Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Redtail boa, just over 6 ft long, the thickest part of his body is about as big around as a soda can. He normally eats 1 extra large rat a week. In the past several weeks after he's done eating he proceeds to bump and rattle at the cage door as if he's expecting more. So this week I went ahead and gave him an additional adult mouse (I'm overstocked on frozen mice right now, so I figured I'd see if he'd take it) he quickly grabbed the mouse and ate it, but now he's back bumping and rattling the door again.

Am I not feeding him enough? Should he be eating 2 big rats a week maybe?

As it is he's almost too big (too strong) for me to handle and control very well. I'm afraid that if I increase his food intake that in 6 months I'll have this monster of a snake that I won't be able to handle safely (as it is I think if he really wanted to get away from me while I'm holding him, he probably could).

(This picture was taken several months ago)

In my opinion feeding a adult boa once a week is to much, and at that rate it will get much larger. I feed all my adult boa's 1 properly sized prey item once a month.

Flicka here is fed an adult rat every 2 weeks and she is doing fine. Ppl have their own methods and things change according to the time of year for breeding etc. If you are feeding that boa a mouse?? ahhh try mid size rat, that's probably why. snake is way too big for anything mouse now, it's all rats now. No wonder it's knocking the door for more.

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"Have you hugged your snake lately?"

He ate an extra large rat first, the mouse I gave him just to see if he was really hungry. Maybe the mouse should have been fed first, like an appetizer, with the rat following as the main course ;D

That is a very nice cage you have there. What did you construct it out of? Did you seal it or line it with anything or is that bare wood? thanks... Jon
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1.1.1 breeding pair blue tongue skinks w/ juv. offspring
1.0.0 Juv. Albino Bullfrog
0.0.2 Giant Pixie Frog (one juv. and one adult)
1.1.0 Clawed frogs
1.1.0 Albino Clawed frogs
0.0.1 Superlight juv Sulcatta
0.0.2 Fly river turtles
0.0.2 Savannah Monitors (one pastel)
0.2.0 juv pastel Columbian boas
1.1.0 monster pink pastel columbian boas
1.2.0 Hypo Hog boas
1.0.0 Hypo boa
1.1.0 Hypo boa babies, Poss. DH sunglow
0.2.0 Hypo poss. DH sunglow
1.0.0 Coral albino boa (my baby)
and
1.2.0 Pomeranians (the wifes babies)

I ordered it thru cagestore.com, it came unassembled but wasn't hard to set up. I think I paid around $280 and they shipped it for free. Much nicer & more affordable than anything I could find locally.

I originally thought it was wood till i went to the site. Is it melamine? how is it holding up?
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1.1.1 breeding pair blue tongue skinks w/ juv. offspring
1.0.0 Juv. Albino Bullfrog
0.0.2 Giant Pixie Frog (one juv. and one adult)
1.1.0 Clawed frogs
1.1.0 Albino Clawed frogs
0.0.1 Superlight juv Sulcatta
0.0.2 Fly river turtles
0.0.2 Savannah Monitors (one pastel)
0.2.0 juv pastel Columbian boas
1.1.0 monster pink pastel columbian boas
1.2.0 Hypo Hog boas
1.0.0 Hypo boa
1.1.0 Hypo boa babies, Poss. DH sunglow
0.2.0 Hypo poss. DH sunglow
1.0.0 Coral albino boa (my baby)
and
1.2.0 Pomeranians (the wifes babies)