help on undersized boa.

[three.one]

Thank you for viewing this thread.

As you may have noticed, this is my first post. Unfortunately for you guys as this is another one of those "help" threads, but fortunately for me as i'm positive there are members on this site who are knowledgeable and have a passion about their snakes.

I've always had an interest towards snakes. Chased them around trying to catch them growing up, but never got one when I was younger, was never allowed. It's mom's biggest fear.
However, that has changed. I'm much older now and those days are way behind me. I'm currently in a position where i've acquired a Columbian Boa Constrictor through a friend who was looking to sell his but when I had shown interest towards his snake, he gave it to me for free.

So this is where I need help. "Magic" who is my boa now is very small for his age. He's 8 years old but only close to 4 feet and thin. I know for a fact, that can't be right for a boa his age. My friend had told me that he had "stunted" Magic's growth by feeding him under the required recommendation. When I asked him why he did that?!? He said, when he bought the snake he was concerned that Magic would get too big for his basement apartment, the breeder had advised to feed him that way to stun his growth rate and size, especially during the first 2 years of Magic's life.
I don't think that was wise or healthy for the snake. I feel sorry for the boa, he's tiny compared to other boas who are his age. They're twice his size or bigger!
I'd like to add some size to him, at least girth wise. I doubt he'll grow in length anymore considering his age.
He is currently taking 1 small rat, live. Every 10 days.
After doing my own research I know for a boa his age, he should be of certain size and should already be eating larger food.

So my question is; is there a proper or recommended way - feeding wise, to add some size to this boa???

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

[Wh00h0069]

It sounds like your boa is way to small for his age. My adult male eats XL rats every two weeks and my adult female, XXXL rats. You should first try converting him over to frozen / thawed, since you will eventually be feeding him much larger meals. An every ten day diet is perfect for his size, but you will need to feed him larger meals to get some weight on him. I bet with a good feeding regimen he will grow longer and put on a lot of weight. You need to feed him prey that is just a little larger than the thickest part of his body. Although you do now want to the prey to be too large, you want to see a lump after he swallows the meal. This is pretty easily accomplished when feeding frozen thawed. Keep increasing the size of the rodents until he is has some good weight to him, and then start feeding him every fourteen days. It is very easy to feed them too much, and you do not want him to become obese. Obesity in boas can be very dangerous for their health, and overfeeding has killed many boas. Good luck, and I hope this helps.

[T&C Exotics]

Another thing you could try is double the feedings. I had a female come to me from a friend that was way under weight and was only being fed 3-4 mice every 2 weeks and was 4 years old and just over 4 feet. I got her on small rats and then I would take and give her one small rat and follow feed that, take the nose of next rodent put it to the rear end of the one in the snakes mouth, and feed it a rat that was a little smaller. After a few months she had gained a lot of weight, almost 3lbs, and was over 5 feet. I did this til she filled out quite well, maybe a little fat, and then slowed down her feedings to every 10 days but was giving her rats just a tiny bit to big. She is now on one XXL rat every 2 weeks and is in excellent health.

[Vypyrz]

It sounds like your boa is way to small for his age. My adult male eats XL rats every two weeks and my adult female, XXXL rats. You should first try converting him over to frozen / thawed, since you will eventually be feeding him much larger meals. An every ten day diet is perfect for his size, but you will need to feed him larger meals to get some weight on him. I bet with a good feeding regimen he will grow longer and put on a lot of weight. You need to feed him prey that is just a little larger than the thickest part of his body. Although you do now want to the prey to be too large, you want to see a lump after he swallows the meal. This is pretty easily accomplished when feeding frozen thawed. Keep increasing the size of the rodents until he is has some good weight to him, and then start feeding him every fourteen days. It is very easy to feed them too much, and you do not want him to become obese. Obesity in boas can be very dangerous for their health, and overfeeding has killed many boas. Good luck, and I hope this helps.

I agree with this. A slow steady weight/size gain will be healthier for your new boa. There is no reason for an 8yr old male to "pack" on weight.

[three.one]

Thank you for the replies. It's shed light on how I should be feeding my boa.
I do have him on live rats, and I'll be making the switch to frozen thawed on his next feeding.

[Vypyrz]

Thank you for the replies. It's shed light on how I should be feeding my boa.
I do have him on live rats, and I'll be making the switch to frozen thawed on his next feeding.

Make sure you get some feed tongs, if you don't already have them. Also, you will have a better chance at a successful conversion if, after you thaw the rat, use a blow dryer or something to heat the rat up to about 98-100F. This is the natural body temp of a live rat, and heating a thawed rat up to this will reduce the chance of the snake striking, constricting, and then not eating. Good Luck...

[three.one]

Make sure you get some feed tongs, if you don't already have them. Also, you will have a better chance at a successful conversion if, after you thaw the rat, use a blow dryer or something to heat the rat up to about 98-100F. This is the natural body temp of a live rat, and heating a thawed rat up to this will reduce the chance of the snake striking, constricting, and then not eating. Good Luck...

Thank you. Really do appreciate this. I'll try and upload a pic of him in time.

[SpartaDog]

Another thing you could try is double the feedings. I had a female come to me from a friend that was way under weight and was only being fed 3-4 mice every 2 weeks and was 4 years old and just over 4 feet. I got her on small rats and then I would take and give her one small rat and follow feed that, take the nose of next rodent put it to the rear end of the one in the snakes mouth, and feed it a rat that was a little smaller. After a few months she had gained a lot of weight, almost 3lbs, and was over 5 feet. I did this til she filled out quite well, maybe a little fat, and then slowed down her feedings to every 10 days but was giving her rats just a tiny bit to big. She is now on one XXL rat every 2 weeks and is in excellent health.

I see you've gotten your answer, but I just thought I should put in my two cents.

DON'T do this. It's called powerfeeding and it's a bad idea. Boas that are powerfed to grow faster usually die VERY early (less than half their expected lifespan). Granted, most of the horror stories come from those who powerfed their boas for their entire lives, but I don't think it's worth the risk. It would be the equivalent of a child gaining 50 lbs in a few months instead of the five + years it takes to grow the extra weight naturally.

I think it's better to just gradually increase the feeding size. As for length, snakes don't stop growing until the moment they die, so the chances of your boa being permanently stunted aren't very high.

[Jason Bowden]

At 8 years old, your boa shouldn't be fed any more frequently than every 10 days. Maybe try a medium rat every other time, but only if you think the snake can eat it safely. I don't think you'll have a problem switching to f/t.

He may be small, but I'd bet he's healthy. Would you really rather a ten foot monster you couldn't handle alone? Of course a male BCI probably would never get 10 foot. LOL

I think you should've posted a pic.