Boas will NOT eat as much as you give them

I fed my 18 months male BCI a live jumbo rat(411 grams) 2 weeks ago. He pooped it out three days ago and two days ago in two batches. So his stomach was empty. And this is the time when he usually gets hungry. I feed him on average every 2 weeks a large live rat(300 grams). Today i brought him another Jumbo live rat(370 grams). I opened his enclosure and let him smell the rat first as i usually do. I know from his reaction whether he is hungry or not, whether he wants to eat or not. He did not react in anyway and showed no signs that he is interested in food. So i did not give him the rat. The reason for that obviously is that the rat he ate last time was bigger than usual. So his body did not require more food now. So he knows if his body requires food or not. This is not about overfeeding, its about that false claim that boas will eat as much as you give them and that they will never refuse a meal, that they can,t judge for themselves if their bodies require food or not

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Originally Posted by Dutti

I fed my 18 months male BCI a live jumbo rat(411 grams) 2 weeks ago. He pooped it out three days ago and two days ago in two batches. So his stomach was empty. And this is the time when he usually gets hungry. I feed him on average every 2 weeks a large live rat(300 grams). Today i brought him another Jumbo live rat(370 grams). I opened his enclosure and let him smell the rat first as i usually do. I know from his reaction whether he is hungry or not, whether he wants to eat or not. He did not react in anyway and showed no signs that he is interested in food. So i did not give him the rat. The reason for that obviously is that the rat he ate last time was bigger than usual. So his body did not require more food now. So he knows if his body requires food or not. This is not about overfeeding, its about that false claim that boas will eat as much as you give them and that they will never refuse a meal, that they can,t judge for themselves if their bodies require food or not

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Fairly certain the general consensus amongst experience boa owners is that large rats every two weeks is a bit excessive, especially at only 18 months old. This kinda proves the opposite of your point, your boa is already eating more than it needs. You'll just shorten the snakes lifespan by power feeding.

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Originally Posted by Dutti

I fed my 18 months male BCI a live jumbo rat(411 grams) 2 weeks ago. He pooped it out three days ago and two days ago in two batches. So his stomach was empty. And this is the time when he usually gets hungry. I feed him on average every 2 weeks a large live rat(300 grams). Today i brought him another Jumbo live rat(370 grams). I opened his enclosure and let him smell the rat first as i usually do. I know from his reaction whether he is hungry or not, whether he wants to eat or not. He did not react in anyway and showed no signs that he is interested in food. So i did not give him the rat. The reason for that obviously is that the rat he ate last time was bigger than usual. So his body did not require more food now. So he knows if his body requires food or not. This is not about overfeeding, its about that false claim that boas will eat as much as you give them and that they will never refuse a meal, that they can,t judge for themselves if their bodies require food or not

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*Shakes head* The reason he didnt eat would most likely be because you ARE overfeeding him lol. A 411 gram rat every 2 weeks......even my retic doesnt eat that much in a sitting. I usually give him a large rat every 10 days which is about 250 grams or i give him a jumbo which is between 350 and 400 grams every 2 weeks. Now that is a 7+ foot python!!

And if you are referring to me saying boas are opportunistic feeders who will eat as much as given, then yes they will but you missed the part where i also added...'unless you stuff them like a turkey'. Any animal, opportunistic feeder or not has a breaking point on food.

And you are right in that the snakes body did not require more food after a 411 gram rat 2 weeks ago hahaha. The only snake i have that has eaten something that big my retic and he doesnt do that anymore as he has topped out in his growth and has thickened up so he is down to maintenance feeding like i said of a large to jumbo rat every 10-14 days. And none of my boas strike or anything. i can reach in and grab any of them any time and they are fine.

And all of my boas will eat any time i give them food. I have never had Rosey my 5+ year old 6.5 ft female ever refuse food in over 5 years. Have never had my almost 4 year old 6' sunglow female ever refuse food in in almost 4 years. In fact not a single one of my snakes has ever refused a meal except my BP during winter but she regulates her own intake and usually quits eating from about mid to end of Nov to around Apr or so.

I really dont know why i continue to even debate this topic with you as i will state with certainty that you have not kept boas long enough to know proper husbandry. Join any boa FB group and tell them you feed an 18 month old MALE bci a 400g rat every 2 weeks and they will run you outta the group lol.

I'm guessing this is your first and only boa which you have had for maybe a year? Nothing wrong with learning but dont give out bad info especially your feeding habits. You can ask ANY person who has had boas for years and they will tell you the same thing i have told you countless amounts of time...you are overfeeding. And the definition of overfeeding in your case is you are feeding the snake the maximum size food in a very short time period. Do you really think a boa in the wild is going to be eating a huge meal every 2 weeks like clockwork and not have to expend a single calorie of energy to acquire it? No. Boas in the wild expend LOTS of energy to find food and miss more food than they catch and in the winter, they go months WITHOUT food. Sometimes they will only eat maybe 4 times a year yet they do great in the wild.

