Can I feed my RTB after 5 days?

[Evenstar]

Boas should be fed on a 7-10day schedule when young. Unlike a bp, boas do better on less meals. Once a sub-adult, you should feed it every 14 days. They build better muscle mass and less fat if you don't over feed them. I meant to also add that you might want to try to up the size of the prey.

Exactly. Boas should NOT be on a 5 day feeding schedule. They digest their meals much slower than pythons and need the time to process their food. They also tend to get overweight if fed more frequently. Boas should be grown slowly. They will be healthier that way. It is important to remember that boas are not ball pythons and they should not be treated that way. Just because this is what you'd do for your baby BP, does not mean it's right for a baby boa.

Baby boas always act hungry - that is part of their nature. But they will be happier and healthier in the long run if fed no more than every 7 days. If anyone is currently feeding every 5 days, I ask you to please consider moving to a 7 day schedule - your baby will thank you.

[Rob]

Exactly. Boas should NOT be on a 5 day feeding schedule. -.

I totally understand that boas digest differently then balls. And as adults should be fed less frequently then bps. But my buddy who I go to for boa advice has always preached to me every 5 days for the first 6 months to a year. He has also had boas that live long happy lives. My question is, has there been any studies done that show either positive or adverse effects to doing so? It seems like there are people on both sides of the fence.

[Evenstar]

I totally understand that boas digest differently then balls. And as adults should be fed less frequently then bps. But my buddy who I go to for boa advice has always preached to me every 5 days for the first 6 months to a year. He has also had boas that live long happy lives. My question is, has there been any studies done that show either positive or adverse effects to doing so? It seems like there are people on both sides of the fence.

Of course there are always people on both sides of the fence of any issue. Every feeding issue especially is subject to debate. But, yes, there is significant evidence that feeding more frequently is detrimental to the long-term health of a boa. Every 5 days would not be unusual for a baby BP, but it's considered power feeding for a baby boa.

The fact is, it is possible to feed a baby boa every 5 days and not see any immediate negetive effects. But if a baby can grow and thrive on a 7-10 day feeding schedule, why on earth would you even possibly risk it's health just so you can feed it more often???

Please don't take this the wrong way - it's not an attack on anyone! This is for education only....

The following is from Gus Rentfro at Rio Bravo Reptiles. Gus has been breeding boas for many many years and is considered one of the forefront breeders and leading experts in the country regarding boa husbandry...
"How often do I feed my boas?"
Inexplicably, there still exists a lot of confusion about how much and how often snakes should be fed. Feed a growing boa as often as it will take food but wait until all signs of the previous feeding have gone. In other words, don't feed it if it is still bloated with the last meal. Depending upon the temperature cycle it is in and the size of the prey item this can take from 7-15 days. If unsure, wait another day or two. It is a practical impossibility to underfeed a normal healthy boa kept in the proper conditions. Many people find it entirely effortless to overfeed theirs! The single most frequently identifiable factor in premature death, poor fertility and other problems with captive boas is obesity resulting from over feeding.

Apparently a cycle of overfeeding sets up a condition of sensitivity or imbalance in the boa's digestive tract. Contents from the lower digestive tract may also get into the stomach during movement or handling if the meals are too large or too frequent. Regurgitation exacerbates this condition. It has also been suggested that sensitivity to domestic rodent hair sometimes develops in red-tails. The first sign of either of these conditions is usually regurgitation but can also be listlessness, refusal of food, restlessness or any combination of those symptoms. In addition to the risk of sickness or death, overfed, power-fed and overweight adult red-tails have repeatedly shown diminished breeding behavior and fertility. Properly conditioned animals are a must for breeding. I need also say that firm muscular red-tails and other boas demonstrating varied scale sizes, textures and iridescence are objects of splendid beauty far more wonderful than the simple spectacle of a huge fat boa.

In Vin Russo's (Cutting Edge Herps) definitive book, "The Complete Boa Constrictor," he states the following: The number one mistake most novices make is over-feeding. Boas evolved to sustain themselves on a minimal amount of food... A young boa will thrive on a single meal that leaves a slight lump once every 10-14 days. This regimen will produce a slow but steady growth rate that the animal can maintain itself on until adulthood.

