Boas will NOT eat as much as you give them

Slightly off topic... when I acquired Godzilla, my prize female reduced pattern, probably Araza morph ball python, she was huge and thick like a monster (hence her name). The previous keeper had mistakenly thought that power-feeding and keeping them fat would increase and speed up their breeding ability.
At first I was thrilled at her size, her girth was very impressive visually! I loved it! it was the experienced veteran breeders and keepers here at ballpythons.net that convinced me and educated me that keeping a snake really FAT was not only unnecessary, but even UNHEALTHY! as soon as I acquired her, I immediately put her on a diet and she now looks more healthy. She is still a big monster, but not obese. I am here for one reason, to be educated by the veterans and to educate the novices.

Ironically, fatter ball pythons put out more slugs than fit ones.

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

Slightly off topic... when I acquired Godzilla, my prize female reduced pattern, probably Araza morph ball python, she was huge and thick like a monster (hence her name). The previous keeper had mistakenly thought that power-feeding and keeping them fat would increase and speed up their breeding ability.
At first I was thrilled at her size, her girth was very impressive visually! I loved it! it was the experienced veteran breeders and keepers here at ballpythons.net that convinced me and educated me that keeping a snake really FAT was not only unnecessary, but even UNHEALTHY! as soon as I acquired her, I immediately put her on a diet and she now looks more healthy. She is still a big monster, but not obese. I am here for one reason, to be educated by the veterans and to educate the novices.

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You can,t overfeed a ball python. I got my male BP just a month before i got my BCI. He was 3 years old. I was totally a beginner when i got him and i did overfeed him. As a result he stopped eating 8 months and started after that to eat again. I am beginning to believe that you can,t overfeed any snake in normal ways. My dumerils boa ate last time before 3 weeks. I offered him a rat yesterday and he does not want to eat. I guess his body does not require food now and he knows it. My BCI showed no interest in that rat again. So i,m going to give him a two weeks pause before i feed him again. So they know if their bodies require food or not

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Originally Posted by Dutti

You can,t overfeed a ball python. I got my male BP just a month before i got my BCI. He was 3 years old. I was totally a beginner when i got him and i did overfeed him. As a result he stopped eating 8 months and started after that to eat again. I am beginning to believe that you can,t overfeed any snake in normal ways. My dumerils boa ate last time before 3 weeks. I offered him a rat yesterday and he does not want to eat. I guess his body does not require food now and he knows it. My BCI showed no interest in that rat again. So i,m going to give him a two weeks pause before i feed him again. So they know if their bodies require food or not

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This is Godzilla when I first got her...
https://image.ibb.co/ebEijF/IMG_0365.jpg
https://image.ibb.co/j8NHuQ/IMG_0540.jpg

She was obese. That means overfed. Think about it, just try really hard to think about it. :yes:

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Originally Posted by PythonBabes

Ironically, fatter ball pythons put out more slugs than fit ones.

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Same goes with boas. I think it is because some people want to quick breed and so they power feed them to get them up to size thinking that is all that matters. They dont realizes that just because a snake is large doesnt mean it's reproductive organs are ready.

I have heard from a lot of people, it's better to go by age of the snake than its weight as a deciding factor.

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Originally Posted by Dutti

You can,t overfeed a ball python. I got my male BP just a month before i got my BCI. He was 3 years old. I was totally a beginner when i got him and i did overfeed him. As a result he stopped eating 8 months and started after that to eat again. I am beginning to believe that you can,t overfeed any snake in normal ways. My dumerils boa ate last time before 3 weeks. I offered him a rat yesterday and he does not want to eat. I guess his body does not require food now and he knows it. My BCI showed no interest in that rat again. So i,m going to give him a two weeks pause before i feed him again. So they know if their bodies require food or not

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Or.....you are giving them so much food, they simply dont want it lol. BPs, i can understand although Dottie hasnt quit eating for the winter yet and just ate a medium rat last night.

