Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all I have a couple of big boas that eat 4 of the biggest rats you can buy in one meal and I was wanting to try an switch them to bunnys. I need to re order food this week and the company I buy from dont have any pics of their bunnys. I was wondering if anyone knows what size bunnys I should be looking to buy. The biggest snake is a 9 ft. female with a head the size of an average size grown mans hand. Thanks,Rich

ps this is her in the pic but you cant get a good idea of her head size.

I haven't ordered rabbits in awhile, but I was ordering smalls and mediums for my 8-9' animals. I would definetely suggest starting out with a smaller size until you know for sure your animals can handle that particular size, can't hurt if they aren't quite as large as they can easily handle and ordering the next size up later on.
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Randall L Turner Jr.
Boas make the world go round.

Why bother with rabbits? The reason I ask is because my largest female is 9ft and although I used to feed her rabbits and still born piglets, around the middle of last year I switched to a single large rat a week and have noticed a healthier more active snake as a result. After visiting a few of the more well known breeders and learning that few feed their large boas rabbits or pigs, I switched to their methods. Remember that once an animal is that size, actual growth is very restricted, hence the need for a large food item is gone.

Warren
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Dr Warren Booth
North Carolina State University
Department of Entomology
3309 Gardner Hall
Raleigh, NC 27695-7613

I agree with Warren, no need really.

Rabbits are extremely lean, low in fat... this means two things, they won't make your boa gain weight faster, if that's what you're wanting, and they would essentially take longer to digest, because of the extremely high amount of protein, so feeding as often as you would rats wouldn't be the best thing.

To answer your question, like Randy said, I would start with either two smalls or a medium, if you really wanted to feed rabbits.

I would say a small would be anywhere between 2-4 pounds, and a medium more like 5-7 pounds.

I remember when I lived in Miami 12 years ago I was getting 12-15 pound rabbits for my 15-16' burms.. lol..
I would find them at farms in homestead..

I always bought bunnies for my boas at the local livestock dealer, where one would get fresh fowl (chicken, goose, quail, etc.).

All the best, Joe
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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

I guess it all just boils down to time and money form me.

When I order my food I use the grey hound express and get 2 boxes. One and a half of those boxes are filled with xxxl size rats and the other half of the box feeds the rest of my animals. So I was just thinking that maybe it would free up some box space and also I cant even count the number of times the biggest rats where not much bigger then a large rat and the big rats take way longer to thaw(not that a bunny would be any better)

As for feeding once a week,thats out of the question for me. I like to feed the big ones a large meal once or twice a month and thats it.The more you feed,the more they poo,the more they poo, the more your up till 12am on a work night cleanig cages lol. I think I'm still gonna give it a shot and see how it works out. Thanks for the replys,Rich

Hi,
I have actually noticed a reduction in the rate of defication from my sankes since I have switched to this new feeding regime. Due to the smaller size of the food item (I do not use xxxl rats) they deficate once every 3 weeks or so.

Good luck,

Warren
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Dr Warren Booth
North Carolina State University
Department of Entomology
3309 Gardner Hall
Raleigh, NC 27695-7613

I've noticed the same thing with my 8.5 foot suri - her old owner fed her two or three extra large rats every two weeks. I've been feeding her on XL rat every week or so, and her "poop schedule" has seemed to slow down. She seems to 'save it up' for a few weeks and deposit one big batch - which works for me, just one cleanup every month instead of a few smaller ones.
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com | CageMakers
1.1 Ball Python, 1.0 Hog Island Boa, 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 1.1 Saharan Sand Boa