Boa Constrictors Boring?

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Originally Posted by cletus

I think they can be boring. Extremely overfed/overweight boas will stay in their corner and not do much. None of mine have been like that though. They can be very active and curious.

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This applies to almost any snake, and really, almost any animal. We might as well include humans too. Too much food for almost anything leads to inactivity and a shortened life span.

It is stated, restated and proven by some of the most knowledgable and experienced boa constrictor keepers around. Russo, Rentfro, Bassett, and there are more that boa constrictors recognize and need some seasonality during the year.

There are times of famine and times of feast.

Certainly don't starve your boa, which is very difficult, but definitely don't overfeed it.

I always see increased activity when the weather warms, the natural dew points increase and there are longer hours of daylight.

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Originally Posted by Gio

This applies to almost any snake, and really, almost any animal. We might as well include humans too. Too much food for almost anything leads to inactivity and a shortened life span.

It is stated, restated and proven by some of the most knowledgable and experienced boa constrictor keepers around. Russo, Rentfro, Bassett, and there are more that boa constrictors recognize and need some seasonality during the year.

There are times of famine and times of feast.

Certainly don't starve your boa, which is very difficult, but definitely don't overfeed it.

I always see increased activity when the weather warms, the natural dew points increase and there are longer hours of daylight.

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Agreed, but most snakes don't reach the size of a boa. It's a good thing we the keepers of the animal can feed them responsibly. I think too many people treat boas like garbage disposals and grow huge and lazy snakes.

Caesar is going to pass up Rosey in length and become my biggest snake i think here soon. Rosey is about 5 years old and 6.5-7' and 12.7lbs. Caesar is 11 months old and just over 6'. I dont know his weight though as trying to weigh him would ike trying to keep water in a screen net.

My snakes have started to move around more recently but i still would not compare them to something like a colubrid. I think a lot of people just don't understand boas have a slow metabolism but a hyper driven appetite lol.

Reading this thread, i just had to grab Irwin for some shoulder time. And like a boring boa, he started using my head and face for a jungle gym then went down my collar and out my sleeve, talk about a pet rock, lol. Also noticed he's been using different part of his enclosure lately, I changed around some of his furniture last month and got him a new RHP too, so i hope that was stimulating for him. He's really starting to get too big for his set-up, i mean its not dire, just not ideal - but i want to build him a real "forever" house next which will require some time and money. Hopefully this summer i can make it happen, especially if he has another growth spurt like last summer. I'm just now getting him back to a regular feeding schedule, sticking to every 3 weeks while he's still on small rats, if he gets up to mediums i'll probably do 4 to 5 week intervals.

Any one who thinks Boa Constrictors are boring should not be a snake owner. Just go to the Zoo and look at all the animals that are housed badly and you will see them depressed. If you find that your Boa is boring then its your fault as a snake owner, don,t blame the snake for that.