Now we got our captive fat lazy sausages which dont have to expend an ounce of energy and some dont even have the cage space to expend energy if they wanted. Add to that, people feed them the max size item they can fit like clockwork on a schedule that they would NEVER encounter in the wild and then wonder why they would refuse food lol.

Again, not sure who is the bigger idiot, you for believing your nonsense or me for arguing the point with for the 100th time haha. Anyways, do what you want, it is your snake that will ultimately pay the price for your ignorance of their husbandry but dont pass that ignorance on to newer people who are trying to learn how to correctly keep boas or really any snake for that matter. None of them were designed by Mother Nature to eat as much as mammals or even lizards.

Oh and to add, you are the perfect example of why a lot of people say BCC are harder to care for than BCI. They arent but they are much less forgiving on incorrect husbandry. If you fed a BCC anywhere close to what you are feeding your BCI, that BCC would have died well before the 1 year mark. Now i am no expert on BCC as i only have one atm that i have had for almost a year but she is exactly as easy to care for as all of my BCIs.

And you really should join the FB page Boa Constrictor Keepers. There is a post there from a gal who purchased an adult female BCI 4 months ago and the thing was fed weekly. You can literally see the fat rolls on it. The responses are pretty much the same as i said and what i have told you about not being able to see the damage done by overfeeding until it is done as a guy saw a dissection video of an obese boa and you could see all the fat around its heart and liver and organs as the fat has no where to go.

But anyways, like i said, your boa, your problem. Just dont make your bad advise into someone else' problem as well.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

*Shakes head* The reason he didnt eat would most likely be because you ARE overfeeding him lol. A 411 gram rat every 2 weeks......even my retic doesnt eat that much in a sitting. I usually give him a large rat every 10 days which is about 250 grams or i give him a jumbo which is between 350 and 400 grams every 2 weeks. Now that is a 7+ foot python!!

And if you are referring to me saying boas are opportunistic feeders who will eat as much as given, then yes they will but you missed the part where i also added...'unless you stuff them like a turkey'. Any animal, opportunistic feeder or not has a breaking point on food.

And you are right in that the snakes body did not require more food after a 411 gram rat 2 weeks ago hahaha. The only snake i have that has eaten something that big my retic and he doesnt do that anymore as he has topped out in his growth and has thickened up so he is down to maintenance feeding like i said of a large to jumbo rat every 10-14 days. And none of my boas strike or anything. i can reach in and grab any of them any time and they are fine.

And all of my boas will eat any time i give them food. I have never had Rosey my 5+ year old 6.5 ft female ever refuse food in over 5 years. Have never had my almost 4 year old 6' sunglow female ever refuse food in in almost 4 years. In fact not a single one of my snakes has ever refused a meal except my BP during winter but she regulates her own intake and usually quits eating from about mid to end of Nov to around Apr or so.

I really dont know why i continue to even debate this topic with you as i will state with certainty that you have not kept boas long enough to know proper husbandry. Join any boa FB group and tell them you feed an 18 month old MALE bci a 400g rat every 2 weeks and they will run you outta the group lol.

I'm guessing this is your first and only boa which you have had for maybe a year? Nothing wrong with learning but dont give out bad info especially your feeding habits. You can ask ANY person who has had boas for years and they will tell you the same thing i have told you countless amounts of time...you are overfeeding. And the definition of overfeeding in your case is you are feeding the snake the maximum size food in a very short time period. Do you really think a boa in the wild is going to be eating a huge meal every 2 weeks like clockwork and not have to expend a single calorie of energy to acquire it? No. Boas in the wild expend LOTS of energy to find food and miss more food than they catch and in the winter, they go months WITHOUT food. Sometimes they will only eat maybe 4 times a year yet they do great in the wild.

Now we got our captive fat lazy sausages which dont have to expend an ounce of energy and some dont even have the cage space to expend energy if they wanted. Add to that, people feed them the max size item they can fit like clockwork on a schedule that they would NEVER encounter in the wild and then wonder why they would refuse food lol.

Again, not sure who is the bigger idiot, you for believing your nonsense or me for arguing the point with for the 100th time haha. Anyways, do what you want, it is your snake that will ultimately pay the price for your ignorance of their husbandry but dont pass that ignorance on to newer people who are trying to learn how to correctly keep boas or really any snake for that matter. None of them were designed by Mother Nature to eat as much as mammals or even lizards.

