groth stunted ????

[fish21]

hi yall
i just rescued a 5 year old colmbain red tail boa female. she is only about 4 ft long, and as big around as a pepsi can (if that). the guy i got her from said that he had her for 5 years. and was feeding her a med rat once every few weeks. she is so pretty though. she is a relly pretty pink color. my question is if i start feeding her a appropriate sized food item once a week will she reach her maximum potential? or is her groth stunted for life. she came with a 200 gallon reptile tank (frecking huge) the guy i got her from knew so little about snakes i was shocked it was still alive.or had lasted for 5 years. he had no heat source for her. just room temp wich was about 75. i put her in her new home that is nice and warm. and fed her a small rat wich she took vigeriously. she hasnt left the basking site. i am verry happy with her and i hope she eventually gets healthy enaugh to breed. she would have pretty salmon babbys.

thanks
fish

[Vomitore]

I'd schedule and appointment with a vet just for a checkup. Poor thing I really wish people would read up on their animals. I know I'm still learning, but it's common sense snakes need heat. And a 200 gallon tank! That is huge! If youre gonna put her back in that, clean the hell out of it. But, I think a 200 gallon tank is overkill personally. Get us pics and keep us updated!

[fish21]

i didnt put her back in there. she has a new home that fits her perfect right now 40 gallon reptile tank. i bought a new breeder salmon 9 ft male today. and while i was in there the guy was trying to get the store to take her but they wouldent. so i said i would. so i put my new male in the 200 gallon. if you didnt know any better you would just think she is a juvinal red tail but when he said she was 5or6 years old my jaw droped.

thanks

fish

[fish21]

you think her groth will be hindered???

[fish21]

here is a pick of her. relly pretty she just needs a good enviroment and some food.

[tigerlily]

I would imagine with the proper care, she should be fine. I can't see why she wouldn't reach her full potential with some TLC.

[frankykeno]

Definitely a vet's visit is in order for her. Hopefully you disinfected that massive tank before putting the new male in it as well as it doesn't sound like the previous owner was on the ball about this sort of stuff.

I've rescued underfed snakes before and can only say to have them vet checked and a fecal float done, then if all is well that way just feed them consistently and well. Don't overfeed or push it with them. Their digestion needs to catch up to the more consistent feeding schedule so just go slow and steady that way. It may take some time or it may happen pretty quickly that you'll see some decent growth.

As far as whether she'll be stunted only time will tell you that. As a female she needs to be in perfect condition to every breed so it's in my opinion to just wait and see and be prepared for it to go either way. She could end up a spectactular breeding female or just a lovely smaller female pet snake. As long as you are good either way, it'll work out.

Glad you rescued her though, poor snake!

[JimiSnakes]

Read this: http://www.riobravoreptiles.com/care_raisingboas.htm

He is the absolute man on Boa care. On this site he also states that there is no such thing, or that it is extremely hard to do, of underfeeding a boa. Only overfeeding, which would bring me to say that she is probably not stunted and will do just fine.

The picture shows a nice animal. Vet check and some decent meals should bring her around for you nicely. If there isn't any back bone showing around the tail then she is fine and most likely will not be stunted too much. Some BCIs just don't get that big. A friend of mine has a breeder female that is probably about 6 years old and isn't over 6ft if she is lucky. Every year, three now, she still pops out a healthy litter of at least 20 or more.

[fish21]

[QUOTE=frankykeno] Hopefully you disinfected that massive tank before putting the new male in it.
i disenfected it and put some prevent o mite in there to kill any possiable vermin.




She could end up a spectactular breeding female or just a lovely smaller female pet snake.

either way i am cool. i am 100 % positive that its a female columbian red tail bcc. while i was at the store i had them probe her. the guy i got her from had bought her from that store i was in. and all the boas that they sell in there come from the owners stock. soooooo as far a breeding her i will just have to see how plump she gets by october. if she is not 100% healthy by then i will hold off. she is only about 3.5-4ft now and my male bcc is about 9.5ft and about 35lbs. so if i put them together now heck he might eat her (LOL) so we will just have to wait and see. i will keep you posted.

[jknudson]

i am 100 % positive that its a female columbian red tail bcc.

BCI.

Get "her" probed by the vet, that's an awful small female BCI..unless you stumbled across a dwarf BCI.