First feeding Advice

So I will be feeding my rtb for the first time today. I decided to give her a small rat.
So I am a little nervous feeding her cuz I hear boas hit pretty hard.
With my bp when I feed him I just drop in the f/t rat and he will just come out of his hide and grab it. No zombie dance needed.
Can I try this with her too?
Can I just drop the rat in front of her hide and see if she takes it?

Any feeding tips and advice always welcome :)

You can try just dropping it in. Hopefully you have long feeding tongs in case it doesn't work and you need to get it out without getting tagged:). I just feed mine off the tongs, no problems yet.

My tongs are like 10 inches.

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)
0.1 BCI (Amelia Rose)

This is her first rat. It has been dropped in. The wait begins.

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)
0.1 BCI (Amelia Rose)

Most of my boas eat off tongs: I've used my 10" tongs for my bigger guys too. I have fed off the cage floor though with success also, sometimes it just takes them a little while to find it. I picked up some super long hemostats at the show I went to this past weekend specifically for my bigger guys so I may look into that if you're not keen on the shorter tongs. I bet your girl will find the rat just fine though.

She found it. She went Into her hide with it, so I'm not sure if shes eating it. I keep the lights off because I heard they can be shy feeders.

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)
0.1 BCI (Amelia Rose)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

Most of my boas eat off tongs: I've used my 10" tongs for my bigger guys too. I have fed off the cage floor though with success also, sometimes it just takes them a little while to find it. I picked up some super long hemostats at the show I went to this past weekend specifically for my bigger guys so I may look into that if you're not keen on the shorter tongs. I bet your girl will find the rat just fine though.

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^^ This. Boas are garbage disposals. She'll get it. I use 10" tongs as well. Many of my boas have such an extreme feeding response that they come hurtling out of their tubs as soon as I open them. They hit hard and fast and have more than once left tufts of fur, or more, behind on the tongs. But I've never had one go for my hand - they do aim for that rat. Not saying a miss couldn't happen and I don't ever take it for granted and get lax when feeding these guys, but they want the rat, not your hand.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PorcelainxDoll

She found it. She went Into her hide with it, so I'm not sure if shes eating it. I keep the lights off because I heard they can be shy feeders.

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None of my 17 boas are shy about feeding, but some do seem to like a little privacy. I have 3 in particular that will drag the rat off to their hide box to eat. 2 usually end up eating in there because they started out in the box, shoot their heads out to strike, then withdraw with the rat. One, if she's not in the box already, will actually drag the rat to the box to eat. But all 3 would eat quite happily if the box was not there. They aren't shy - I think they are being protective and possessive of their "kill". Incidentally, all 3 are females. ;)

I checked this morning no rat, so it was a success :)

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)
0.1 BCI (Amelia Rose)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PorcelainxDoll

I checked this morning no rat, so it was a success :)

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)
0.1 BCI (Amelia Rose)

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Of course it was. You could've checked about 20min later and the rat would have been gone. :gj:

Glad you like her - enjoy her! And welcome to the Boaddiction.... :P

I actually think I prefer boas now to bps.

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)
0.1 BCI (Amelia Rose)

What pros and cons are there for you between a boa and bp?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PorcelainxDoll

I actually think I prefer boas now to bps.

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)
0.1 BCI (Amelia Rose)

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AMEN!! Haaha! You're hooked now!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by h20hunter

What pros and cons are there for you between a boa and bp?

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Pros and Cons of a Boa over a BP....


In a few simple words, boas are:

1) Immensely curious and not shy!

2) Will eat anything in sight anytime anywhere.

3) Interactive and enjoy handling.

4) Husbandry is no different from a BP and boas are quiet hardy.

5) Come in a huge variety of morphs, but ALSO there are a number of pure locality-specific and sub-species that are just as colorful and varied as the morphs! There are no sub-species of Ball Python....


The one and only Con I can think of:

1) Size.
But even that is relative as there are several localities and sub-species that don't get any bigger than a Ball Python!! So it's really not a con at all, lol....

I'm late to the party, but grats on her first meal. Boas pretty much are garbage disposals. Mine have never refused. Mine also eat off 10" tongs. They do hit hard, but they never miss the rat.