In addition, here are links to several other articles and/or forums pertaining to the subject....

http://www.redtailboa.net/forums/hel...-tail-boa.html

http://redtailboafaq.com/feeding.php

http://www.redtailboas.com/f110/part...-online-40591/ (scroll down to "feeding")

My apologies for the long post - my intent though is only to help....

[Rob]

My apologies for the long post - my intent though is only to help....

Good deal, thanks for all the links.

[HerpinCurt]

Of course there are always people on both sides of the fence of any issue. Every feeding issue especially is subject to debate. But, yes, there is significant evidence that feeding more frequently is detrimental to the long-term health of a boa. Every 5 days would not be unusual for a baby BP, but it's considered power feeding for a baby boa.

The fact is, it is possible to feed a baby boa every 5 days and not see any immediate negetive effects. But if a baby can grow and thrive on a 7-10 day feeding schedule, why on earth would you even possibly risk it's health just so you can feed it more often???

Please don't take this the wrong way - it's not an attack on anyone! This is for education only....

The following is from Gus Rentfro at Rio Bravo Reptiles. Gus has been breeding boas for many many years and is considered one of the forefront breeders and leading experts in the country regarding boa husbandry...
"How often do I feed my boas?"
Inexplicably, there still exists a lot of confusion about how much and how often snakes should be fed. Feed a growing boa as often as it will take food but wait until all signs of the previous feeding have gone. In other words, don't feed it if it is still bloated with the last meal. Depending upon the temperature cycle it is in and the size of the prey item this can take from 7-15 days. If unsure, wait another day or two. It is a practical impossibility to underfeed a normal healthy boa kept in the proper conditions. Many people find it entirely effortless to overfeed theirs! The single most frequently identifiable factor in premature death, poor fertility and other problems with captive boas is obesity resulting from over feeding.

Apparently a cycle of overfeeding sets up a condition of sensitivity or imbalance in the boa's digestive tract. Contents from the lower digestive tract may also get into the stomach during movement or handling if the meals are too large or too frequent. Regurgitation exacerbates this condition. It has also been suggested that sensitivity to domestic rodent hair sometimes develops in red-tails. The first sign of either of these conditions is usually regurgitation but can also be listlessness, refusal of food, restlessness or any combination of those symptoms. In addition to the risk of sickness or death, overfed, power-fed and overweight adult red-tails have repeatedly shown diminished breeding behavior and fertility. Properly conditioned animals are a must for breeding. I need also say that firm muscular red-tails and other boas demonstrating varied scale sizes, textures and iridescence are objects of splendid beauty far more wonderful than the simple spectacle of a huge fat boa.

In Vin Russo's (Cutting Edge Herps) definitive book, "The Complete Boa Constrictor," he states the following: The number one mistake most novices make is over-feeding. Boas evolved to sustain themselves on a minimal amount of food... A young boa will thrive on a single meal that leaves a slight lump once every 10-14 days. This regimen will produce a slow but steady growth rate that the animal can maintain itself on until adulthood.

In addition, here are links to several other articles and/or forums pertaining to the subject....

http://www.redtailboa.net/forums/hel...-tail-boa.html

http://redtailboafaq.com/feeding.php

http://www.redtailboas.com/f110/part...-online-40591/ (scroll down to "feeding")

My apologies for the long post - my intent though is only to help....

Thank you so much for the educated information. seems like whenever i have a question its you that gives me the answer i need. I will make sure she is on the 7 day feeding so that she is healthier in the long run. thanks to everyone else that chipped in also! I appreciate all the info so much being pretty new to snakes in general.

[Evenstar]

Good deal, thanks for all the links.

No problem!! I am a research fiend...

Thank you so much for the educated information. seems like whenever i have a question its you that gives me the answer i need. I will make sure she is on the 7 day feeding so that she is healthier in the long run. thanks to everyone else that chipped in also! I appreciate all the info so much being pretty new to snakes in general.

