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  1. #1
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    Feeding Question

    For an adult. If you are feeding large rats. how often would you feed? I've had plenty of people tell me once a week. As long as the snake maintains the rectangular body shape you are fine. That is what I do. But I just had a recent FB encounter in a BC group with a guy that went nuclear at the idea of feeding a boa weekly ever. Something about boas having a slower metabolism than pythons so you feed them less often no matter the size. Apparently his rant got so bad it got deleted.

    What do you guys think.
    - Mason

  2. #2
    BPnet Lifer Sauzo's Avatar
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    Boas do have a slower metabolism than pythons and any boa over a year old should be feed 10 days to 4-5 weeks depending on the size. I feed all my boas every 7-10 days when on mice. After they graduate to weaned/small rats at about 1.5 years old, then its every 2 weeks. When up to medium rats, every 3-4 weeks. When up to large rats, every 3-5 weeks. Generally more in the summer and less in the winter. And more for females and less for males. These are all guidelines and you as the owner will need to watch and learn your own snake. Some handle the food well, some dont and gain weight fast. Also when they go through growth spurts, you can feed a little heavier. Key is to maintain that squarish look.

    And remember, a happy boa will ALWAYS be hungry and ready to eat. They are opportunistic feeders. Heck my baby suriname and salmon bci just ate yesterday but when they smelled food today for my dumerils, they both went crazy and my suriname struck the cage door 2 times i walked by and did the hovering ready to strike pose. My bci was glued to the front of the door watching every move with huge eyes. Even now, if i wiggle my finger above the litter dam outside the cage, my baby suriname slowly creeps out and comes towards my finger lol. And they both just ate yesterday like i said. Happy boas are always hungry.

    And to answer your question specifically, a large rat for an adult should be given every 3-5 weeks depending on the snake. I generally give my 6.5' female a large rat every 4 weeks with a rabbit here and there every 4-5 weeks depending how big the rabbit is.
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  4. #3
    BPnet Veteran chip07's Avatar
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    How I feed. Appropriate sized mouse the first two years. Little to no lump after a meal.

    Mice – Every 14 days
    Weaned-Small Rats– Every 3-4 weeks
    Medium-Large Rats – Every 4-6 weeks
    Jumbo Rats – Every 6-8 weeks


    The older they get the less they seem to need. My 13 year old eats a large rat every 8 weeks or so now.
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  6. #4
    BPnet Royalty Gio's Avatar
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    Re: Feeding Question

    Quote Originally Posted by MasonC2K View Post
    For an adult. If you are feeding large rats. how often would you feed? I've had plenty of people tell me once a week. As long as the snake maintains the rectangular body shape you are fine. That is what I do. But I just had a recent FB encounter in a BC group with a guy that went nuclear at the idea of feeding a boa weekly ever. Something about boas having a slower metabolism than pythons so you feed them less often no matter the size. Apparently his rant got so bad it got deleted.

    What do you guys think.
    They had good reason to be concerned.

    Do you think a boa eats weekly in nature? Compound that with captive bred, fatty prey that we feed and you have a disaster in the making unless you don't care if your boa, which is very capable of living beyond 20 years, will die off early.

    Manifestation of fat in a boa isn't something you'd catch externally unless it was too late.

    I'm not sure why folks miss out on the book Vincent Russo wrote, THE COMPLETE BOA CONSTRICTOR but the book does explain the diet of boas. Mick Mutton and Vin also spoke of over feeding in captivity on a podcast show. Grab a copy of the book if you don't have one. You will be happy you did.

    Gus Rentfro, who is a world authority on boa constrictors states that it is "Entirely to east to over feed a boa, but almost impossible to under feed one."

    A large rat every 21 days to a month is plenty for an adult boa constrictor.

    In my opinion, mixing up the frequency of feeding and the prey type and size is the best way to go.

    I don't feed my boa from Late October until late March or early April. Yet still he grows. Maybe even more-so when he doesn't eat.

    You have to think about what reptiles were designed to do. They are extremely efficient and capable of going long periods without food, and our keeping disrupts their natural cycle no matter how hard we try to provide the proper elements. This whole topic is much more complex than a feeding schedule.

    There is simply no reason to feed and adult boa weekly. I'd even state that almost NO snake, other than a young, developing animal needs weekly feedings.

    Think long term, as in 20 plus years.

    If you are specifically asking about boas, you will not hear an intelligent, well researched boa keeper ever talk about weekly feeding an adult boa.
    Last edited by Gio; 07-24-2017 at 10:19 PM.

