A perfect shed

[Bogertophis]

This ^ ^ ^ exactly!

Also: This is why good commercial sources of frozen prey always labels them by weights- it's very hard to tell size by looking at pictures.

FYI, when I had a large 7.5' BCI, she always ate MEDIUM rats...& just one at a time. She stayed strong, lean & healthy. She certainly "could have" eaten a jumbo rat, but I wouldn't allow it.

[dakski]

Late here, but I agree with JM and Bogertophis.

Less is more with boas. They are incredibly efficient creatures who do not eat regularly in the wild. You can get a healthy 7-8FT Boa by feeding medium rats on a regular schedule. No need to feed two or ever feed extra large rats (too fatty as mentioned).

My plan with Behira, my female BI, is to feed mediums for a while - every 2-3 weeks (she's 2.2KG) and when she bigger, a large every 2-3 weeks. I'll never give her more than a large rat. Many breeders, who respect their animals, do the same. No rabbits, no XL rats, etc. No need. Better to feed smaller more frequently than huge less frequently.

You have beautiful boas and obvisouly want what's best for them. Great that you are listening and trying to incorporate what we are saying. Keep up the good work and let us know if you have any other questions. Also, keep the pics coming!

[Reptile$ 4 Life]

Just from a curiosity stand point, would it be okay to feed a more active snake large fatty meals like this? Like a retic of similar girth for example.

[bns]

... I'll never give her more than a large rat. Many breeders, who respect their animals, do the same. No rabbits, no XL rats, etc. No need. Better to feed smaller more frequently than huge less frequently. ...

A lot going on here...

[jmcrook]

Just from a curiosity stand point, would it be okay to feed a more active snake large fatty meals like this? Like a retic of similar girth for example.

Yes. Retics, and most pythons in general, have much faster metabolisms than boas and can handle fattier prey items.


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[Bogertophis]

Just from a curiosity stand point, would it be okay to feed a more active snake large fatty meals like this? Like a retic of similar girth for example.

One thing to keep in mind though: wild prey RARELY packs on the fat the way our domestic prey items do...they have to "work for a living", so they're naturally leaner & healthier for our "consumers". Our snakes evolved eating wild prey, not our well-fed domestic rodents+. So even for those snakes with a faster metabolism, I think it's still best to go easy on the fatty prey items.

If anything, such things are best consumed by reproductive female , since they routinely use up their reserves producing either live offspring or clutches of eggs. My adult female Florida rat snakes eat an incredible amount, just regaining their body weight after their automatic yearly double-clutches of unfertilized (un-intentional) eggs, yet they remain much smaller than their male counterparts.

[Lady mkrj58]

Here is my FT rat with the tape measure that the vendor called extra large I would call these small and Quincy eats his meal fine however I will be feeding my Boa every 2 weeks instead of every 7 days I love my Boas and my Ball Pythons and King snakes .

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[Lady mkrj58]

Thanks folks for all your input and sharing your knowledge with me.

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