Too big for rats too small for rabbits

[Introvert]

It seems my boa takes her rats with ease & needs more.. I was recommended to feed her two rats instead of one colossal rat but I'm worried about length of her stomach as it's my first snake any suggestions on food? Thank you!

[Introvert]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHe_pC-j...=19tk4zthra4ns

[jmcrook]

Need something in the photo to provide a sense of scale. An adult boa doesn’t need, and should not be given, enormous meals. Something a little less than the girth of the animal every 3-4 weeks or more is fine. Prey item should not leave a big bump if any at all.


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[Introvert]

I've added a few photos for a better scale... I feed her a colossal rat every 12 days but I'm not sure if her weight is good enough I have yet to scale her I just recently moved so everything is harder

[jmcrook]

I don’t see any other photos posted here.
(Edit: Found the others on your IG through my browser. Better to upload pictures to the forums as not everyone uses social media and can’t easily access pics on IG. When using a browser it blocks content after the second view. The Tapatalk app makes loading pictures here very simple.)

How old is this animal? An adult boa doesn’t need to be fed more than every 3-4 weeks and can easily go 6 weeks comfortably.

A colossal rat should not be given to any boa. Their higher fat content is hard for a boa’s slow metabolism to digest and can lead to obesity and other health complications which ultimately shortens their life expectancy.

The snake looks alright in those pictures and is maybe a tad chunky. A boa’s cross section should look like a loaf of bread, tall and square.


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[bcr229]

You can find vendors online that will sell rabbits from stillborn kits up through 10 lbs. My adult females eat 6-8 oz rabbits at most, the same size as an XL rat, once every month. Over the winter they get less.

If you are feeding colossal rats which likely weigh a pound or more then your snake should only be eating every 6-8 weeks, not every 12 days. Keep that up and your snake will become obese and die.

[303_enfield]

Or feed smaller once a week. It's not like a Boa will refuse a meal.

[jmcrook]

Or feed smaller once a week. It's not like a Boa will refuse a meal.

Do not feed an adult boa once a week.
Slow metabolism + overload of prey intake = unhealthy animal with shortened lifespan


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[dakski]

Your boa is a good size. Boas are very efficient. However, they do not do well with fatty meals - like jumbo rats.

Also, feeding weekly is a big no no for an adult boa, no matter what you are feeding.

I would be feeding a large rat every 2-3 weeks tops. If you want a rabbit, get something smaller, but nutritionally they are better than a jumbo rat, although not much different than a large rat.

From the looks of it, you could not feed your boa for a year and he/she would probably lose less than 5% body mass and still be healthy as can be.

Go smaller and less frequently for a boa that will live a long and healthy life, assuming not too much damage has already been done.

[GoingPostal]

You can find small rabbits, a rabbit breeder is your best bet there but online suppliers would have them. You could also rotate with other prey such as chicken or quail. I absolutely would not be feeding two prey items or jumbo/colossal rats, that's not healthy in the least, very fatty and hard on their systems. I'd stick to a large every 2-3 weeks at max. You need to let her work through an entire digestion cycle before stuffing her with more food, your current feeding schedule is going to leave you with an extremely overweight boa.