Posted by:
BASICALLYBOAS
at Wed Sep 12 23:58:08 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by BASICALLYBOAS ]
.....elaborate for Dan. LOL
I was the one who supplied him with the info, but I will be a bit more thorough. I also just had this problem recently and lost a prized Boa of my collection. I tried to save a few bucks on my rats by switching suppliers and it cost me big time.
There is a rat that is a breed called a "Zucker". It is a rat with a higher fat % then your normal rat and referred to as being "obese". From what I have been told and found while researching it, its purpose of application is for insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, metabolic deficiency and genetic obesity. Bottom line this rat is loaded with FAT!
The problem is that Boas can not digest fat like a Python. You can give Pythons fatty rodents and pigs and they will do fine, give them to a Boa and you are going to have major digestive problems. The Boa will bloat up and get very gassy for starters. When it comes time for them to defecate you will find yourself cleaning up a very smelly, greasy sometimes gray colored stool if not diarrhea. Stephanie has compared it to Crisco shortening you use for cooking! This also ends up being smeared all over the cage and Boa most of the time for some reason. I believe there to be tons of Bacteria in it and it causes for a bacteria bloom inside and outside of the Boa. This is also the reason why people who get bad stools and diarrhea have a Boa go right into a shed cycle and shed out there color. Then WOW!....they now think they have a Calico Boa! LOL I am sure this has happened to a few people and they have not brought it up or figured out what actually went wrong.
The bottom line is these rats can serve a purpose for Pythons and Monitors, but for Boas I think they should be avoided at all costs! You have heard many of the stories on this and other forums about the boa that regurged or had diarrhea and then either died or shed out its color. Well I think this is the cause the majority of the time.
This is just my opinion from personal experiences.
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Paul......let me..... - BASICALLYBOAS, Wed Sep 12 23:58:08 2007