Just got a Columbian Boa Rescue!!!!!

I heard about a 4 year old columbian boa that was being neglected and I talked the owners into letting me take him. He is so undernourished you can feel every bone in his body. I fed him two small pinkies today which did not take him very long to devour. I soaked him becuase he looked like he had old shed all over him. Which he did when I took him out of his warm bath he shed skin all over. I got him allset up with ecoearth substrate, heating pad, a nice rock hid, another rock to scatch on, a big bowl of water,basking light and A vine to climb on. Luckily I already have A very healthy but sometimes picky ball python so I knew what I would need. I do have one ? since he is so undernourished should I feed him less more often? I was thinking maybe 2 small pinkies every 2-4 days untill he starts to fill out. I would love it if one of you experts could give me some advice. I was also told that he bits but he has not bitten me. I think he just hated those people. He has to be the most beautifull snake I have ever seen. I will put some pictures in my gallery. hope to hear from someone soon. Thanks

Congrats on the rescue man! Good luck with him.


As far as feeding goes .. pinkys should be way too small for a 4 footer. How bad is he? He should at least be able to take a small rat, hopefully. I'll wait to check out some pics before giving you a definite, but pinky's are about the right size for a newborn so i'm hoping he's not that bad.

He is about 4.5 feet and really skinny I just did not want to make him sick . He has the smallest head I have ever seen on a snake I thouhgt balls had small heads. Thats why I assumed he ate little ones. I will get Pic on here by tommorow So you can see ok Thanks for the quick comback

wow that sounds bad ! a 4 footer eating pinkies ! my 14 incher eats pinkies (ruby the corn)

I think they meant rat pinks, Brandon. Good luck with the rescue!

ooops, there goes brandon bein his stupid self LOL

Not stupid. It wasn't very clear in the post.

Congrats on the boa rescue. These are really great snakes when cared for properly.
Sounds like your setup is great. A lot of keepers will say that boas do not need UV light, but I have a light for my boa during the day and honestly I think it brings out their colors more.
I have a 3 footer now that is eating fuzzy rats. I only feed him once a week, very strictly, because I really do not want him to be obese. He is a nice plump size now without being fat.
Just make sure you wash your hands after handling the boa or his cage stuff, before handling or feeding your Ball. Boas can harbor a disease called IBD which is not always fatal in boas, but almost always will kill a python host. To solve the problem, you could handle each snake on alternate days, or handle your boa after the BP.
Good luck, can't wait to see pics!

I was thinking, for a 4+ year old boa, 4.5 feet sounds rather short. Maybe he was not being fed as often as he shoulda? Also you said he was skinny, and had retained shed; I guess the people who owned him did not care for him right.
My boa is about 2 years old, and he is already almost 4 feet long.
But at any rate, I am sure he'll gain weight and grow faster in your care!

lol, I think everyone is confused...
You are talking about the rainbow boa in your signature correct?

Feed him one food item the size of his largest point (or two smaller items) every four or five days until he fattens up a bit. What is your humidity at?