Average boa size?

[Dutti]

[IMG][/IMG]

[Sauzo]

I expected bigger!! Assuming the center brace is 2", that boa looks more like 3-3.5' to me. I smell "Bigger until near a rule syndrome" It's kind of like how manhood shrinks when put in cold water

He looks about the size of my TH snowglow boy who is 3' and about 14 months old too except he's on adult mice still.

Also not sure i asked this yet or not but this is more for the health of your boa, boa food should leave no lump to a very slight lump in their stomach. Obviously if your boa is overweight then you cant use this guideline as it's body scaling will be out of proportion to begin with. And I'm not saying your boa is overweight lol.

Here he is to show a comparison although pics make it kind of hard.

[Dutti]

I expected bigger!! Assuming the center brace is 2", that boa looks more like 3-3.5' to me. I smell "Bigger until near a rule syndrome" It's kind of like how manhood shrinks when put in cold water

He looks about the size of my TH snowglow boy who is 3' and about 14 months old too except he's on adult mice still.

Also not sure i asked this yet or not but this is more for the health of your boa, boa food should leave no lump to a very slight lump in their stomach. Obviously if your boa is overweight then you cant use this guideline as it's body scaling will be out of proportion to begin with. And I'm not saying your boa is overweight lol.

Here he is to show a comparison although pics make it kind of hard.

what shall i reply to this? All the numbers that i gave you are correct. The only difference is that the photo of your boa is too close, my photo is not that close. You can,t compare the 2 photos. If i wanted to take a photo that close of my snake i would only be able to show a part of it because of its size. I told you that im not overfeeding it

[Dutti]

Here is a close photo showing a part of him

[IMG][/IMG]

[Sauzo]

Well technically you can still be overfeeding a boa by giving it too large of prey even if you do space it out every 2-3 weeks or so. An example would be something like me feeding my 6.5' boa a 2lb rabbit every 3-4 weeks. Sure the time frame is ok but the amount of food being offered is way too much. Thats why i asked if the prey you are offering aka medium rats is leaving none to a very slight lump. Boa food should really leave no telltale signs after they eat. They arent like a python who in my retics case, isnt happy unless he is stuffed like a Christmas turkey every 10 days but thats a python, completely different ball game than boas.

I was just showing the pic for comparison in that the top of the chair backing is about 8" across so you can gauge the length of the boa. But pics are hard to really judge a length anyways unless you take it perfectly from above.

But anyways, good luck. You will know in about 5-10 years if you are overfeeding though as 10 years seems to be the average length of time an overfed boa lives. The breeder of my sunglow and I were talking and his first boa he ever had died at 10 years of age from a heart attack from overfeeding. Thats why he feeds his boas on the smaller side now as well as a few other breeders i talked to.

If your boa was mine, at 4.25', i would have her on small rats every 2 weeks. It's hard to starve a boa to death but so easy to overfeed them. Anyways, like i said, good luck

[Dutti]

Well technically you can still be overfeeding a boa by giving it too large of prey even if you do space it out every 2-3 weeks or so. An example would be something like me feeding my 6.5' boa a 2lb rabbit every 3-4 weeks. Sure the time frame is ok but the amount of food being offered is way too much. Thats why i asked if the prey you are offering aka medium rats is leaving none to a very slight lump. Boa food should really leave no telltale signs after they eat. They arent like a python who in my retics case, isnt happy unless he is stuffed like a Christmas turkey every 10 days but thats a python, completely different ball game than boas.

I was just showing the pic for comparison in that the top of the chair backing is about 8" across so you can gauge the length of the boa. But pics are hard to really judge a length anyways unless you take it perfectly from above.

But anyways, good luck. You will know in about 5-10 years if you are overfeeding though as 10 years seems to be the average length of time an overfed boa lives. The breeder of my sunglow and I were talking and his first boa he ever had died at 10 years of age from a heart attack from overfeeding. Thats why he feeds his boas on the smaller side now as well as a few other breeders i talked to.

