Winter fast/feed question

[Gio]

At some point you need to limit your handling. Seasonal changes take place without you dropping your temps, but as a keeper you can enhance the change by dropping the temps. Light, heat, humidity and the slightest pressure changes are noticed by your boa, however in conditions where AC is used in the summer and heat is used in the winter you'll have more success by assisting with the changes. In Jersey you will have AC and heat used in your home based on the seasons.

If you choose to handle your snake constantly and decide to feed year round that is a personal choice. Your snake should not constantly be bothering you for food once it hits the subadult/adult ages if you are dropping temps, decreasing humidity and shortening the light cycle in the winter.

The need for nutrition is minimal with a healthy boa. That is not an invented statement by me, it is a fact that has been researched and proven by experts in the field.

This all comes down to knowing your own snake and the biology of boa constrictors in general.

Daily handling or close to it, is way too much in my opinion and isn't really fair to the animal. If you have that desire, you may want to acquire a few more animals and spread out the handling amongst them.

By letting the snake be, you will observe more natural behavior in the enclosure, and during the winter months, you may see little to no activity which is healthy and normal.

We have a royal python we feed 3 times a year depending on the year. The snake self regulates its metabolism and I believe this particular snake of ours will live 30+ years because of that.

The domestic/captive life of your animal should still somewhat mimic their wild habitat. You may decide on feeding in captivity, but nature decides in the wild. The seasons play a HUGE role in their biology. In nature, the rainy season brings migrations of various animals. A wild snake may take several prey items during that time and go 6 months with nothing when the season shifts even if only slightly.

I will say this isn't rocket science, and there are options, but most experienced folks try to pick the best option for their animals. Some people think a 15 year old boa is old. I think a 30 year old boa is old and want to raise mine to be the 30 year old snake.

If you do feed year round, keep the prey items in the winter very small and spread them out.
Unless you see signs of illness or dramatic weight loss you will never starve your boa by fasting in the winter, it will probably grow more.

Just be smart about things and you'll get it dialed in.