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I,m not advising anyone to feed their boas like i do with my boa. First of all, i have only one boa and if i had more than one i would have done things differantly. When i got my boa i was a beginner. I had almost no knowledge of snakes. He was a month old baby. And i was learning while he was growing. If i was experienced maybe i would have done things differantly. What i,m doing requires a lot of attention and work. To begin with, live feeding is not easy. Its something that not everyone would find ok. The jumbo rat that i fed last time to my BCI bleeded heavily while he was constricted. Not everyone like to see that. The danger that the rat can bite is real if the snake is not used to live feeding. And everyone has to remember that overfeeding can get you at the end a very thick large heavy lazy boa 10+ feet long and 12 inches in diameter. That requires a very big enclosure and lots of food. And as it was mentioned, it will shortened the snake life and cause illnesses. Yes this is my only and first boa. Nobody should think that i,m an experienced guy.

Well, to correct a couple points. Even a heavily power fed boa will not get a foot thick. For that kind of girth, you are talking pythons like a female mainland retic or female burm. In the boids, you would be talking an anaconda.

And even with an anaconda, they take a long time to grow as well being a boid.

As for a boa reaching 10+ ft, i have never seen a 10 ft boa. Biggest i have seen have been 8-9 ft and those were old females. You got to remember, a boa grows fast if fed heavily its first year or two. After that they slow down a lot so if you keep that power feeding up, all it is going to do is pack on the fat around the organs and then create really thick fat rolls on the snake. It will get thicker but only to an extent. it's just like underfeeding or stunting a snake to keep it small will only make it so small, you cant stunt a female mainland retic into being a 4 ft ball python lol. The same goes for overfeeding, you cant turn a 6-7 ft male BCI into a 12-13 ft burm. All the overfeeding will do is make the snake so obese, that it has a heart attack or liver failure and dies before even reaching 10 years old.

And why cant you do things differently now? Just because the snake has been overfed now doesnt mean the problem cant be corrected and the snake could still live a happy life. Traveling down the overfeeding road, you are just shortening that boas life with each meal. At least if you correct it now, you can stop the damage from continuing. You act like, the feeding schedule for a boa is set in stone once you begin feeding it. A lot of breeders actually cycle their boas during the winter with no food and lower temps to condition them for breeding. I personally have my snakes in an eternal summer as i dont cycle as i have been told cycling females can make them start to produce follicles for breeding which i dont need. i do usually give them smaller meals though in the winter and bigger meals in the summer. My point is it's never too late to correct the feeding problem and honestly, it is YOUR responsibility as the owner since the animal depends on you to take good care of it so it has a nice happy long life.

And as for live feeding, well that is your decision. I personally feed all my boas FT as i dont want to have to kill rabbits, quails, chicks, rats and mice. Not that I'm against it but i would have to make a CO2 chamber large enough for them and thats just more work. Plus FT is much more readily available and can be stored in a freezer. And the most obvious reason is that i dont want a rabbit or large rat biting my boa. the vet is already expensive enough with checkups. i dont need to add treatment of a rat or rabbit bite to the bill lol. Also freezing prey kills a lot of parasites which feeding live doesnt and can transfer parasites to the snake. That is why i have been told, if you feed live, you should take a fecal in once a year to get a float done on it.

And i know all about messy eaters lol. My sunglow grabbed her rat by the head and then used her body to pull it and literally ripped the stomach open and guts were hanging out. luckily it was on top of a hide so i washed it off easily. And Caesar grabbed his jumbo rat a couple weeks ago by the stomach and with male retics having long teeth, he must have punctured it as there was blood ALL over him and the cage floor. i ended up having to give him a bath after a few hours and cleaning up the blood area in the cage. Luckily Caesar is a lush and loves attention so he was happy to sit in the bucket with his head on the edge of it while i scrubbed him with a wet paper towel.

Bottom line is the stuff you are doing now while incorrect are nothing that cant be fixed easily. And the live feeding, like i said, i dont do it but its not incorrect, just runs more risks than FT and imo doesnt offer any benefits over it.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Well, to correct a couple points. Even a heavily power fed boa will not get a foot thick. For that kind of girth, you are talking pythons like a female mainland retic or female burm. In the boids, you would be talking an anaconda.

And even with an anaconda, they take a long time to grow as well being a boid.

As for a boa reaching 10+ ft, i have never seen a 10 ft boa. Biggest i have seen have been 8-9 ft and those were old females. You got to remember, a boa grows fast if fed heavily its first year or two. After that they slow down a lot so if you keep that power feeding up, all it is going to do is pack on the fat around the organs and then create really thick fat rolls on the snake. It will get thicker but only to an extent. it's just like underfeeding or stunting a snake to keep it small will only make it so small, you cant stunt a female mainland retic into being a 4 ft ball python lol. The same goes for overfeeding, you cant turn a 6-7 ft male BCI into a 12-13 ft burm. All the overfeeding will do is make the snake so obese, that it has a heart attack or liver failure and dies before even reaching 10 years old.
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Boas can reach 12 inches in diameter and over 10 feet long. I found this old video on youtube of a BCI who was obvioulsy abandonment by her owner and was let loose, i guess because the snake reached a size where that owner no longer was able to manage. She was caught near a goat pen in florida. The guy who caught her and own the goat pen commented below the video and wrote this:" I have never seen a snake this big on the loose, especially on my ten acres of woods. After I got over the shock I realized she had to be someone's pet so we treated her gently and put her in a tot bag and sold her to a snake breeder in Pasco County. It was an experience but she was easy to handle. The breader said she was 10 ft long and about 12" in diameter and full grown".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsU7mWrt6w0

To me, when you've been corrected and even offered help from an experienced person, and you continue to go about your wrong ways, that is just plain sad.

