A Question on Feeding my Garbage Can

[AmandaJ]

Leonard continues to get gorgeous And this week I had occasion to use his services as a garbage can. Since he's passed 6 months of age I moved him to an every-10-day feeding schedule, but last night my female KSB refused her dinner (she's deeply in blue; 9/10 times she'll eat that way but last night she thumbed her nose at me, so to speak) so I fed him a tiny dinner a day early.

I know the mouse he ate last night is too small to constitute a full meal for him -- it was an 8 gram mouse, and his dinners tend to be more 18+ grams at this point. So my question is, when/ how much can I feed him again? I almost took out his dinner to defrost last night, but then I started thinking 2 days in a row could be overkill, and perhaps I should toss him a smaller mouse (10-12 grams as opposed to his usual -- I've got a selection of frozen mouse sizes thanks to my lunatic sand boas) on Saturday instead, or wait a bit longer and feed him his usual size.

Anyway, thoughts? I'm still learning with him and I don't want to tax his digestive system. Okay, and because I can't resist, here are two pictures of the little guy after his most recent shed. I think he's awesome

On this overhead shot, you can see the asymmetry of his head thanks to his micro-opthalmia:


And here he's just hanging out Please ignore the horrible piles of books on my end table in the background. I've somehow managed to find myself in the middle of about 8 books (okay, 10). It's gotten ridiculous.

[NH93]

Awww, what a cutie!!

I think you could probably just skip one meal - at least that is what I would do. Then continue with the regular feeding schedule.
However, if you think you are going to utilize him as a "garbage can" for unwanted food items, I would just do more frequent meals at smaller sizes.
I think there are many ways you can go about this, though.

Good luck

[AmandaJ]

Thank you! And you're right -- there probably are a number of ways, thankfully

Ultimately, I want to keep him on his once every 10 days schedule in part because the 10 days are hard for my aging brain to remember so I have the entire six months printed out on calendars and posted above his enclosure to ensure I don't screw up and forget a feeding. I'd hate to re-do them all... I prefer to retain at least some ability to be a slacker, LOL.

My hope is that I can toss him another small-ish mouse on Saturday or Sunday, then continue on his established schedule which would put his next feeding on Monday, December 2nd. I am terrifyingly regimented with my snakes, which makes it challenging when things happen to throw me off schedule

[DooLittle]

I would just wait until his next meal. He will be fine. If not a bit hungry by food day.:p If he gives you that "feed me I'm a neglected boa" look, you could feed him his regular meal a day or two sooner. Imo, less is better than too much with boas.

[nick654377]

i personally would not go 10 days until he is taking 70 gram rats. once he starts taking medium rats move to a 14 day feed. How much does he weigh? he looks about the size of my arab and im feeding her 45g rats.

[AmandaJ]

He weighs 251 grams empty as of Thursday; near as I can measure, he's just shy of 30 inches long. His normal food at this point is around an 18 gram mouse. From what I've read (and I know there are a thousand opinions on this) up to six months boas should be fed every 7 days; 6 months to a year feed every 10 days, and after a year go with every other week. Some snakes will require less food; others more.

Of course, with the boas' tendency toward obesity my understanding is that it's better to be more cautious. That said, I don't want to underfeed the little dude. But on the 10-day feeding cycle he's put on 15 grams in 2 weeks, so it doesn't appear to be stunting his growth?

[Daybreaker]

10 day schedule is just fine, and I don't offer a refused feeder to my boas just because I know they'll eat: like it's been said it's better to be cautious with these guys IMO.

[Evenstar]

It is virtually impossible to underfeed a boa unless you don't feed it at all (which I know you're not doing, lol). Stick to your 10 day feeding schedule. Less is more with boas.