Size of the Snake.

I read on another site that if you did not feed a snake as much then it would not grow so big. I personally dont believe this because underfeeding would just give the snake poor heath. I was wondering if anybody could actually prove this.

Seems to me it just slows down the growth rate drastically. I've heard of people getting snakes who were practically starved because the previous owner wanted to keep it small.. but when they were fed properly, their size got up to more or less normal.

I personally wouldn't want a perpetually hungry snake on my hands. If you want a small snake.. buy a species that stays small!

it would slow the growth rate down, however if you have to use this to keep a snake then you shouldnt be keeping the snake in the first place. and you are right, it is underfeeding

I read it on www.redtailedboa.com i think ill look it up. The way they said to do it was to feed it a normal meal ever 2 weeks and all the rest a slightly smaller meal.

Wow I think thats a load of____ ____, that is just plan wrong to under feed the snake to keep it small. If you want a small snake buy a small snake.

Anything to make a buck.

Are you sure you got the right site? It says the domain is for sale :confused:

im pretty sure hes talking about redtailboa.net

Yeah i did not have the right site it is redtailboas.com. Here is where they say that.



How large will my red tail boa constrictor become?

Red tail boas will generally grow to an average length of 7 or 8 feet and can live to ages of 25 to 30 years in captivity. Your actual size will be directly proportional to the amount of feeding. For example, you could feed your boa a smaller sized rodent every two weeks, and the boa may never grow larger than 4 1/2 to 5 feet. On the other hand, if you were to feed aggressively, then your boa may achieve a size of 10 feet or longer. There have been reports of 12 foot boas weighing 80 pounds!



http://www.redtailboas.com/general_c...eral_care.html click that and scrol down to where they talk about size and you will see that.

ok i did not put the @ there what is up with that and if you click on it it wont take you to the site.

Ew - quite weird indeed - something is amiss with that.

I'll check into it

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Originally Posted by Caesar-A-Squeeze

I read on another site that if you did not feed a snake as much then it would not grow so big. I personally dont believe this because underfeeding would just give the snake poor heath. I was wondering if anybody could actually prove this.

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Just like you said in your other thread ...

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Originally Posted by Caesar-A-Squeeze

Also who is going to seem more trusting someone you seen and know or someone thats online and you have no personal relationship with.

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-adam

Test


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Adam if you want to start quoting things then dont forget i also said i check with a lot of different sources. This site being one of them. I have posted this same question on fauna aswell under a different screen name. I was never planning on underfeeding my snake to keep it small.

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Originally Posted by Caesar-A-Squeeze

Adam if you want to start quoting things then dont forget i also said i check with a lot of different sources.

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I must have missed that one.

I think it's funny that you can post a question and when people take time out of their busy day to respond with an answer that you don't like, you respond by stating that information from the internet isn't as trustworthy as your uncle who you see every day and takes great care of his snakes ... but then a couple of days later come back to the internet and ask yet another question????

If I could wonder out loud for a minute, why you wouldn't just ask your uncle everything snake related?

-adam

I dont know if I have a definitive answer to this, but I do have a personal experience to share:

A few months ago, a customer at the store I work at brought in a beautiful red-tail to sell to us; his wife was pregnant and he had to "adjust" his priorities a little and could no longer keep it. He stated he had the snake for 3 years, and got it as a neonate. I was skeptical at first, as this boid was only about 3.5-4' long, and pretty thin. It WAS NOT at all skinny or malnourished. He said he had been feeding it 2 adult mice once a week for the entire duration of its life under his care.

My co-worker is currently beginning a breeding program with redtails and bought this snake from the customer directly, assuring the customer it would be spoiled rotten for the rest of (her) days. I got to see that same snake a few weeks ago. It has gained a substancial amount of girth as well as about another 1' in length (just guesstimating). My co-worker has been going by the "prey size equal to max point of girth once every 5-7 days" feeding regiment. It now eats large rats and is continuing to grow.

*I'm not sure what all of this means, but what I can logically assume is that their growth is directly correlated somehow with how much they consume.

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

*I'm not sure what all of this means, but what I can logically assume is that their growth is directly correlated somehow with how much they consume.

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Like Mama always said ''eat all your food so you can grow up to be big and strong''...thats pretty much a rule for all creatures. Growth is related to what is consumed (both quantity and quality). There is no arguing that point :)



My only input on this topic is....

Imagine someone only allowing you to have one small meal a day for the rest of your life so that you wont bust out of the small box you are trapped in....NO ONE would want that for themselves SO no one should EVER put ANY animal in that situation for any reason.

DO NOT BUY A REPTILE THAT YOU CAN'T FEED AND HOUSE PROPERLY.

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Imagine someone only allowing you to have one small meal a day for the rest of your life

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BEHOLD for that is the evil which is low-carb dieting

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

BEHOLD for that is the evil which is low-carb dieting

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I dont think so :)....I low carbed it for a while.... nothing like eating a pound of bacon in one sitting and saying that you are on a diet or eating 2 steaks right off the grill :D ha ha...the low-carb stuff got a little too expensive for me but I was DEFINATELY not food deprived..ha ha...

My thoughts on this are simple. When you are responsible for any living thing you first best understand it's needs today and for the future. Just as people get puppies and then don't want the big dogs they turn into, some don't want the big snakes they just adored as hatchlings. Totally unfair to the creature involved.

I strongly feel that withholding feeding to try to stunt or power feeding to push growth unnaturally of any creature is just plain wrong.


~~Jo~~