Question about my best friend's RTB feeding sched.

My best friend, Kelly, has an eight to ten foot long Guyana Red Tail, and she is quite hefty. She feeds it one frozen petco rat a month. The $8 one, I think it's "Large". I feel like she's underfeeding it, but I'm no expert- so I figured, you guys are! I'll ask! I wish I could tell you what she weighs, or how big around she is, but I can't think of anything standard. I've always thought she looked skinny, but like I said, no expert.

Thanks in advance!

Take a picture and post it. How are you measuring the length of the snake? 8 feet is common 10 feet is a really big snake. How old is the snake and is the feeding schedule the same year round?

One rat a month is not enough no matter what size it is. It will survive, but it's not going to be as happy as it could be with a more frequent feeding. My big ones, 8 to 10 feet, get a couple of retired females every week to 10 days with an occasional Jumbo male or two in between. They're hefty but not fat.

We measured the snake based on my friend's height. Kelly is 6 feet tall, and the snake is longer than she is all. Someone dumped the snake when it was about 6 feet long five years ago on her property, and she kept it as a pet. No clue on the real age. I'll see if I can find a picture.

http://imgur.com/sPeP8fL

This is the only picture I have

Edit: Link if the picture doesn't appear for you guys: http://imgur.com/sPeP8fL

Kinda hard to judge by the pic but the snake looks fine to me: not underfed skinny and not obese.

I would personally be feeding this snake every 2 weeks on an extra large/jumbo rat/smaller rabbit (depending on if this snake really is 8-10').

That Boa look fantastic, great body shape.
I know every one will not agree with me. But that feeding schedule is perfectly fine. in the wild they may not eat for months.
My adults fall in a feeding between 2-4 weeks. Males and females both will go of feed during breeding and gestation.
I have breeding males go off feed for 7 months and not lose any weight.
One my first boas a male didn't eat for year and didn't lose any weight.

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I know every one will not agree with me. But that feeding schedule is perfectly fine. in the wild they may not eat for months.
My adults fall in a feeding between 2-4 weeks.

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I do, :) I feed my two healthy boas every 3 weeks, and both are in great health and body shape. The scrawny rescue one I feed once a week, but smaller meals, just because I'm slowly getting his weight and condition back to where it should be. For the two on the 3 week schedule, it was really based on how often they started looking for food. They are both pretty consistent with starting to roam more at the 2 1/2 week mark. And I've actually gone 4 weeks with Ryuu a couple times, simply because he was still just laying about and not looking for food. He's a perfect "loaf" shape and solid muscle, so I think it works just fine for him.

Okay :3 Thank you guys for the great replies. I was just curious because I'm used to my guys eating weekly. I understand that in the wild they can go a very long time without eating, especially in the wild. I'm more of a "better safe than sorry" and "never hurts to ask" kind of person, especially with animals (:

I agree with the others. I think the snake looks great in that picture. You can bump up a bit during the warm season and back off to the same schedule. I guess if the snake looks good and is not giving obvious signs of hunger things seem OK.

As you can see there are some differing opinions. I think the bottom line is if anybody can read the behavior and see whether or not it appears hungry, if it looks good "loaf" shape and muscular and sheds are good things are going well.

If the owner is not in tune with those things, they need to be and go from there.

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Originally Posted by wilomn

One rat a month is not enough no matter what size it is. It will survive, but it's not going to be as happy as it could be with a more frequent feeding. My big ones, 8 to 10 feet, get a couple of retired females every week to 10 days with an occasional Jumbo male or two in between. They're hefty but not fat.

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Usually, this is true. There are circumstances, however, when feeding only once a month is acceptable. A snake kept as a pet and that is not used for breeding purposes (and therefore is not depleting it's body's resources when carrying babies) can usually be fed less often. And BCCs tend to have even slower metabolisms than BCIs.

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Originally Posted by Sita

I do, :) I feed my two healthy boas every 3 weeks, and both are in great health and body shape. The scrawny rescue one I feed once a week, but smaller meals, just because I'm slowly getting his weight and condition back to where it should be. For the two on the 3 week schedule, it was really based on how often they started looking for food. They are both pretty consistent with starting to roam more at the 2 1/2 week mark. And I've actually gone 4 weeks with Ryuu a couple times, simply because he was still just laying about and not looking for food. He's a perfect "loaf" shape and solid muscle, so I think it works just fine for him.

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Just to be clear, the feeding schedules you've described here, Sita, are a far cry from a once-a-month schedule. Feeding every 3 weeks is way more often than every 4. And going 4 weeks between feedings once in a while is still not the same as a regular 4 week schedule. There's no problem with what you've described - I only want to point this out in case someone who's new to boas comes across this thread and might be confused. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Gio

I agree with the others. I think the snake looks great in that picture. You can bump up a bit during the warm season and back off to the same schedule. I guess if the snake looks good and is not giving obvious signs of hunger things seem OK.

As you can see there are some differing opinions. I think the bottom line is if anybody can read the behavior and see whether or not it appears hungry, if it looks good "loaf" shape and muscular and sheds are good things are going well.

If the owner is not in tune with those things, they need to be and go from there.

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This is probably the best advice you've gotten so far! Every snake is different and it's important to do what is best for that individual snake.

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Originally Posted by Kiyayiya

Okay :3 Thank you guys for the great replies. I was just curious because I'm used to my guys eating weekly. I understand that in the wild they can go a very long time without eating, especially in the wild. I'm more of a "better safe than sorry" and "never hurts to ask" kind of person, especially with animals (:

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How old are your own boas?? Once a week is actually too often unless you're referring to neonates (or a different species, lol). Many excellent breeders even feed their brand new babies on a 10 day schedule. Less is generally better for boas. ;)

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

How old are your own boas?? Once a week is actually too often unless you're referring to neonates (or a different species, lol). Many excellent breeders even feed their brand new babies on a 10 day schedule. Less is generally better for boas. ;)

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The OP lists three ball pythons in her signature, I'm guessing that's what she meant for once a week (I was a little confused by three weeks+ between feedings... but then again, I have ball pythons as well :) )