When you do that to an animal, it means you don't care about it. You've been informed that you are KILLING your snake, ok. You don't care about it, plain and simple. Someone who cares would change the snake's feeding schedule so that it can be healthier and as a result, live to its full potential.

I just feel bad for the boa...:rage:

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Originally Posted by PythonBabes

To me, when you've been corrected and even offered help from an experienced person, and you continue to go about your wrong ways, that is just plain sad.

When you do that to an animal, it means you don't care about it. You've been informed that you are KILLING your snake, ok. You don't care about it, plain and simple. Someone who cares would change the snake's feeding schedule so that it can be healthier and as a result, live to its full potential.

I just feel bad for the boa...:rage:

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Why are you feeling sorry for a boa that is living in a big beautiful enclosure and being very good taken care of? There are plenty of domestic and wild boas which are much more in need of your sympathy

Enclosure means nothing when it is not being fed properly.

Not gonna go back and forth with you simply because I feel like you make these threads just to create conflict.

Not gonna feed the troll:P

I know why you keep responding Sauzo; for any other boa owners who *will* listen and learn.

And then there’s the challenge of counter-surfing beagles (No, banana peel is not edible, you idiots!).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

If I ever get a boa (and Sauzo, you make a really, really good case, but dang are they a bit big for me as of yet lol), I know I'll be adhering to a feeding regimen something like this: https://crispysnakes.tumblr.com/husbandry

Look at how healthy and square those animals look! I'd be proud to own an animal like these (especially Sunkist, that one is gorgeous). And from people with years of experience with boas are saying, I would definitely expect them to live beyond 10 years. Just food for thought :).

I tell you what Sauzo has been the voice of reason so many times in posts I have read. I would defiantly take someone like that's advice for large size snakes. I am a firm believer of never over feeding any animal. The consequences of taxing the anatomy of an animal long terml far outweighs the short term results.

Sauzo knows his stuff and I would listen to him if you have any sense.....

Ease up on your feeding schedule, you're killing your snake. When he dies before he reaches 10 years old it will be all your fault..... Like was previously stated, you now know what you are doing and choosing not to change, His death will be 100% on you......

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Originally Posted by Dutti

Boas can reach 12 inches in diameter and over 10 feet long. I found this old video on youtube of a BCI who was obvioulsy abandonment by her owner and was let loose, i guess because the snake reached a size where that owner no longer was able to manage. She was caught near a goat pen in florida. The guy who caught her and own the goat pen commented below the video and wrote this:" I have never seen a snake this big on the loose, especially on my ten acres of woods. After I got over the shock I realized she had to be someone's pet so we treated her gently and put her in a tot bag and sold her to a snake breeder in Pasco County. It was an experience but she was easy to handle. The breader said she was 10 ft long and about 12" in diameter and full grown".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsU7mWrt6w0

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Just watched that video and no way that boa is 12 inches in diameter or 10 ft long lol.

I tried to gauge a size on it but really no reference to use other than maybe the fence. If each square mesh in the fence was say 4 inches, being generous and say it is 20 mesh squares long(i think more like 15 but i'm giving the benefit of the doubt), that would make that snake 6.7 ft.

As for being 12 inches in diameter, there is no way. If you look at the head of that snake, it can easily fit in a mesh square with room to spare. So that would mean the head is probably 3 inches or so. That would mean there is no way the body is 12 inches in diameter since that would make for a very disproportioned snake with a head 3" wide and a body 4 times that wide. Using the mesh square to guess the head and then using the head to guess the body, i would guess the body is about 6 inches in diameter.

He/she is actually a pretty healthy looking snake as you can see its squared body shape and it being taller than wide. You can also see the muscle line down the side in some of the video which means it doesnt have a ton of fat on its flanks. It does have a couple lines running down each side of the spine on top but they look good, not like a Grand Canyon effect which is another place boas store fat.

But anyways, there is no way that snake is 10 ft and 12 inches in diameter lol. You see all kinds of people claiming their boas are 8 or 9 ft and then if you actually hit them with a measuring tape, they shrink in size quicker than 'manhood' in a cold swimming pool lol.

