Troubled Feeding

[Introvert]

!! EXTRA INFO !!

For a bit of background I'm a new snake keeper with a rescued Red tail boa she weighs about 15lbs & 7feet long, I've posted about ideal feeding times for her I'm currently feeding her a large rat every 3 weeks as I'm trying to help her lose weight from her old feeding routine that was wrong


I just fed my snake her normal large rat & instead of swallowing it head first she took it back first folded & swallowed it... I'm just glad it was a large rat instead of collosal she was on before from panic & searching how to help I haven't found much it's commonly butt first never back folded like a taco... She's swallowed & returned to hiding with a small bulge & I've upped the heat to allow her to digest it as quick as possible


I read not to intervene & let them figure it out but can they actually hurt themselves? Also how should I go about avoiding this in future as when they coil on the rat they seem to eat whatever they happened to bit first I hang the rat head first & she always grabs it right away (boas right? Lol)

Also for diet Ive notice when she's resting she as quite a bit of fat so I'd like to know what I should/or could feed her & how to go about that, I know some feed fish as it's healthier but how do you go about getting fish & prepping it or giving it to my snake, are fish from a grocery store what people use? Should I look for a speciality reptile shop?

[Bogertophis]

When I had a rescued BCI for many years, she reached 7.5' with me (before she moved in with friends of mine) and was about 13-14 lbs- she was a healthy weight & strong, & I fed her small or medium rats only, except for one time I gave her a large rat that she proved to be pretty uncomfortable with, so I never did that again. I fed her every 2-3 weeks, f/t or pre-killed from tongs- she never folded any rats that I can recall, certainly none that were mediums.

I would just stick with small or medium rats, never fish. FYI, large or jumbo rats are THE problem...they're MUCH higher in fat, & not good for boas. Just downsize her rats & you should be fine.

Oh, & btw, that time my BCI had a large rat, she deliberately stayed in the cool area, so as to slow the digestion down & not overwhelm her GI tract, apparently. Trust your snake to know what she needs for digestion...don't raise the temperature as that might backfire...the last thing you want is a regurgitation of a large rat- that could actually harm or (rarely) even kill your boa. (snakes can aspirate into their lung, or do physical internal damage with regurges)

I'm not familiar with anyone feeding fish to boas, & I'm not aware of any boas that go "fishing" in the wild so call me skeptical of that practice. (There are issues with raw fish, like parasites!)

[Introvert]

I've stopped getting jumbo or xlarge for over a month or two now so should I go smaller? I don't want her to become underweight but I'm trying to help her lose weight her current meal is large every 3weeks so should I do small-medium in same time frame?

[Bogertophis]

That's exactly what I'd do...stick with every 3 weeks, but maybe switch off between a medium, then a small, then a medium, then a small... Snakes don't easily lose weight, & she might never show much loss, but at least she won't be getting worse. Large & Jumbo rats are "no-no's" for boas, they have a slow metabolism & packing on the weight isn't healthy for them, they can die from fatty liver disease etc. You're on the right track if you just feed smaller (younger = leaner) rats. (The large or jumbo rats are older breeders.)

[dakski]

Boas are incredibly efficient when it comes to maintaining weight and gaining weight even with smaller prey than other snakes might need to grow.

I've heard of Boas eating 1 meal a year as adults and overweight and losing no weight. Long-term this isn't ideal or recommended, but I know breeders who have taken in overweight boas and tried to get them to lose weight.

The key is to not let them get too heavy, but that's too late here, and obviously not your fault.

I wouldn't jump down to smalls right away, or necessarily at all. If you went jumbo to large, I'd got large to medium next, and stay on mediums for a while if not indefinitely. My growing female BI, who is about 5 pounds now, eats a medium rat every two weeks. You could probably feed your guy a medium every 3-4 weeks and he wouldn't lose weight. I don't like feeding smaller meals less than every 3 weeks, but also he should be leaning out. If you are worried and he stops dropping weight noticeably and quickly, you could feed every 2-3 weeks instead. However, I don't see this happening.

In the wild boas do not get regular meals or get to pick the size .

I definitely would not feed fish.

From what I have heard, large rats - up to about 220G - are okay if fed. Anything bigger than that is likely too fatty for a boa. People seem to have different sources of prey and different ideas of what small (60-90G), medium (90-150G), and large (180-220G +/-) are.

Bogerophis - do you think a 200G rat is too fatty? Not second guessing, but I've heard that up to that weight it is okay from some breeders who agree anything bigger is probably too fatty.

[Introvert]

Ok thank you! That's very good to know

[Bogertophis]

...

Bogerophis - do you think a 200G rat is too fatty? Not second guessing, but I've heard that up to that weight it is okay from some breeders who agree anything bigger is probably too fatty.

Can't answer that, unfortunately. I go by experience & appearances: I always bred my own rats & never weighed them. I don't weigh the mice I raise & feed now either, lol. But since I no longer have snakes that eat rats, nor rats here to feed snakes that I don't have, there are also no rats here that I can weigh. See?

[dakski]

Either way, OP, feed mediums at the most for your guy .

[Introvert]

Will switch to mediums every 3 weeks, thank you! I'll try to get weight from my rat provider & hopefully weigh my snake soon

[bns]

There is information missing that would make it easier to form a plan of action.

What temps are available for this boa?
How old?
Photos?

You said you 'upped her heat'...what for and to what degree?

If this boa needs to loose weight, feeding every 3 weeks isn't likely to have any noticeable affect for many years if at all.