prey size more slowly, I think anyway.

I was looking at Layne Labs and they have XS Rabbits which are .5-1 pounds. The large rats are about .5 pounds. That seems like the next logical step.

Any feedback, as always, is welcome.

Thank you Homebody and Gio!

To each their own but I feed my BCI everything from medium to jumbo rats, along with large hamsters, every 3 weeks and he's still pretty lean. I usually save the rabbits for my BCO, olive, and scrub but I might give the BCI one soon too. I know he can handle it.

FWIW- Cold Blooded Cafe has xs rabbits (1-1.5 lbs.) for much less than Layne Labs. The shipping is usually less expensive as well.

https://www.coldbloodedcafe.com/small-rabbits.html

Behira shed today and looks great. She is noticeably over 8 pounds now.

She is still such a docile and inquisitive snake. Frankly, she's awesome.

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Behira with a buddy of mine.

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Behira looking beautiful. She might be having another growth spurt. I need two hands to pick her up in her midsection now.

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Behira is having another growth spurt. She is now 3,830G dry.

Got a good picture of her in her 6X2' Boaphile. She may not be the most colorful boa, but she is a looker.

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Great pic. She's a stunner.

Not easy to get her to stretch out in her enclosure. This is as good as it gets. 6X2' Boaphile.

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"In the right corner of the Reptile Area, weighing in at 4KG, the reigning "heaviest snake" in the Dakski collection, it's BEHIRA!"

Behira is now 4kg dry. She's a lot of snake but makes it easy with her demeanor.

Thank you to my beautiful wife for helping with the photo shoot.

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Behira just shed and is doing great. Here she is with a friend of mine.

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Behira got her first rabbit yesterday and she ate it like a champ.

She is about 9 pounds now and the rabbit was 240g, or about 1/2 a pound. The rats she was eating (large rats) were about 200-210g. I will not feed anything bigger than a large rat due to fat content. Boas like lean food and do not digest high fat prey well.

Rabbits have similar protein characteristics from a nutritional level to lean rats (large and smaller) but with a similar, or even slightly lower, fat content. This allows me to feed a slightly larger (and eventually even larger) prey item for Behira that is still healthy for her.

She is 9 years old in June, but still growing some and I want the best for her.

Big Cheese Rodent Factory now offers rabbits of all sizes. That's where I got these. Layne Labs sells rabbits as well but I have used Big Cheese for years and had good experiences so I went with them. For what it is worth, I have heard great things about Layne Labs, I just cannot speak about it personally.

9 lbs in 9 years...a lb/per year. :) Nothing like a big, bold BCI- she's a beauty.

Behira got a 375G rabbit tonight. I am going to feed rabbits (about that size) every 4-5 weeks or so. The large rats weren't really making a dent, but I will not feed rabbits - at the size Behira is now - more than every 3-4 weeks minimum. Even the "Extra Small" rabbits (.5-1 pound) are about 10% of her body weight on the high end. I won't go bigger than that as a percentage of her weight, period.

As she grows, I might make the feedings more frequent without going bigger on the rabbits. If I do, it probably will not be by much though as she has had large rats (every 2-3 weeks or so) for years and is healthy and happy. She is 9 in two months and I am not going to start trying to grow her fast at this point (I never have). However, a nice lean rabbit is better than a large rat (probably getting a little small for her), or certainly a jumbo rat (as discussed earlier in this thread - fat = bad for boas).

I'll check tomorrow and make sure she's digesting well. I feed with the lights dimmed and put her drape back on after so as not to distract her or get a (or another) strike at the door. A quick peek made it appear she did get it down without issue, but it doesn't hurt to check.

Queen B is a real beauty Dave!! I like seeing the differences in how folks keep their critters. It shows me there's more than just one "right" way to raise healthy animals. I think we feed on very similar schedules, but I feed just a wee bit heavier. I almost never weigh my snakes but since I've been trying to lose a few pounds myself, I've thrown them on the scale with me a few times, and the boas are both between 5 - 5.5 kg. The male BI eats mostly large rats and xs or small rabbits. I feed him pretty much like I do my carpets. My female BCO eats mostly jumbo rats, xs and small rabbits. She eats the same prey as my scrub and olive. I also like that Big Cheese is carrying rabbits now. I mostly use them and Cold Blooded Cafe. I've also fed the snakes large hamsters recently, which they love. The only prey type they haven't had yet is quail.

BTW- All of your snakes are awesome! :cool:

Some pics of Behira. She is doing great. About 6 weeks since her last rabbit. It was a big one at about a pound. I will feed again this week. My sister, the one who doesn't like snakes, has been staying with us and that pushed feeding out a little longer than I would like. I am sure Behira, and the other snakes, are no worse for it.

The ones with her on the bowl are my favorites. She's big and I don't want to clean all that water up! However, great picture (IMO). She was pretty chill but it kind of looks like she's saying, "Mess around and find out."

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She looks beautiful.

Behira continues to be an amazing snake. She turned 9 this month and is happily eating XS rabbits every 4-6 weeks and doing great.

Here she is with Katie.

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