The whole goat farmers sounds like a classic fishing story guy in real life catches a catfish that he spins into a man eating monster I will personally never understand stubbing good well meaning advice talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face hope you are not to proud to put the animal first that's more important than being right best wishes and thank you to everyone who chimed in to help your words where not wasted :)

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Originally Posted by C.Marie

The whole goat farmers sounds like a classic fishing story guy in real life catches a catfish that he spins into a man eating monster I will personally never understand stubbing good well meaning advice talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face hope you are not to proud to put the animal first that's more important than being right best wishes and thank you to everyone who chimed in to help your words where not wasted :)

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This person does this all the time. They even said ball pythons are arboreal snakes lmao. I wonder what's next:rofl:

Are we seriously having this convo again? You didn't listen last time and again trying to be a know it all. So done!

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Originally Posted by Dutti

Boas can reach 12 inches in diameter and over 10 feet long.

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I'm starting to suspect you mean circumference...? That would make much more sense. lol. A 12 inch diameter and only 10 feet long is shaped like a giant turd.

A real snake one foot in diameter is like an adult anaconda.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

I'm starting to suspect you mean circumference...? That would make much more sense. lol. A 12 inch diameter and only 10 feet long is shaped like a giant turd.

A real snake one foot in diameter is like an adult anaconda.

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I'm pretty sure he means diameter like was stated by the Person who started this thread.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Just watched that video and no way that boa is 12 inches in diameter or 10 ft long lol.

I tried to gauge a size on it but really no reference to use other than maybe the fence. If each square mesh in the fence was say 4 inches, being generous and say it is 20 mesh squares long(i think more like 15 but i'm giving the benefit of the doubt), that would make that snake 6.7 ft.

As for being 12 inches in diameter, there is no way. If you look at the head of that snake, it can easily fit in a mesh square with room to spare. So that would mean the head is probably 3 inches or so. That would mean there is no way the body is 12 inches in diameter since that would make for a very disproportioned snake with a head 3" wide and a body 4 times that wide. Using the mesh square to guess the head and then using the head to guess the body, i would guess the body is about 6 inches in diameter.

He/she is actually a pretty healthy looking snake as you can see its squared body shape and it being taller than wide. You can also see the muscle line down the side in some of the video which means it doesnt have a ton of fat on its flanks. It does have a couple lines running down each side of the spine on top but they look good, not like a Grand Canyon effect which is another place boas store fat.

But anyways, there is no way that snake is 10 ft and 12 inches in diameter lol. You see all kinds of people claiming their boas are 8 or 9 ft and then if you actually hit them with a measuring tape, they shrink in size quicker than 'manhood' in a cold swimming pool lol.

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Kinda like when someone says they have a 6 or 7 foot ball python..... Pics or it didn't happen :)

Slightly off topic... when I acquired Godzilla, my prize female reduced pattern, probably Araza morph ball python, she was huge and thick like a monster (hence her name). The previous keeper had mistakenly thought that power-feeding and keeping them fat would increase and speed up their breeding ability.
At first I was thrilled at her size, her girth was very impressive visually! I loved it! it was the experienced veteran breeders and keepers here at ballpythons.net that convinced me and educated me that keeping a snake really FAT was not only unnecessary, but even UNHEALTHY! as soon as I acquired her, I immediately put her on a diet and she now looks more healthy. She is still a big monster, but not obese. I am here for one reason, to be educated by the veterans and to educate the novices.

Ironically, fatter ball pythons put out more slugs than fit ones.

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

Slightly off topic... when I acquired Godzilla, my prize female reduced pattern, probably Araza morph ball python, she was huge and thick like a monster (hence her name). The previous keeper had mistakenly thought that power-feeding and keeping them fat would increase and speed up their breeding ability.
At first I was thrilled at her size, her girth was very impressive visually! I loved it! it was the experienced veteran breeders and keepers here at ballpythons.net that convinced me and educated me that keeping a snake really FAT was not only unnecessary, but even UNHEALTHY! as soon as I acquired her, I immediately put her on a diet and she now looks more healthy. She is still a big monster, but not obese. I am here for one reason, to be educated by the veterans and to educate the novices.

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You can,t overfeed a ball python. I got my male BP just a month before i got my BCI. He was 3 years old. I was totally a beginner when i got him and i did overfeed him. As a result he stopped eating 8 months and started after that to eat again. I am beginning to believe that you can,t overfeed any snake in normal ways. My dumerils boa ate last time before 3 weeks. I offered him a rat yesterday and he does not want to eat. I guess his body does not require food now and he knows it. My BCI showed no interest in that rat again. So i,m going to give him a two weeks pause before i feed him again. So they know if their bodies require food or not

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Originally Posted by Dutti

You can,t overfeed a ball python. I got my male BP just a month before i got my BCI. He was 3 years old. I was totally a beginner when i got him and i did overfeed him. As a result he stopped eating 8 months and started after that to eat again. I am beginning to believe that you can,t overfeed any snake in normal ways. My dumerils boa ate last time before 3 weeks. I offered him a rat yesterday and he does not want to eat. I guess his body does not require food now and he knows it. My BCI showed no interest in that rat again. So i,m going to give him a two weeks pause before i feed him again. So they know if their bodies require food or not

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This is Godzilla when I first got her...
https://image.ibb.co/ebEijF/IMG_0365.jpg
https://image.ibb.co/j8NHuQ/IMG_0540.jpg

She was obese. That means overfed. Think about it, just try really hard to think about it. :yes:

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Originally Posted by PythonBabes

Ironically, fatter ball pythons put out more slugs than fit ones.