If your boa was mine, at 4.25', i would have her on small rats every 2 weeks. It's hard to starve a boa to death but so easy to overfeed them. Anyways, like i said, good luck

My Boa does a lot of movement and exercise outside the cage, not just eating and sleeping. And im not forcing it to eat a big size meal. If i wanted to feed him now small rats, i will need 3 or 4 of them at each feeding, otherwise he will remain hungry. And i can reduce the amount of food later in life. And thank you for wishing me good luck. I wish you also good luck

[GoingPostal]

You're feeding a young 4' boa that weighs 3# large rats, feeding every couple weeks and still can't understand or believe it's overfed? My 6 foot, 5 year old boa who weighs probably triple that usually eats a medium sized prey item every 3-4 weeks fwiw.

[Gio]

You're feeding a young 4' boa that weighs 3# large rats, feeding every couple weeks and still can't understand or believe it's overfed? My 6 foot, 5 year old boa who weighs probably triple that usually eats a medium sized prey item every 3-4 weeks fwiw.

That's a beauty right there! Absolutely stunning, and what a pretty tail.



Below is my similar sized BC a Barranquilla, Colombian locale.



Same age. 5 year old male. 6.5' long.

The BCC above my picture is slightly shorter in length which is common. The BCC will tend to grow slower but end up larger in the end.

O/P did you ever read the book I recommended earlier in the thread?

I posted a bit of info here on the front end of the thread.

Feeding and husbandry play the biggest role in growth.

Eternally warm temps, with no seasonality will keep your animal's metabolism higher. It is NOT normal for a boa constrictor to eat year round, which is why in captivity you have to observe and practice some lighting, humidity and temperature variations during certain times of the year depending upon where you live.

2 large rats every 14 days is too much food IMO.

Read that book and look for Gus Rentfro's Facebook page.

[Dutti]

That's a beauty right there! Absolutely stunning, and what a pretty tail.



Below is my similar sized BC a Barranquilla, Colombian locale.



Same age. 5 year old male. 6.5' long.

The BCC above my picture is slightly shorter in length which is common. The BCC will tend to grow slower but end up larger in the end.

O/P did you ever read the book I recommended earlier in the thread?

I posted a bit of info here on the front end of the thread.

Feeding and husbandry play the biggest role in growth.

Eternally warm temps, with no seasonality will keep your animal's metabolism higher. It is NOT normal for a boa constrictor to eat year round, which is why in captivity you have to observe and practice some lighting, humidity and temperature variations during certain times of the year depending upon where you live.

2 large rats every 14 days is too much food IMO.

.

2 large rats every 14 days! if you mean me with this, im not feeding that much. i said 2 rats every 30 days or one rat every 2 weeks on average. The size of the rats were until very recent medium until they became not enough for him so he ate a large rat last time, not extra large

[Gio]

2 large rats every 14 days! if you mean me with this, im not feeding that much. i said 2 rats every 30 days or one rat every 2 weeks on average. The size of the rats were until very recent medium until they became not enough for him so he ate a large rat last time, not extra large

OK,

I misunderstood,

Even still 1 large rat every 21 days is plenty. At some point you should skip a month or two altogether, then feed a smaller item, then feed a quail equivalent if you have the option, then go back to larges every 21 days if you want. Break up the pattern, prey choice and size now and then.

The first post of the thread was you asking about "average size" and most folks here are gently hinting you MAY be feeding too much, and most have also indicated that the size of your boa is possibly above "average".

Do what you want to do, as that is your choice, but again, I stress reading THE COMPLETE BOA CONSTRICTOR

I think slowing things up a bit will do your snake well. If you think he's starving, I can honestly tell you that is very unlikely. He may be conditioned to expect food, and expect it often, but feeding 1 large rat every 3-4 weeks is plenty. Every 2 weeks is too much IMO. Drop your temps, or at least run a night drop and he'll require less food as well.

I skip feeding from November to late March or early April. My boa grew over the winter when he wasn't eating.

I think the snake looks good right now BTW, and he could just be an oddball big boy. However internally, overfeeding can manifest before it shows up externally.

Just be mindful of that.