Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We just purchased a pair of '05 BCI normals that are VERY pretty (to us), but they are not yet even 3'! From all I know about the rapidity that most boids grow, that's a bit small for their age.

How big is "normal" for a proper amount of food to keep them healthy but not obese or stunted growth? How much would a normal 27 month old boa be eating? I have what I think is a yearling or early '07 as well, cuz s/he's much bigger than most '07s I've seen and we're only feeding 1 mouse per week, tho that will change soon to a rat weanling cuz of her size...

Also, for those of you with dumerils, would a 75 gallon tank be big enough for a full grown adult? We found a NICE deal on 75 gallons at a store nearby and we have a young pair of those as well.... lol... we have alot of animals.... at least 4 confirmed pairs of snakes, 3 confirmed lizard pairs for now, and at least 6 different pairs being set up within the year or so. We have very little that can breed right now, but that's fine with us.

I don't plan on making my living off my animals, just some profit here and there to justify the obsession of myself and my husband...

Another question: Which localities are under the BCI and which are under the BCC? I'd like to get one or two BCC's at some point, and maybe a couple other BCI localities sometime... We love all our critters... lol!

Thanks for your help!
~Krystie

As for the '05s... some people choose to "grow" their boas slower. As long as they have good muscle tone and don't look emaciated, they're probably ok. Growing slower is preferable to "power feeding". Some boas are also just naturally smaller than others... but it's hard to know without seeing the animals.

Going forward, you should just feed appropriately sized prey items (about as big around as the thickest part of the snake, every week or two).
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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

The owner of these was, I think, trying to keep them from growing too quickly b/c of the cost of food - he breeds them, but then apparently kept many of the babies from his first breeding and was only selling them all cuz a new clutch was on the way. They were quite cheap, comparitively. We got them for about the cheepest I've seen new hatchlings for online (and the ad was online, too). Checked him out, checked out what he said about them all and their histories....

But then, when they were on the way here, found out that he only feeds them every 2-3 WEEKS on ONE medium mouse. Both easily have taken a small scented rat both weeks I've fed them - they act hungry! The bulge lasts only a day and a half, and it's not all that big. I won't be keeping them on such a huge bulge long - my rats will be birthing shortly and I will have the pair on weanlings so there's only a slight bulge each week. Everyone here gets fed on Saturday either every week or every other week right now.

I've just heard that by age 2, they normally are about 4-5 feet, not just under 3'...

Thanks! I don't want to "powerfeed" - I would like them to be of an average size though.

Krystie

Immature snakes generally grow longer. In other words, they take that food energy and add it to their overall length, wihout increaseing the girth more than proportionately.
Once they start growing wider, slow it down. If kept in too small a container they will start growing wider sooner, for lack of exercise, if nothing else.
jsc