As for your BCI and dumerils, not sure why yours quit refused food(actually i do, you overfeed) but my dumerils and all my BCIs never refuse a meal. Everyone actually ate last night. And met me tell you, it was an exciting night as i almost got tagged by Caesar as he came flying out for his guinea pig and the baby boas shot out like bullets.

And basically your boa and dumerils are probably trying to save their own lives as they know you are trying to kill them with too much food.

And now you have a dumerils AND a BP? You said in your post earlier, when you got your boa, you had no knowledge of snake care and that was 18 months ago assuming you got the boa when it was born which you said you did. So in that 18 months of research, you didnt see any correlation between dumerils care sheets and BCI care sheets both stating you shouldnt feed either snake lots of food? And you didnt find a common denominator among all the research that boas and dumerils dont need to be stuffed like Thanksgiving turkeys?

I think i also read somewhere you said you had a GTP? What is going to be the next surprise you pull out lol? With that many snakes, i am floored you still havent figured out the proper care for them....

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

This is Godzilla when I first got her...
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...F/IMG_0365.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...Q/IMG_0540.jpg

She was obese. That means overfed. Think about it, just try really hard to think about it. :yes:

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Haha reminds me of Dottie. She is kind of a chunky monkey. She just ate a medium rat last night. Here she is probably pissed off i lifted her hide off half her body since her large RB hides are too small but for some reason she still loves them and doesnt want to use new hides :confusd:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2741d60a_h.jpg

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Haha reminds me of Dottie. She is kind of a chunky monkey. She just ate a medium rat last night. Here she is probably pissed off i lifted her hide off half her body since her large RB hides are too small but for some reason she still loves them and doesnt want to use new hides :confusd:

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At least Dottie looks healthy, you can still see her spine. Godzilla looks like that now, but back in July when I got her, she was ridiculously fat!

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Originally Posted by Dutti

So they know if their bodies require food or not

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Regardless, they don't know when their next meal is coming. A lot of snakes will gorge in the wild, given the chance. As far as they know, it could be months before their next meal. This is pretty much hardcoded into them so you're not going to change it. The thing is, these sorts of feeding opportunities are rare or at least seasonal for most. They aren't doing it all the time like when you offer massive meals every 7 days..

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Originally Posted by Dutti

I am beginning to believe that you can,t overfeed any snake in normal ways

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There's a fellow in my area who works with reptile leather. A lot of the stuff is roadkill salvage but he gets a fair share of dead before their time snakes from folks who think the same as your above quote.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Or.....you are giving them so much food, they simply dont want it lol. BPs, i can understand although Dottie hasnt quit eating for the winter yet and just ate a medium rat last night.

As for your BCI and dumerils, not sure why yours quit refused food(actually i do, you overfeed) but my dumerils and all my BCIs never refuse a meal. Everyone actually ate last night. And met me tell you, it was an exciting night as i almost got tagged by Caesar as he came flying out for his guinea pig and the baby boas shot out like bullets.

And basically your boa and dumerils are probably trying to save their own lives as they know you are trying to kill them with too much food.

And now you have a dumerils AND a BP? You said in your post earlier, when you got your boa, you had no knowledge of snake care and that was 18 months ago assuming you got the boa when it was born which you said you did. So in that 18 months of research, you didnt see any correlation between dumerils care sheets and BCI care sheets both stating you shouldnt feed either snake lots of food? And you didnt find a common denominator among all the research that boas and dumerils dont need to be stuffed like Thanksgiving turkeys?

I think i also read somewhere you said you had a GTP? What is going to be the next surprise you pull out lol? With that many snakes, i am floored you still havent figured out the proper care for them....

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My ATB won,t refuse a meal even if i overfed him. Such a wonderful snake. I have to be careful with his feeding as he is a great eater. He is 14 months old and eating large mice. I have learned my lesson with my BP when he stopped 8 months eating. I feed him now small rats. Regarding my Dumerils, i really don,t have to be careful with his feeding. If he is not hungry he will just refuse. I can,t overfeed him. And my BCI refused food this time, so i will give him 2 weeks pause. My GTP will eat one large mouce every 9 to 10 days. That,s more than enough for him as he does not move much.