Update on Isis - Growing!

This past July I took some pictures of Isis, my 2008 columbian red tail boa (that's a BCI, right) and she was somewhere between 600 and 700 grams in weight, eating 1 small rat every week. Today I decided to have a little photo shoot with her and get a weight on her since I haven't since July. I have no idea what she is supposed to weigh as an adult. I've tried finding out the answer but so far, no luck. I know she is supposed to get up to 7-9' long but as far as weight, I have no idea. I'm going to find that snake measuring program so I can find out her length.

In these pictures she does have a full belly. I've just bumped her up to eating 2 small rats.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...127_140029.jpg

The same paper towel roll from her previous photo shoot.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...127_140111.jpg

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...127_140129.jpg

On the scale - 1122g with two small rats in her belly, so over 1000g now!
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...127_140459.jpg

Back in the tub she goes.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...127_140529.jpg

That is a small crock. It is 4 inches in diameter.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...127_140731.jpg

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...127_140739.jpg

This girl is getting so strong already. MUCH different from ball pythons. She squeezed my fingers while I was holding her and my fingers started turning red. I can only imagine the color my fingers will turn with she is full grown.

Thanks for looking!

Nice looking girl there.:D

Also, should I bump her up to mediums? I plan on getting them from rodent pro and the mediums are between 84-174g. She's been taking 1 small rat (45-80g) and I just recently began feeding her two of them. Will 1 medium be better?

it sounds like 2 small rats are equaling a total of 90-160g which is just in between the weights you specified for the medium rats.
i say make the switch cuz it'll cost more to feed her 2 small rats in one sitting every week if 1 medium rat can fill her up just the same, see what i mean?
try it and see...
nice lookin' boa by the way.

Indeed, up her to the medium rats.:banana:

Dont push feeding with boas. Just cause they are a heavier bodied snake dont mean they require large meals leaving bulges in their stomachs. This is the main problem with beginner boa owners.



Overfeeding is VERY easy to do with Boas. You wont know it till its too late and you end up with the pinhead effect. Feed smaller meals weekly and slowly, average adult bci boa needs nothing larger than large to xl rat weekly.

Also being BCI dont expect her to surpass 7ft.

Well being that she's almost 3 years old and is still this small I want to put some size on her. I don't know what a full size BCI is supposed to weigh but she just seems so tiny. Next feeding I'll take a picture of her with a small rat in her belly.

What a beautiful boa! I absolutely love her colors! And I definitely know what you mean about their strength; my boa can easily cut off circulation to my hand when she wraps around my wrist. They're powerful animals for sure.

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Dont push feeding with boas. Just cause they are a heavier bodied snake dont mean they require large meals leaving bulges in their stomachs. This is the main problem with beginner boa owners.

Overfeeding is VERY easy to do with Boas. You wont know it till its too late and you end up with the pinhead effect. Feed smaller meals weekly and slowly, average adult bci boa needs nothing larger than large to xl rat weekly.

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x2 When it comes to boas, a slow feeding schedule / smaller food items weekly is by far the healthiest way to go. I think yours could handle medium rats, but if you choose to go that route, I would slow down the frequency of feedings. When my first boa graduated to medium rats, I slowed her down to 1-2 feedings per month. Bci have potential to be fairly large, but this should happen over the course of many, many years. Yours will reach her genetic potential eventually, but if you start stuffing her with food, her lifespan will be significantly decreased.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Well being that she's almost 3 years old and is still this small I want to put some size on her. I don't know what a full size BCI is supposed to weigh but she just seems so tiny. Next feeding I'll take a picture of her with a small rat in her belly.

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At three years old, she should be quite a bit larger. I would bump her up to medium rats every ten days.

Thanks. Yes, she should be a lot bigger than she is. Does anyone know about what weight adult female boas are at? With ball pythons it is pretty easy. Most females are 1500g+ by the time they are 2 years old, but with boas, I have no idea how much she should weigh or how long/big around she should be.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Thanks. Yes, she should be a lot bigger than she is. Does anyone know about what weight adult female boas are at? With ball pythons it is pretty easy. Most females are 1500g+ by the time they are 2 years old, but with boas, I have no idea how much she should weigh or how long/big around she should be.

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There is likely no solid answer for this. As with any animal, each individual snake will have different lengths/weights.

Awesome looking girl too! Be patient with her.

Does anyone have any links to some 3 year old girls so I can compare sizes? How will I know when she is full grown? Or better question...how will I know she is large enough to breed. I know at 1000g, she is no where near big enough to breed, but I'm trying to figure out when-ish she'll be ready. I hope to get a boy this year or next year for her. Of course, I may never breed her because she is stunted like this, but I guess we'll see.

Honestly, Isis looks to be in much better shape than pictures of boas I usually see on the web. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and a medium rat every ten days would be an acceptable feeding schedule for her, but imo whatever schedule you've been feeding her on is working great.

And as for breeding, I would definitely go for it (though from what I can remember, I think the generally accepted breeding requirements for female boas are around 4 years and 5 feet, someone please correct me if I am mistaken). I wouldn't necessarily say that she is stunted, just a slow grower. And, especially considering she's got a good feeding response, I don't think that's passing on "bad genes". She would sure make some pretty babies! Any ideas on what male you'd pair her up with?

This is a Female i had for 3 years. I got rid of her to a local friend when she was 5 years old at 7ft 24lbs.

Picture shes 4years old and 18lbs. Fed Xl Rats every 2 weeks

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/100_1664.jpg
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...ns/kane004.jpg

I have absolutely no idea what male I'd pair her with as I don't know boa morphs like I know ball python morphs. I'll stick to the small rats once every 7 days like I have been doing.

Thanks for the pictures! They help a lot.

Here is my male boa at 2,5 years old (he's over 2200g now). I know it's not a female but my friend has a female at same age and she's a bit smaller (he's not feeding her as much as I do - I feed mine with 150g rat each week).
On hands to see the size:
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/967/bc1bo.jpg

He has never refused a single meal - even in shed he eats no problems. I will see how much longer I will feed him that, but for now I think it's alright (I mean meal size as far as how often he gets it ;p). But probably after he reaches 3000g I might start feeding him every 10 days or even every 14 days etc.

Get her on small rabbits when you think she can, they're more efficient than rats. Rodent Pro's are like .5 - .75 pounds.

I've looked through a few boa morphs and I'm really liking jungles, kahl strain albinos, and motleys. How much can I expect to pay for 2010 males of each of those morphs at a show. I've tried finding some on Kingsnake but most that I'm finding are either females, or older males.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I've looked through a few boa morphs and I'm really liking jungles, kahl strain albinos, and motleys. How much can I expect to pay for 2010 males of each of those morphs at a show. I've tried finding some on Kingsnake but most that I'm finding are either females, or older males.

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Motleys can expect 4-600 on quality. kahl Strain ive seen as low at 100 and up to 500. Jungles im not sure, never owned one or looked at price.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Also, should I bump her up to mediums? I plan on getting them from rodent pro and the mediums are between 84-174g. She's been taking 1 small rat (45-80g) and I just recently began feeding her two of them. Will 1 medium be better?

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i made that mistake. i should have asked in the special order box "smallest rats of medium" sooo now i have huge rats that i had to order over agian :/

I typically see jungles (my alltime favorite Bci morph, btw ;) ) going for $300-700ish, depending on the quality, but I'm not too knowledgeable about boa morphs.