Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 2,927

0 members and 2,927 guests
No Members online
Most users ever online was 6,337, 01-24-2020 at 04:30 AM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,031
Threads: 248,489
Posts: 2,568,446
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, isismomma
Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    05-01-2020
    Posts
    14
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts

    Questions on Feeding

    I brought my BCI home early January this year, she was 22 inches when I bought her and the breeder I got her from said she was feeding on hoppers so I grabbed 20 of them on the way out of the expo. She's grown to 26 inches and gained about 60 grams so I went from feeding every 10 days to every 7 to try and keep her food intake steady with her growth. I'm running low on hoppers at this point and I'm wondering how to judge exactly what type and how many feeders to buy next. I'd like to buy in bulk to save on shipping since I plan on ordering them online but I don't want to order too many feeders of the same size and have her outgrow them and go to waste. Is there any way for me to predict how fast she'll outgrow a feeder size? I'm thinking she can take an adult mouse at this point but how many would she need before she goes on to the equivalent next size rat?

  2. #2
    BPnet Lifer EL-Ziggy's Avatar
    Join Date
    11-05-2014
    Location
    GA
    Posts
    4,194
    Thanks
    5,016
    Thanked 5,487 Times in 2,686 Posts

    Re: Questions on Feeding

    How much does your boa weigh now? If she's ready for adult mice a pack of 25 will last you roughly 8-12 months if you feed every 10-14 days. You don't have to bump up the prey size, you can just offer a 2nd prey item sometimes or feed a couple of days sooner.
    3.0 Carpet Pythons, 1.1 Bullsnakes
    1.0 Olive Python 1.0 Scrub Python,
    1.0 BI, 0.1 BCO

  3. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to EL-Ziggy For This Useful Post:

    jmcrook (05-06-2020),RickyNY (05-06-2020)

  4. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    05-01-2020
    Posts
    14
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts
    She's a little over 150 grams now, and the hopper mice I feed her no longer show any bump in her stomach after I feed. She's my first snake so I don't have a good eye for telling if she's a healthy weight but she seems maybe a little on the skinnier side to me.

  5. #4
    BPnet Senior Member CloudtheBoa's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-13-2014
    Location
    NC, USA
    Posts
    1,308
    Thanks
    533
    Thanked 1,189 Times in 620 Posts
    I upgrade my boas when the next size up leaves a barely noticeable lump. If I'm not sure, I'll offer the boas the larger meal. If the bulge can be seen at a glance, I skip a feeding day and go back down to their old size. Your boa sounds about at the same weight I've upgraded my boas to small mice, so I might go ahead and buy some small mice. If it's too big, whatever hoppers you have left over should hold her over until she's big enough.

    I usually see my boas on weaned rats around 1.5-2 years, so once on small mice they upgrade quick. That's even on a straight 10-14 day schedule, no weekly feeding. Once on rats, I see one prey size increase a year. But it really depends on how the individual snake grows.
    8.3 Boa imperator ('15 sunglow "Nymeria," '11 normal "Cloud," '16 anery motley "Crona," '10 ghost "Howl," '08 jungle "Dominika," '22 RC pastel hypo jungle "Aleister," '22 pastel normal "Gengar," '22 orangasm hypo "Daemon," '22 poss jungle "Jinzo," '22 poss jungle "Calcifer," '22 motley "Guin")
    1.4 Boa imperator; unnamed '22 hbs
    3.3 Plains garter snakes
    1.2 checkered garter snakes (unnamed)

    ~RIP~
    2.2 Brazilian rainbow boa ('15 Picasso stripe BRBs "Guin" and "Morzan, and '15 hypo "Homura", '14 normal "Sanji")
    1.0 garter snake ('13 albino checkered "Draco")
    1.0 eastern garter ('13 "Demigod)
    0.0.1 ball python ('06 "Bud")

  6. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to CloudtheBoa For This Useful Post:

    Gio (05-06-2020),jmcrook (05-06-2020),RickyNY (05-06-2020)

  7. #5
    BPnet Royalty Gio's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-28-2012
    Location
    Minneapolis
    Posts
    4,724
    Thanks
    6,879
    Thanked 6,571 Times in 2,984 Posts

    Re: Questions on Feeding

    Quote Originally Posted by JP23 View Post
    She's a little over 150 grams now, and the hopper mice I feed her no longer show any bump in her stomach after I feed. She's my first snake so I don't have a good eye for telling if she's a healthy weight but she seems maybe a little on the skinnier side to me.
    This is a must have IMO.
    https://www.amazon.com/The-More-Comp.../dp/1938850297

    Almost everything is addressed in this book,

    Feeding, seasonal changes, caging, species and more.

    If you own a boa constrictor, you owe yourself, and your boa reference material like this.

  8. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Gio For This Useful Post:

    bcr229 (05-07-2020),jmcrook (05-06-2020),RickyNY (05-06-2020)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1