Feeding??????

[Dark Lady Kat]

Ok so I know all boa's and BP's grow a different rates and that there is no set definition on when to upgrade in food size by age I do know with BP's you can determine by weight if you need to move up in size and also with boas you never feed any thing bigger in girth than they are. The three boas I acquired range in weight from 800-1000g the two smaller ones ate their first meal with me of 2 7week old rats apiece totaling approximately 220-250g combined and the larger one ate 1 that was about 140g. I know over feeding can be a big issue and I do not want to hurt the boas I am also moving them to a 2 week schedule now that they have eaten once for me. Also they are between 3.5-5 ft in length and was told about a year old.

so with all of the important key points my questions

I breed my own rats and prefer feeding f/t so with out measuring how big around each rat is aprox what gram weight (I weigh them before I freeze them) would you recommend I euthanize the rats and how often should I expect to move the feeding size up.

is there a girth range chart for the rats according to their weight

to me their age and size dont quite add up I would expect them to be a bit older at those lengths but who knows

Thank you all

[TheWinWizard]

Feed the boas a prey item large enough to leave a small bulge in their belly. As far as weight and size goes. http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forum...ize-chart.html

[Dark Lady Kat]

Feed the boas a prey item large enough to leave a small bulge in their belly. As far as weight and size goes. http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forum...ize-chart.html

I thought we where not suppose to feed them anything that would leave a buldge in boas

[dragonboy4578]

When I feed my boa's I usually use a rat that leaves a small lump, but not much of one.

[Korclabael]

mmm, When feeding a boa or any snake I would assume, the 'prey' shouldn't be any bigger than the largest part of the snakes body as I recall, and a tiny lump in a snake is okay, but if you get a massive lump you may want to reconsider your food choices.

[Evenstar]

When I feed my boa's I usually use a rat that leaves a small lump, but not much of one.

Yes, a small lump is fine - just not a significant one. The rat should be about as big around as your boa, but if it leaves a tiny lump, it's fine.

I mean absolutely no offense, but I think you're overthinking this a tiny bit. The precise size of the rat isn't all that important as long as you're not offering something huge. I don't weigh my rats at all, I simply eyeball it. Once in a while, it leaves a lump slightly larger than I'd prefer, but I just give something a tad smaller the next time around. Boas don't weigh their rats in the wild, lol.....

I personally feed f/t so I would offer pre-killed, but as long as you are observant and never leave a rat in with your snake unattended, you can feed live.

Also, at a year old, I would feed every 10 days, not every 2 weeks. 2 weeks is a better schedule for a 2 year old snake. But again, this isn't set in stone.