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Same goes with boas. I think it is because some people want to quick breed and so they power feed them to get them up to size thinking that is all that matters. They dont realizes that just because a snake is large doesnt mean it's reproductive organs are ready.

I have heard from a lot of people, it's better to go by age of the snake than its weight as a deciding factor.

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Originally Posted by Dutti

You can,t overfeed a ball python. I got my male BP just a month before i got my BCI. He was 3 years old. I was totally a beginner when i got him and i did overfeed him. As a result he stopped eating 8 months and started after that to eat again. I am beginning to believe that you can,t overfeed any snake in normal ways. My dumerils boa ate last time before 3 weeks. I offered him a rat yesterday and he does not want to eat. I guess his body does not require food now and he knows it. My BCI showed no interest in that rat again. So i,m going to give him a two weeks pause before i feed him again. So they know if their bodies require food or not

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Or.....you are giving them so much food, they simply dont want it lol. BPs, i can understand although Dottie hasnt quit eating for the winter yet and just ate a medium rat last night.

As for your BCI and dumerils, not sure why yours quit refused food(actually i do, you overfeed) but my dumerils and all my BCIs never refuse a meal. Everyone actually ate last night. And met me tell you, it was an exciting night as i almost got tagged by Caesar as he came flying out for his guinea pig and the baby boas shot out like bullets.

And basically your boa and dumerils are probably trying to save their own lives as they know you are trying to kill them with too much food.

And now you have a dumerils AND a BP? You said in your post earlier, when you got your boa, you had no knowledge of snake care and that was 18 months ago assuming you got the boa when it was born which you said you did. So in that 18 months of research, you didnt see any correlation between dumerils care sheets and BCI care sheets both stating you shouldnt feed either snake lots of food? And you didnt find a common denominator among all the research that boas and dumerils dont need to be stuffed like Thanksgiving turkeys?

I think i also read somewhere you said you had a GTP? What is going to be the next surprise you pull out lol? With that many snakes, i am floored you still havent figured out the proper care for them....

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

This is Godzilla when I first got her...
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...F/IMG_0365.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...Q/IMG_0540.jpg

She was obese. That means overfed. Think about it, just try really hard to think about it. :yes:

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Haha reminds me of Dottie. She is kind of a chunky monkey. She just ate a medium rat last night. Here she is probably pissed off i lifted her hide off half her body since her large RB hides are too small but for some reason she still loves them and doesnt want to use new hides :confusd:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2741d60a_h.jpg

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Haha reminds me of Dottie. She is kind of a chunky monkey. She just ate a medium rat last night. Here she is probably pissed off i lifted her hide off half her body since her large RB hides are too small but for some reason she still loves them and doesnt want to use new hides :confusd:

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At least Dottie looks healthy, you can still see her spine. Godzilla looks like that now, but back in July when I got her, she was ridiculously fat!

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Originally Posted by Dutti

So they know if their bodies require food or not

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Regardless, they don't know when their next meal is coming. A lot of snakes will gorge in the wild, given the chance. As far as they know, it could be months before their next meal. This is pretty much hardcoded into them so you're not going to change it. The thing is, these sorts of feeding opportunities are rare or at least seasonal for most. They aren't doing it all the time like when you offer massive meals every 7 days..

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Originally Posted by Dutti

I am beginning to believe that you can,t overfeed any snake in normal ways

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There's a fellow in my area who works with reptile leather. A lot of the stuff is roadkill salvage but he gets a fair share of dead before their time snakes from folks who think the same as your above quote.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Or.....you are giving them so much food, they simply dont want it lol. BPs, i can understand although Dottie hasnt quit eating for the winter yet and just ate a medium rat last night.

As for your BCI and dumerils, not sure why yours quit refused food(actually i do, you overfeed) but my dumerils and all my BCIs never refuse a meal. Everyone actually ate last night. And met me tell you, it was an exciting night as i almost got tagged by Caesar as he came flying out for his guinea pig and the baby boas shot out like bullets.

And basically your boa and dumerils are probably trying to save their own lives as they know you are trying to kill them with too much food.

