Cloud, Colombian BCI

[Evenstar]

You don't need to worry about cooling too much. Just drop it by, say, 2 degrees. Doesn't sound like much to us, but it makes a big difference to the snake. And, yes, I'd wait until he's digested this current meal. Then when you feed again, he'll be used to it. It's not that big of a deal for a non-breeding animal. You could drop the temp for the next 4 weeks, or not at all this year. Since he's a touch overweight (very slightly), I probably would go ahead and do it. He'll burn up some of his extra calories that way. They don't use their fat to stay warm like mammals do, but the cooler temps will still help him work off some of that weight a little.

[CloudtheBoa]

You don't need to worry about cooling too much. Just drop it by, say, 2 degrees. Doesn't sound like much to us, but it makes a big difference to the snake. And, yes, I'd wait until he's digested this current meal. Then when you feed again, he'll be used to it. It's not that big of a deal for a non-breeding animal. You could drop the temp for the next 4 weeks, or not at all this year. Since he's a touch overweight (very slightly), I probably would go ahead and do it. He'll burn up some of his extra calories that way. They don't use their fat to stay warm like mammals do, but the cooler temps will still help him work off some of that weight a little.

Alright, since I got him a touch overweight, I'll give him a chance to burn off some of it with a temp drop before I get him exercising outside again. I'll still take him out to handle like I've been doing as well. Hopefully warmer weather will be soon, and I'll get some more outdoor photos for the thread.

I could also post some more throwbacks if anyone wants me to, I've got hundreds though so I'll try to keep it just to the best quality ones.

[CloudtheBoa]

I also got a little video of Cloud in action. I moved him around so you could see his muscle under the bit of flab. He's muscley, it's just slightly covered up.

[WifeOfSlasher]

My honest opinion... Your snake has been power fed, Sweetie. It's obvious that its just a bad advice source. For sure I would space out his feedings and keep them that way, every 3-4 weeks. My snake is approximately the same age as yours and Cloud makes my male look like a shrimp. For sure I would follow everyone's advice - change your schedule and keep it that way. You want a long, healthy relationship with him. Enjoy your gorgeous snake!

[WifeOfSlasher]

My honest opinion... Your snake has been power fed, Sweetie. It's obvious that its just a bad advice source. For sure I would space out his feedings and keep them that way, every 3-4 weeks. My snake is approximately the same age as yours and Cloud makes my male look like a shrimp. For sure I would follow everyone's advice - change your schedule and keep it that way. You want a long, healthy relationship with him. Enjoy your gorgeous snake!

Since I can't edit... I wanted to add that in my eyes I do not see an obese snake. I see a very large snake for his age. I've been trying to put up a photo in photobucket of my guy and its just not happening. The size difference between our '12 boys is pretty astounding.

[Evenstar]

Since I can't edit... I wanted to add that in my eyes I do not see an obese snake. I see a very large snake for his age. I've been trying to put up a photo in photobucket of my guy and its just not happening. The size difference between our '12 boys is pretty astounding.

I had to re-read Cloud's original post when I saw this. According to the OP, Cloud the boa is a 2011 - not a 2012. So he should be bigger than your own 2012 fellow. Even so, he IS large for his age. My 2011 FEMALES are not even this big. But careful not to compare him to a '12 - a year can make a big difference in size.

[WifeOfSlasher]

Excuse me, you are right. My math was wrong. '11. I've had him for two years last Christmas. By size we estimated him as a fall baby.

[CloudtheBoa]

My honest opinion... Your snake has been power fed, Sweetie. It's obvious that its just a bad advice source. For sure I would space out his feedings and keep them that way, every 3-4 weeks. My snake is approximately the same age as yours and Cloud makes my male look like a shrimp. For sure I would follow everyone's advice - change your schedule and keep it that way. You want a long, healthy relationship with him. Enjoy your gorgeous snake!

Idk. I've seen power-fed boas, and they have tiny heads. Cloud really doesn't, at least not like what I've seen. It was very shocking to me when I saw their stubby heads, because they looked so tiny compared to what I'm used to on Cloud. I only spent the first 2-3 months on a 5 day schedule and then moved onto a 7-10 day schedule because he got chubby. Other than that, he's never been fed more often than a week. I'd been playing around with a 2 week vs a weekly schedule his whole 2nd year even a bit during his first year, so he wasn't consistently on a weekly feeding schedule the whole time. He's always been fed rather small meals (1/2 his width to slightly smaller than his width on the higher end), except for a couple of times when I misjudged his readiness to move up in size. Maybe the few hiccups I had caused him to grow faster. He did grow really fast from 5-6ft, around the time I gave him larges too soon so it's possible. I fixed it after 3 or 4 feedings and went back to what I was giving him before. I'm not sure if those hiccups (maybe a total of 6-7 feedings) were enough to severely affect his growth rate. He's pretty much stopped growing now over the past few months, since around November. I'll be sure to be more careful with my next boa in case, though.

I'm really honestly not sure of his age as I bought him from a pet store, but he was small enough when I got him he couldn't be more than 2 or 3 months at most without some severe stunting but he was perfect when I got him so not likely. I'm basing his birthday off of when I got him. And don't worry, I'd already begun a biweekly schedule, and with the rabbits he'll be on a 4 week schedule. He's already starting lose some of his side flab. He's almost empty now (he passed urates but no feces), so I'll be dropping his temps soon.

Here are some photos from today. It actually reached 75F, so I brought him out for a bit while the good weather lasted. I was watching the Weather Channel very closely all day, and had my own thermometer outside in the shade and off the pavement to check because their Waynesville station is usually colder than it is where I live. The sun was playing around behind the clouds, so I made sure to keep a close eye on his body temps with a temp gun. Checking his belly, back, and head. He was fine (75.5-76F) until the sun completely disappeared and the wind picked up, at which time I brought him back inside.

[WifeOfSlasher]

Well... Whatever happened, he's HUGE. Haha. Luckily he's a youngin still. You can way slow down his feeding and it won't hurt him one bit. Heck, it would probably help him. Everyone is concerned that he could have a fatty liver I do believe. That's the main issue with power feeding and super fast growth. He is a looker.

[WifeOfSlasher]

Okay, I have to ask. How big are you? If you are a tiny thing what we are seeing could be way thrown off. My guy looks small compared to me but I am a fluffy woman. Haha