Reptile & Amphibian Forums

There's a discussion I've been having with a couple of folks about Hog Island boas. In their natural habitat, they're a relatively small snake, but they've been known to grow significantly longer in captivity where they are fed more than they'd get in the wild. Therefore, the dwarfism exhibited by wild specimens is caused by environmental factors and is not genetic.

So basically the discussion is whether feeding a captive Hog the same amount it would eat in the wild, and thus having it grow to the same length as in the wild, would be starving the snake because it's not growing to the length it could reach. They say yes; I say no because the wild snakes obviously are not starving if they've been successfully reproducing long enough to become as phenotypically distinct as they are.

any thoughts? I'm not about to starve any snakes but I think it's worth discussing.

FIRST OFF...I am in no way an "expert" on Hog Island boas, so this is simply an OPINION. From what I have seen, the large Hog Islands aren't animals that are simply fed adequate diets. Rather, they are animals people have decided to put on xl rats at a small size, and even rabbits to "blow them up". So, are captive sizes the result of proper diet, or improper diet leading to obese animals? Humans are not "naturally" 300lbs., but we can certainly reach these weights. If we eat enough to maintain say 180lbs. are we starving ourselves? Wild animals more than likely have there metabolism in order while in captivity, we can throw it all out of whack. Feed them more/less, keep them too hot/too cool, etc. You can make anything overweight, but that doesn't mean you're starving them if you keep them "healthy". Well, just one more opinion, good luck in your debate.

Something to consider...Some of the abnormally large 'hogg island' boas advertised, imho, do not look like pure hog island boas...but rather crosses with other boa localities. However, it's difficult from photos in ads to determine scale & saddle counts. Anyway...just something to consider.
-----
Sincerely, Jason
www.NortheastSnakes.com
NortheastSnakes@verizon.net

I think the question should actually be 'are we over feeding our snakes in captivity'. I believe the answer to that is yes. I doubt that any boa in the wild would have the opportunity to feed weekly or even every two weeks. In captivity we provide an 'ideal environment' for our captives. However, given that boas have be imported from at least the 70's, why do we not see 20 or 30 year old boas regularly. In my collection I am lucky to have a boa that is at least 40 years old. I feed her once a month and she thrives.

As far as hog islands go, in the wild their diet is very different than in captivity. In fact many island boas feed primarily on birds. These do not have the same caloric composition as a rodent. As a result the snakes will not grow to the same lengths as an equivalently rodent feed captive.

I also believe that a lot of the very large hogs in captivity are integrades between island and mainland. Sadly the small number of imports would have resulted in breeders/dealers crossing this local to feed the market.

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

Something that hasn't been mentioned --- periods of dormancy in wild insular and in wild mainland boas, and snakes in general for that matter. When you add up the annual food intake of wild -vs- captive it may seem the wild is on a starvation diet based on total intake, but periods of inactivity due to environmental fluctuations aren't considered. I cool my snakes when they behave like they're hungry and I don't want to feed them for one reason or another. Just about the only sensory stimulation captive snakes get is food. Not much else in their life, but the next meal and breeding when that becomes appropriate.
Also, captive snakes lead a very lethargic nearly immobile existance in cramped quarters for the most part. So nutritional uptake is more efficient, less energy is expended through normal wild life behaviors. There is no need or opportunity for such energy expenditure in captivity.
Something to consider, as previously mentioned is an "improved" diet. That is the debate here, whether or not diet is truely improved in captivity, but suffice it to say its obvious how much larger in frame and stature Third World peoples become within a generation or two after having moved to a developed country, developed countries with better nutrition, better healthcare, and an overall higher standard of living.
Finally, I definately agree with the proposition that many "Pure/True" Hogg Island Boas, aren't pure/true at all. It's my opinion there has been considerable dilution of the original population over the years.
jsc