New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
Yesterday I bought a 2 1/2 year old hypo boa that is stunning but the kid I got her from was only feeding her once a month and never handling her. Needless to say I was bitten 2x before I left his house. She is only 4-4 1/2 ft long and weighs 1500 grams roughly (just guessing but its close). She is obviously underfed and my question is should I feed every 10 days as a normal boa is recommended or should I feed her a little more often as she is very skinny. I'm assuming that the striking is mainly hunger and partially from lack of handling but I'm curious as to what those that keep boas have to say in that regard. Any additional info is appreciated. Thanks
Re: New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
I would only feed her every 2 weeks. 10 days is more of a recommendation for youngsters. And you dont want to feed anything that will leave a noticeable lump. Boas have a slower metabolism, and too frequent/large feeding isnt good for them. Boas shouldn't be round, they should have a lean/muscular/boxey shape. Part of the biting is probably from not being handled. She probably just needs to be worked with. Do you have any pictures? Here is a good body shot of one of mine for comparison. This pic is a couple weeks old, I weighed her a couple days ago, and she was 902 grams, and just over a year old.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/10/umu5ajuz.jpg
Re: New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DooLittle
I would only feed her every 2 weeks. 10 days is more of a recommendation for youngsters. And you dont want to feed anything that will leave a noticeable lump. Boas have a slower metabolism, and too frequent/large feeding isnt good for them. Boas shouldn't be round, they should have a lean/muscular/boxey shape. Part of the biting is probably from not being handled. She probably just needs to be worked with. Do you have any pictures? Here is a good body shot of one of mine for comparison. This pic is a couple weeks old, I weighed her a couple days ago, and she was 902 grams, and just over a year old.
Totally agree with this. Feeding every 10 days might be too much of a shock to her system. And be sure to keep the prey sizes on the small side - not only because it's better for boas in general, but you actually need to be careful to not over do things at the moment.
Also, I am fairly certain she will calm down once she a) gets used to being handled and b) she isn't so hungry anymore.
Good luck and keep us posted! :gj:
Re: New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
Ok so here's the info that I have on her so far: She is a Robert McPhee hypo possible super hypo possible cyclone (two of the saddles are connected in two places) and is 2.5-3 years old. As of today she is 53" and weighs 1327 grams. How is that compared to what she should be by now if anyone could give me an idea please. Has not bitten me since I've brought her home. Although I am positive it is going to happen lol. Absolutely stunning snake with a nice green sheen to her.
Re: New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
She sounds thin, but seeing pictures of her would better help us judge her condition, as snakes all grow at different rates.
Re: New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
Sorry for the crappy quality pic and not being able to post pictures in a thread yet. Obviously phone pictures do her no justice at all. She is about as big around as a golf ball. http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/show...mageuser=29659
Re: New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
That picture is really too hard to tell. But from what I can see, she doesnt look too bad. I wonder if they had her age off??
Re: New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
hypnotixdmp
I say....pictures or you didn't get the snake!!! lol
EDIT: Use IMGUR on your phone to post the picture to the site!!!
And I say look at the pic I posted instead of being a smartass
Re: New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Johnmb
And I say look at the pic I posted instead of being a smartass
I don't think he was being a smartass, just poking fun
Re: New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SnowShredder
I don't think he was being a smartass, just poking fun
If so my apologies. Bad days tend to jade thinking a bit. Poor excuse I know lol
Re: New Addtion: My first boa!! Have some questions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Evenstar
We ALL say "no pics or it didn't happen". Sorry, but that's a common call-out when we want to see pictures. We're not being smart__'s - we just like to see pics of new snakes. Plus, not everyone can see the pics through the link you posted. I can't. DooLittle probably can't either. Just an fyi......
Upload your pics to flickr or photobucket, then copy and paste the url into your post here. Easy-peasy. :gj:
I am aware of the saying and have no problem with it's use when applicable. However, when a link is posted and someone, (Doolittle) has already commented in the thread about the picture I posted and the admittedly low quality of it, then there is no reason to use that saying unless the person commenting didn't read the thread anyway regardless of weather or not he could see it. So the two options are: He read it and decided to say in anyway in jest, (slightly confusing but harmless, for which I already apologized) or he didn't read it and was trying to be funny. (smartass/jackass) I am leaving out the third option of him just being a :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: because I have had no problems with anyone on here at all and have no reason to think that was his motive. Neither of the first options are reason to be upset and I don't believe the third to be the case so there is really no reason to continue grinding this particular axe. I appreciate all the help everyone has given greatly and look forward to the continued conversation. Hope to see some of you at the Taylor show tomorrow!!!
