Cloud, Colombian BCI

[Gio]

Just now found this thread. Cloud is a handsome fellow!

DooLittle has given you great advice on feeding. I also am not aware of anyone with a top-notch reputation who recommends that 10-15% rule for boas. Boas have a MUCH slower metabolism than either Ball Pythons or Retics and they do not need to eat such large prey items. Slower and less is much healthier for boas. The appropriate prey size for a boa should NOT leave any noticeable lump at all. An adult male Colombian boa constrictor can live exclusively on rats for his entire life. 1 jumbo or 2 large rats every 3-4 weeks is perfectly fine for any adult, even most females. This is what I do for my boas:

Babies (neonate to 1 year) - Start on hopper mice up to appropriate size as baby grows. One mouse every 7-10 days.
Juveniles (1-2 years) - Keep on mice up to large size then switch to similar size rat. One every 10-14 days.
Young adults (2-3 years) - One appropriately sized rat every 14-21 days.
Adults (3+ years and breeders) - One appropriately sized rat every 21 days, except breeding females are fed a bit more and gravid females are fed a bit less. Seasonal drops are also effective.

I've based my feeding schedule on the advice of Gus Rentfro (Rio Bravo), Vin Russo (Cutting Edge Herps), Donnie Smith (Prima Reptilia), and JB (Jonathan Brady - Deviant Constrictors). There is NO ONE else who gives better or more knowledgeable advice than these folks. They are the foremost authority on captive boa constrictor care and breeding. Vin Russo wrote the boa-bible - "The Complete Boa Constrictor" and introduced the first captive boas to the US (I forget exactly when - 1970's?? Gio, help me out here?? My book isn't handy at the moment....).

But it's also important to note that this is just a guide. You have to be a bit flexible with feeding and do slightly more or less often depending on your individual. I also want to begin offering quail in my boas' diets so I may feed a bit more often if I do that. I do not nor will I offer rabbits to any of my boas - including my females (with the exception perhaps of my female Argentine eventually).


What Gio said here is extremely accurate. I would want to know more about this "wild" animal. What is the source of this picture? If it is, in fact, a gravid female, then she is in no way obese. And wild boas can and do eat very large prey items because they may have to go months before they can catch their next meal. Captivity means a different lifestyle for our animals. We provide for their every need. They have to live in a tiny environment compared to the wild and they get fed whenever they are hungry. In order to be healthy in captivity, it is our responsibility to adjust their feeding to make that be so. What a boa does and looks like in the wild cannot be compared to what they do and should look like in captivity.

And as Gio and DooLittle also said, no one is down on you. We are just here to help and to offer accurate and sensible advice. I understand how frustrating it can be to weed through all that conflicting information. That's why I showed you my own schedule and told you who has helped me. This is tried and true information from professionals you can trust.

Wow! That is perfect advice, and I like the other folks added in the feeding list. Jonathan Brady and Morti compliment the list well. Sorry Kali I don't have my Russo book close and have been using my I-phone to type which sucks so I am no help there.

I don't think that Cloud is in any danger if you pull back a bit. I also understand that some boas really do get big. I hope mine is one, but the key is to monitor the girth, and keep the fat down.