Just curious.....what do you do with these big snakes?

[pbyeerts]

Setting the possibility aside, do the big guys have as much personality as the BP? Our Ginny is such a sweet girl.

[PassionFruitReptiles]

Rabbits, chickens, ducks, lambs, large guinea pigs and piglets were the main food sources for my large constrictors.

[PassionFruitReptiles]

I think most big snakes have way more "personality" than BPs, especially my Retics that i had. They are so fascinating and intelligent, truly remarkable creatures.

[pbyeerts]

Rabbits, chickens, ducks, lambs, large guinea pigs and piglets were the main food sources for my large constrictors.

Gulp...!


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[Tsanford]

Rabbits, chickens, ducks, lambs, large guinea pigs and piglets were the main food sources for my large constrictors.

This is what would stop me from a big constrictor... how do you afford to keep them fed.. I already breed rats, but I can't run a farm just to feed then haha. But mad respect for sure.

[MarkS]

This is what would stop me from a big constrictor... how do you afford to keep them fed.. I already breed rats, but I can't run a farm just to feed then haha. But mad respect for sure.

You don't have to feed piglets or bunnies or baby hippos to your large constrictors, my burms have never eaten anything but rats. My female gets 2-3 jumbo rats per serving and my male gets 1-2 of the same. I've tried rabbits, but they don't even recognize them as food. If you breed rodents, keeping a couple of big ones is a great way to find a use for your retired breeders.

[bcr229]

I've tried rabbits, but they don't even recognize them as food.

That's funny, my rabbit supplier has everything from 25-30 gram rabbit pinkies all the way through massive adults. All of my BCI's, dumerils boas, BRB's, adult king snakes, etc. will hit a rabbit, as will all of my retics. Even a couple of my BP's will take them.

[MarkS]

That's funny, my rabbit supplier has everything from 25-30 gram rabbit pinkies all the way through massive adults. All of my BCI's, dumerils boas, BRB's, adult king snakes, etc. will hit a rabbit, as will all of my retics. Even a couple of my BP's will take them.

I actually sewed a dead rat onto the head of a dead rabbit once (yes it's was gross, but I understand it usually works pretty well) , my female burm took it, but while swallowing the rat she got to the rabbit and just stopped. She sat there for a few minutes and you could almost see the thoughts going through her head, then she put a coil around the rabbit and pulled really hard until the rabbit tore away from the rat. Then she left the rabbit laying there and finished swallowing the rat. I figured that she had expressed her thoughts on the taste of rabbit pretty clearly and have only been feeding rats ever since.

[Gio]

This is what would stop me from a big constrictor... how do you afford to keep them fed.. I already breed rats, but I can't run a farm just to feed then haha. But mad respect for sure.

Once your animal is eating larger prey, the frequency of the meals drops.

I don't even have a giant, but I can tell you I feed my boa constrictor in early November, and when the temps and seasonal changes take hold, he won't eat again until April.

When my coastal reaches full size, the same will apply but may be slightly modified based on sex and species.

If you pay close attention to "Reptile Experts" videos and feeding regime, you can get a feel for what and how to feed based on a male VS female retic, or a breeding candidate VS a shoulder pet.

I think many people forget that snakes evolved over millions of years to be very efficient feeders.

Some African Rock pythons eat 1 giant meal and are good for a year.

Unless you are housing multiple giant animals, which would be quite difficult for the casual pet owner I don't see it getting out of hand.


I can argue my son's royal refuses and wastes more money and food than both of my other snakes eat.

I think there are a lot of exaggerated stories about large snakes that are put to rest when somebody that keeps them responsibly shares their experience.

I have not heard anybody mention going broke due to feeding a retic yet.

[Alexiel03]

This is what would stop me from a big constrictor... how do you afford to keep them fed.. I already breed rats, but I can't run a farm just to feed then haha. But mad respect for sure.

i order my rabbits in bulk and it only costs us about $190 in total for their food, thats also with rats included in the order. usually end up getting about 5 rabbits a piece (10 total) and that will feed them for about 3-4 months.