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i know this is a super variable question.

im really looking for personal experience, not a general, depends on how much you feed them.

i have a two year old col. female that is about 7.5 lbs, i feed her regularly, id say two large/jumbos rats every 14 days.

what are your personal experiences with weight gain on a normal or avg. diet of rats only.

i was hoping to have her up to 15 or more lbs by mid next year, is this possible?

tia
mark

15 babies by mid next season? If you bred them this year, I wouldnt count on it. Anything is possible, but I wouldn't expect that. Especially being so young. My personal opinion, I would wait until she was atleast 3.5 - 4 years old, and girthy. When I say girthy, a lot of people misunderstand that as being very thick. I think it is more important to take into consideration the amount of muscle mass. A more muscular/lean/healthy female will usually give you a much better litter than a huge, fat, obese female. Age is the most important factor usually, but if I was you, I would look for the perfect balance of age, length, and girth. Just my opinion. A female that small though, I would expect 6-10 babies if you're lucky. Thats considering you even get babies and don't slug out from her being too young

i didnt even finish reading your reply, i think you misunderstood me.

15 pounds (lbs) not babies

im trying to achieve 15 pounds by mid of next year not babies

next season she'll be 3 years of age also

o, sorry for misunderstanding. In that case, more power to ya! Sounds good to me! good luck

Mark:

It sounds like the weight of your female boa is where it should be for a two year old. It's dificult to say if she will gain an additional 7.5 lbs in the next year.

Personally I feel that my feeding regiman is on track if my female boas weigh between 10 to 12 lbs at three years old.

The feeding of growing boas is very contriversial. Use common sense and always keep the health of your snake as the primary goal.

Be patient.

Brian

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Brian Gundy

www.for-goodness-snakes.com

I personally hope that you don't double her weight in a year at this age. From my experience, I feed once a week from a newborn until 2 1/2 yrs. Then I go to feeding every 10-14 days , and by 3 1/2 years the females will be somewhere between 8 and 12 lbs, usually right at 10 lbs. Some will be ready to breed at this age, and some will need at least another year.
Feed her at a normal pace and let her stay healthy is the most important thing.
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I'm just the snake room janitor

What, is she going to be in a prize fight or something? Why would you set a goal like that for her? Personally, I think you are expecting too much, and likely to cause long term problems if you continue to set your goals so high.

Let her grow at HER rate, not yours.

My 2¢
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Richard Carew
Sunset BCI
You laugh at me cuz I'm different! I laugh at you cuz you're all the same.
Stop Inhumane and Illegal Practices

She's not in a prize fight. but i do have SOME expectations.

If she doesnt hit 15 im not going to sell her or anything, just wanted to know from expereince what the average weight gain would be from her current weight, and it seems likely that it's 10 to 12lbs total weight by next year.

So 2.5-4.5 lbs. i dont want someone to read into that and think that im trying to make my snake gain between this and that. she eats like i dont feed her already. i just really wanted to get an guesstamet.

thank you for your help.