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  8. #5
    BPnet Senior Member AbsoluteApril's Avatar
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    My adults are fed once a month give or take a week or two.

    When boas/pythons eat, their organs change (they get larger*) and it can be very taxing on their system. Not to mention how easy it is to overfeed them (a boa can have fatty deposits without looking 'obese').

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  10. #6
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    Stuff like this is where my confusion comes from I guess. This guy seems like he knows what he is talking about.



    He talks about feeding his biggest a jumbo rat once a week about 20 mins in this one.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLGC48DdxQk
    Last edited by MasonC2K; 07-24-2017 at 11:02 PM.
    - Mason

  11. #7
    BPnet Senior Member GoingPostal's Avatar
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    Most people vastly overfeed snakes. Personally my dumerils boa I fed every two weeks for the first couple years, now he eats every 2 to 3, he's about 2.5 now and on small rats. Was on adult mice before. My boa constrictor at about 6 feet long and 5 years old gets a medium prey item every three-four weeks and gets a couple large meals thrown in over the course of the year.

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  13. #8
    BPnet Royalty Gio's Avatar
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    Re: Feeding Question

    Quote Originally Posted by MasonC2K View Post
    Stuff like this is where my confusion comes from I guess. This guy seems like he knows what he is talking about.



    He talks about feeding his biggest a jumbo rat once a week about 20 mins in this one.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLGC48DdxQk
    I've comment on these videos before as I thought some of the info was not productive.

    I like his passion and he does have some good advice, but like so many,,,,, feeding frequency and amounts seem to escape even the most well intentioned keepers.

    Vin Russo, Gus Rentfro and Eugene Basset are excellent sources.

    Boas in particular benefit from the "less is more" attitude.

    As I mentioned above, this is a complex subject and there are many factors involved, however 90% of the time conservative feeding is the healthiest approach, and knowing your animal is also important.

    Grab the book if you can!!
    Last edited by Gio; 07-24-2017 at 11:26 PM.

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    BPnet Veteran dkatz4's Avatar
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    Re: Feeding Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Gio View Post
    Manifestation of fat in a boa isn't something you'd catch externally unless it was too late.
    I believe this is one of the most important but unknown aspects of boa care and health.
    I'm sorry you encountered such an aggressive rant, this can be a contentious topic and I know there is a lot of contradictory info floating around out there*. That is why i use facebook mostly for cool snake pictures and classifieds but this group for real information. Not only are the users here extremely knowledgable, but also a more mature and respectful decorum is maintained. I hope they've helped solve your feeding dilemma, many of the above users are the ones who helped me start my boa hobby, they also reccomend Vin Russo's book, which i've read cover to cover and keep on my desk at all times (i got to meet him this weekend at the White Plains expo!).

    *Regarding Jordan's "Snake Feeding 101" video, it pains me to contradict him because his videos were very influential to me. When I only knew that i wanted a snake but nothing else about the hobby at all, his videos alone were what really convinced me that boas were the way to go. I think that he has a ton of integrity, that he cares deeply for his animals, that he is very knowledgable about many aspects of husbandry, and that his is the most accurate, positive, and charismatic characterization and depiction of boas - but i dont think his feeding habits are correct.
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  16. #10
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    Thanks guys for the civil responses. You guys are always good about this stuff.

    Coming from BP land I am used to the guidelines being just that: Guidelines.

    When I first researched this years ago. It was like this:

    Baby once a week
    Yearling every 10 days or so.
    2 yrs plus every 2-4 weeks depending on prey size.

    All those the "appropriately sized food." I had always understood appropriately sized food as food that doesn't cause such a big bulge that they might throw it up.

    I went from 1 mouse to 3-4 mice at once to small rats. Was on small rats for a long time every couple weeks. I remember actually being concerned because she was as big as pics I'd seen online of similarly aged boas. I was assured that she was fine and keep doing what I was doing. So as she got bigger I upped the size to match. She's on what rodent pro calls extra large right now. Looks like as appetizer. She's big enough to eat a rabbit for sure but I can't bring myself to do it yet since I have a pet rabbit. And that would just be....weird.

    So I started reading where some folks you didn't have access or couldn't afford rabbits just fed them smaller meals more often. As long as the keeps their rectangle shape they should be fine. And that made perfect sense to me since I come from BP land and that's a perfectly acceptable thing to do there.

    So that's what I have done the past couple months since reading about it and seeing Jordan's videos.

    I might get that book you mentioned later. But at $60 I can't swing that right now. Seems worth it based off the reviews on Amazon.
    Last edited by MasonC2K; 07-25-2017 at 08:23 AM.
    - Mason

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