Anytime! I think I've just been in the right place at the right time, lol - there are many very educated and helpful people here and someone else would have come along soon to chime in on this - and maybe still will. That's why I love this forum!

[Zombie]

No problem!! I am a research fiend...



Anytime! I think I've just been in the right place at the right time, lol - there are many very educated and helpful people here and someone else would have come along soon to chime in on this - and maybe still will. That's why I love this forum!

What I was trying to convey in the other post was that a 5 day feeding schedule of smaller prey items should not be harmful to the animal. When feeding prey that leaves a noticeable lump in the animal you do not want to feed more often. I was assuming that someone would not be feeding their animal again whilst it still has a lump from the previous meal. Just as an example, feeding large rats more often than feeding rabbits. Obviously that's subjective to the size of the animal but gives an example of what I mean. Basically like feeding a snake that could eat a large rat every 10 days or so shouldn't have a problem eating small rats closer together. Its obviously easier to feed the larger prey less often but for whatever reason someone wanted to do the smaller meals more often I don't see why there would be an issue with it. I know that balls and Boas have different needs, but I have seen many animals fed both ways and many fed wrong ways and I have seen over the last 15 years which are healthy and thriving vs slightly surviving.

Like you said earlier, I am not trying to argue or anything like that and it is always different strokes for different folks. I was just trying to explain my take on the matter

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[Evenstar]

What I was trying to convey in the other post was that a 5 day feeding schedule of smaller prey items should not be harmful to the animal. When feeding prey that leaves a noticeable lump in the animal you do not want to feed more often. I was assuming that someone would not be feeding their animal again whilst it still has a lump from the previous meal. Just as an example, feeding large rats more often than feeding rabbits. Obviously that's subjective to the size of the animal but gives an example of what I mean. Basically like feeding a snake that could eat a large rat every 10 days or so shouldn't have a problem eating small rats closer together. Its obviously easier to feed the larger prey less often but for whatever reason someone wanted to do the smaller meals more often I don't see why there would be an issue with it. I know that balls and Boas have different needs, but I have seen many animals fed both ways and many fed wrong ways and I have seen over the last 15 years which are healthy and thriving vs slightly surviving.

Like you said earlier, I am not trying to argue or anything like that and it is always different strokes for different folks. I was just trying to explain my take on the matter

No worries - I appreciate your point of view!!

The thing with boas though is that smaller more frequent meals can have the same end result of overfeeding. From Gus's quote above: Contents from the lower digestive tract may also get into the stomach during movement or handling if the meals are too large or too frequent. If you carefully read the other articles I posted, you'll see that size of the prey is not as relevant in these findings as frequency of the meals.

After a certain point in the boa's life, you are absolutely correct in your statements. An adult boa could be easily maintained on a single sm/med rabbit once a month or a jumbo rat once every 2 weeks. Neither feeding method would be right or wrong and the boa would continue to thrive in either senario.

But we are talking about baby boas. The articles I've sited are primarily referring to babies. A baby boa's system is extremely sensitive and regurges are all too frequent with babies. They also grow extremely quickly and overfeeding can be quite taxing on their little bodies. Right from their very first meal, a schedule of 7-10 days provides a perfect median of providing a baby with the necessary nutrition relevant for their growth rate and yet not overtax their systems by overfeeding.

Qualification: I know that Gus's quote refers to the boa being "bloated with its last meal." That phrase makes it sound like the "lump" in a boa's belly is sizable from a large prey item. This article was quite in depth and detailed and in the interest of space, I only quoted a small segment of it. In actuality, according to the article, that "lump" should appear almost non-existant in boas. Gus and Vin both make referrences to feeding smaller prey items to boas - items that would hardly leave a lump at all and one that would certainly be gone within 2-3 days - yet still maintaining a 7-10 day feeding schedule (for babies). Just wanted to be clear on that....

Again, I appreciate your point of view! There are many opinions on this subject and this is not a thread about being right or wrong - it's about education! I appreciate everyone's understanding that!!

[HerpinCurt]

thanks everyone for the information and opinions its really appreciated