Nicaraguan Boas supplements?

[Wideload319]

Nicaraguan Boas can someone tell me what supplements should I be using? And how do you go about how to administrate them?


And if I am posting this in the proper thread? If not can one of the administrator please move it to the appropriate spot. Please and thank you.
En-closer 48"X18"X18"

[KMG]

Supplements for what?

Shouldn't need anything.

Just proper feeders. Like mice, rats, chicks.

[Snagrio]

Most snakes (namely those on a vertebrate diet) don't really require extra supplements like a lot of other pet reptiles do. Because they dissolve the entirety of their meals, they absorb all the calcium and other minerals/nutrients directly. They're quite self-sufficient that way.

[Malum Argenteum]

I agree, and here's more info.

The reason insectivorous reptiles and amphibians need vitamin and mineral supplementation in captivity is because commercially raised feeder insects are known (that is, peer-reviewed published data) to be deficient in at least calcium, Vit D3, and Vit A. European keepers are more likely to feed 'field sweepings' (wild collected insects) and get by with reduced or no supplementation, as the wild insects eat a varied and nutritious diet.

Same for herbivorous reptiles, though to a lesser extent, as the calcium/phosphorus ratio of some veggies is pretty good, and it is easy to provide carotenoids (e.g. beta carotene in carrots) that herbivores (and omnivores) convert to Vitamin A (not all carnivores and insectivores can convert their own Vit A, and this is species-specific and most species haven't been studied in this regard). Herbivores (and probably some omnivores, especially the basking species) seem to use dietary Vitamin D poorly (which makes sense since evolutionarily they aren't adapted to this, given their plant diet) and so need UVB lighting in captivity (which insectivores and carnivores do not need, since they can uptake Vitamin D3 from their diet very effectively and more safely than with captive UVB exposure).

The diet of captive carnivores contains all the needed vitamins and minerals; mice and chickens and such are not so dependent on their diet for their nutritional profile as are insects (which are basically a chitin case full of stomach contents, nutritionally speaking)

[WrongPython]

I agree with the others.

Snakes shouldn't need supplementation if they're fed a quality, whole-prey diet. Avoid feeding sickly-looking, dirty, and/or freezer-burnt prey -- as well as prey items that have been in the fridge 12 months or more -- and you should be fine. Extended periods in the freezer are what cause the vitamins and minerals in our snakes' food to break down, ie. make food items less nutritious.

If you'd like to up your boa's diet, try introducing a variety of prey items first. A few snake food distributors offer whole mice, rats, quail, and chicken chicks now. Reptilinks are also an option if you have someone to split the minimum order size with -- they grind up whole prey items for the links, so technically they can count as whole prey from a nutritional standpoint. Remember to offer the oldest/most mature prey item that your snake can handle size-wise, as older prey items tend to be more balanced and vitamin-rich than younger prey items.

Remember that over-supplementation and vitamin imbalances are very much a thing. The animal supplement market is also almost entirely unregulated, and there isn't any real, peer-reviewed science to back up the claims some supplement makers make. The exception is calcium and D3 for most lizard species -- those are essential. It isn't the case with snakes, though.

For what it's worth, I decided to give one of those snake multivitamins a try a while back, and in my opinion, there wasn't any obvious difference in my snakes. The snakes weren't a fan of the prey lightly dusted with the stuff, and the vitamin dust could cling to them and their cage furniture at times -- nothing a gentle wipe-down with a damp cloth could solve, but still, an unnecessary annoyance. Just focus on providing high-quality whole prey.