And now you have a dumerils AND a BP? You said in your post earlier, when you got your boa, you had no knowledge of snake care and that was 18 months ago assuming you got the boa when it was born which you said you did. So in that 18 months of research, you didnt see any correlation between dumerils care sheets and BCI care sheets both stating you shouldnt feed either snake lots of food? And you didnt find a common denominator among all the research that boas and dumerils dont need to be stuffed like Thanksgiving turkeys?

I think i also read somewhere you said you had a GTP? What is going to be the next surprise you pull out lol? With that many snakes, i am floored you still havent figured out the proper care for them....

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My ATB won,t refuse a meal even if i overfed him. Such a wonderful snake. I have to be careful with his feeding as he is a great eater. He is 14 months old and eating large mice. I have learned my lesson with my BP when he stopped 8 months eating. I feed him now small rats. Regarding my Dumerils, i really don,t have to be careful with his feeding. If he is not hungry he will just refuse. I can,t overfeed him. And my BCI refused food this time, so i will give him 2 weeks pause. My GTP will eat one large mouce every 9 to 10 days. That,s more than enough for him as he does not move much.

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Originally Posted by Dutti

My ATB won,t refuse a meal even if i overfed him. Such a wonderful snake. I have to be careful with his feeding as he is a great eater. He is 14 months old and eating large mice. I have learned my lesson with my BP when he stopped 8 months eating. I feed him now small rats. Regarding my Dumerils, i really don,t have to be careful with his feeding. If he is not hungry he will just refuse. I can,t overfeed him. And my BCI refused food this time, so i will give him 2 weeks pause. My GTP will eat one large mouce every 9 to 10 days. That,s more than enough for him as he does not move much.

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Now you got an ATB too!!?? So you have 5 snakes and still havent researched enough to know proper feeding or simply dont want to believe experienced people or the decades worth of collective experience from people and think 'you cant overfeed any snake'. You seriously just got to be trolling as no one can be this ignorant with this many snakes lol. It's just not possible haha :O

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Now you got an ATB too!!?? So you have 5 snakes and still havent researched enough to know proper feeding or simply dont want to believe experienced people or the decades worth of collective experience from people and think 'you cant overfeed any snake'. You seriously just got to be trolling as no one can be this ignorant with this many snakes lol. It's just not possible haha :O

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Yes. There he is
[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/313rq53.jpg[/IMG]

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Originally Posted by Dutti

You can,t overfeed a ball python. I got my male BP just a month before i got my BCI. He was 3 years old. I was totally a beginner when i got him and i did overfeed him. As a result he stopped eating 8 months and started after that to eat again. I am beginning to believe that you can,t overfeed any snake in normal ways. My dumerils boa ate last time before 3 weeks. I offered him a rat yesterday and he does not want to eat. I guess his body does not require food now and he knows it. My BCI showed no interest in that rat again. So i,m going to give him a two weeks pause before i feed him again. So they know if their bodies require food or not

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Its because you are over feeding........
Over feeding causes more health problems and shortens their life.
Most of us have fat pets because its human nature to give them everything they want, then again most do it with their children too.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Now you got an ATB too!!?? So you have 5 snakes and still havent researched enough to know proper feeding or simply dont want to believe experienced people or the decades worth of collective experience from people and think 'you cant overfeed any snake'. You seriously just got to be trolling as no one can be this ignorant with this many snakes lol. It's just not possible haha :O

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Never underestimate the human ability of ignorance it will astound you what a lot of money and a little brain will justify :O I for one would be kissing your feet if I was recklessly endangering the welfare of a beloved noodle I love your words of wisdom always helpful and witty never change :P

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Originally Posted by C.Marie

Never underestimate the human ability of ignorance it will astound you what a lot of money and a little brain will justify :O I for one would be kissing your feet if I was recklessly endangering the welfare of a beloved noodle I love your words of wisdom always helpful and witty never change :P

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Oh trust me, i have many a stupid errors raising reptiles and amphibians when i was younger and also as a kid. I used to feed my BPs all the time, keep them in glass tanks with screen tops and heat lamps etc. Surprisingly though, my BPs lived 10 years before i ended up rehoming them as i was a young and not that stable in living lol. They had bad sheds but i would just run them through wet wash towels and it was fine.

I also had a Nile Monitor and Savannah monitors and iguanas and all sorts of other lizards as well amphibians like fire belly newts, tiger salamanders, fire bellied toads, pacman frogs and other stuff. Back when i was a kid, there really wasnt all the stuff you find now and there was no t-stats etc. Basically for large snakes likes retics and burms, you used 2x2 studs to make a cage frame, then nail 3/4 inch plywood sheets to the frame. Then cut out rectangles in the top sides of the cage and stapled screen for vents. the you used 2x2 with sheet plywood and hinges to make a swing open lid and cut out circles and screened them for heat lamps to sit in. Then you painted the whole interior with waterproof paint and used 1x1 to frame in glass for the front.

