again, right of Gus's care sheets for True Redtails


""How often do I feed my boas?"
Inexplicably, there still exists a lot of confusion about how much and how often snakes should be fed. Feed a growing red-tail as often as it will take food but wait until all signs of the previous feeding have gone. In other words, don't feed it if it is still bloated with the last meal. Depending upon the temperature cycle it is in and the size of the prey item this can take from 6-15 days. If unsure, wait another day or two. It is a practical impossibility to underfeed a normal healthy boa kept in the proper conditions. Many people find it entirely effortless to overfeed theirs! The single most frequently identifiable factor in premature death, poor fertility and other problems with captive boa, especially red-tails, is obesity resulting from over feeding.

"How big a meal is right for my boa?"
If the food item is not big enough to make a noticeable lump in the snake, feed something larger. If your snake is unable to crawl or coil normally because of the size of it's distended belly after feeding, you have fed a meal too large. Generally, the diameter of your boa at the widest part of the body is about the same as the largest meal you should offer. But no rule is applicable to all animals at all times. An obvious exception to this simple size rule would be a gravid female bloated with babies, if it were to be fed a gigantic meal as large as it’s distended body pre-mature birth or even death might result. There are other exceptions. No rule, guide or schedule is anything other than a starting point. You have to observe your animals and apply what you learn to their care.

"Do I feed my growing Red-tail more in Summer and less in Winter?"
If you closely consider the above information, you will see that it is self-adjusting to most all changes in the snake's environment and condition.

Overfeeding, feeding too frequently and feeding prey items too large can often sicken or even kill a red-tail. As will excessively high or low temps during digestion. Apparently a cycle of overfeeding sets up a condition of sensitivity or imbalance in the boa's digestive tract. Contents from the lower digestive tract may also get into the stomach during movement or handling if the meals are too large or too frequent. Regurgitation exacerbates this condition. It has also been suggested that sensitivity to domestic rodent hair sometimes develops in red-tails. The first sign of either of these conditions is usually regurgitation but can also be listlessness, refusal of food, restlessness or any combination of those symptoms. In addition to the risk of sickness or death, overfed, power-fed and overweight adult red-tails have repeatedly shown diminished breeding behavior and fertility. Properly conditioned animals are a must for breeding. I need also say that firm muscular red-tails and other boas demonstrating varied scale sizes, textures and iridescence are objects of splendid beauty far more wonderful than the simple spectacle of a huge fat boa.

"How long will it take for my Red-tails to mature?"
Three and one-half to six years if you use the guide outlined above. Subspecies is a factor as is also locality of origin.

“What will be the mature size of my red-tail?”
Size in Boa is a result of genetics and husbandry. In captivity husbandry is the dominant factor. Any Boa kept in an eternal Summer condition with frequent feedings of high-quality, high-fat foods will exceed it's average normal size potential both in length and mass. It is also known that rapid growth and excess weight in developing red-tails predisposes them to poor reproductive success as adults. Age is the primary factor in sexual maturity in Boa constrictor ssp., not size or weight. Note that maturity is properly defined as the ability to produce viable young without complication, not simply breeding and making slugs or a few young. As a reference only here are the minimum length and mass observations of female boa successfully breeding here at Rio Bravo Reptiles. Weights were taken as close to ovulation as was practical. I hope this table of information gives you some hint as to the extent of the genetic and behavioral variation in Boa c. ssp.!"
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Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

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