It was the dark ages but surprising the reptiles lived and actually bred lol. What really got me into big snakes was going to a place called Pets and Things which is where i bought my monitors from and my Nile was actually hatched there. The owner, Bob had 2 large burms and like 3 retics. After seeing them, i immediately fell in love with large constrictors and more or less shifted from lizards like monitors and iguanas to constrictors lol. That was 30+ years ago. I'm so old now :P

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Originally Posted by Dutti

You can,t overfeed a ball python. I got my male BP just a month before i got my BCI. He was 3 years old. I was totally a beginner when i got him and i did overfeed him. As a result he stopped eating 8 months and started after that to eat again. I am beginning to believe that you can,t overfeed any snake in normal ways. My dumerils boa ate last time before 3 weeks. I offered him a rat yesterday and he does not want to eat. I guess his body does not require food now and he knows it. My BCI showed no interest in that rat again. So i,m going to give him a two weeks pause before i feed him again. So they know if their bodies require food or not

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What type of language is this? You can,t discuss things without loosing your mind? What,s wrong in saying you can,t overfeed a ball python? i meant if you do that, ball python will stop eating. Nothing more. I have never claimed to know everything. I said i am a beginner. Yes i could be absolutely wrong. I did not claim to be right. Do not worry, i care for my animals more than others care for their kids.

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Originally Posted by Dutti

What type of language is this? You can,t discuss things without loosing your mind? What,s wrong in saying you can,t overfeed a ball python? i meant if you do that, ball python will stop eating. Nothing more. I have never claimed to know everything. I said i am a beginner. Yes i could be absolutely wrong. I did not claim to be right. Do not worry, i care for my animals more than others care for their kids.

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Lol i understand her/his frustration as you make statements that are knowingly wrong or ask questions, then when you get the correct answer but it is one you dont want to hear or agree with, you say its wrong. And all this even though you claim you are a beginner.

I dont think any of us are claiming to be experts including myself but a lot of use who are answering the questions or correcting the statements have had lot of experience with reptiles and we are trying to educate you just like we once were all beginners and had the previous generation aid us in learning.

The problem is you dont want to learn or listen. Like i've said before, i'm not sure who stupider, us for pounding our heads against the wall trying to educate you or you for not listening and learning. Either that, or you are a professional troll and we all have eggs on our face haha.

Not to seem cold but i personally dont care what or how you care for your reptiles. It really affects me in no way whether your snakes die or live. I mostly just dont want people spreading incorrect info to people who actually are trying to learn and do want to do right by their pets and offer them the best long life they can.

And you do not care for your animals more than some people care for their kids. If you did, you would assure they got the proper amount of food to give them a nice long and healthy life. What you are doing to your pets equates to a parent letting their kid eat candy all day and then skip dinner and eat more junk food before bed. Sure, you think you are doing good but in reality, you are killing your pets with love.

Absolutely love how you claim multiple times, ' oh im not an expert, no way', 'im just a beginner', but disregard advice from people with years and years of experience.
It's not even funny anymore...it would be hilarious if animals weren't being endangered.

And I'm sorry because I said I wouldn't even comment here anymore but Sauzo, you're a real trooper! Definitely don't let people like this cretin stop you from educating!

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Originally Posted by PythonBabes

Absolutely love how you claim multiple times, ' oh im not an expert, no way', 'im just a beginner', but disregard advice from people with years and years of experience.
It's not even funny anymore...it would be hilarious if animals weren't being endangered.

And I'm sorry because I said I wouldn't even comment here anymore but Sauzo, you're a real trooper! Definitely don't let people like this cretin stop you from educating!

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Lol thanks. This is actually fairly tame compared to dealing with some real gems of knowledge on FB haha. You run into people there where you seriously have to step back and wonder how they made it to adulthood much less how they are able to care for another life lol. Maybe one day it will sink in, who knows. Hopefully it does before it takes a premature death of one or more of his animals to slap him in the face with reality.

Oh and Dutti, i will pass one more gem of knowledge onto you. Not only does feeding very large prey often cause obesity and constipation but it can also cause a prolapse which if you have to deal with one of those, you are in for a nice vet bill if you are lucky and the vet can gently push it back in and put in a stitch to keep it from popping back out until it heals.

Sunnieskys, you went a little over the top in your angry tirade against Dutti. I understand your frustration, but it is better to communicate as calmly as possible. I am speaking from the experience of being corrected privately by moderaters. lol :oops:

I believe this thread is running it’s course rather fast, this is a PUBLIC forum, different people, different opinions however if you cannot discuss a topic without insults and name calling I will ask you to refrain from posting or if this thread keep heading the way it is heading it will simply be locked.

Here is a piece of advice for those who seems to have little patience or tolerance, there is no need to report someone because you do not agree with them, there is also no need to lose your temper on the forum throwing one insult after another simply put the person on ignore.

Thank you, now back to your regular programming