Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My wife and I have a male BRB. He's just over 2 years old and 6 feet long. A guy at a pet store said this was exceptionally large. Is that really big, or is it normal? What are the lengths of some of your larger BRBs?

sounds big for it's age?
how often do you feed em'?
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1 snow corn
1 redtail
1 baby BRB

Every 6 days or so. 3-4 adult mice. He's eaten consistently like this since we had him. He sticks his head out when its time to be fed, he's done this since young. He's not fat at all, I wish he would fill out more but he keeps growing in length.

any pics?
that sounds like a LOT of food.
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1 snow corn
1 redtail
1 baby BRB

I will take a new pic soon, but he just shed last night, so I don't want to bother him right now.

I'd switch to rats. By the time my BRB's hit six feet they were eating medium to large rats. By the time they were 3-4 feet they were on small rats. Unless your snake is extremely thin I would suspect it is ready for large rats.

Sean.
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1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat

I forgot to mention that once you switch to large rats your BRB will most likely switch to a once every two weeks feeding schedule.

Sean.
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1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat

I'm not sure if he's thin because I have nothing to compare him to. He doesn't look thin. What is the thickest circumference of some of your larger BRBs?

My two largest males tip in at 5.6 and 5.8 lbs both are around 2" diameter and both are full grown older adults.

Like said by Sean, need to switch over to rats and need to stretch out the feeding schedule. Also, I believe the occasional fast is good for them, allows them to clear out their systems. In the wild they would go for weeks even months without any food at all. Then find or ambush some prey, maybe a big honking meal, maybe not.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I have 6 foot males, one two which are larger than several of mey breeder females. It's all pre-programmed into the genes. Just like people come in all heights, snakes can vary in length.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Do you think size is mostly genetically determined? Environmental factors, such as diet, must play some role, don't you think? As a breeder, you might have insight into this question: If you had two snakes, identical genetically, kept in identical conditions, the only difference is one is fed the bare minimum and the other is fed quite substantially, would they eventually reach the same size, given enough time? I think that would be a really interesting study.

I think the two big factors are genetics and amount of food consumed during first 24 to 30 months. These snakes grow rapidly while young though they do continue growing slowly into old age. I have males that are old and small and others that are old and big. 6 feet by 2 years of age is big for a male. IMO you almost cannot over feed a BRB during the first 24 months. They very effectively convert food into linear growth when young. OTOH, my most active breeder males are the smaller thinner ones.

>>Do you think size is mostly genetically determined? Environmental factors, such as diet, must play some role, don't you think? As a breeder, you might have insight into this question: If you had two snakes, identical genetically, kept in identical conditions, the only difference is one is fed the bare minimum and the other is fed quite substantially, would they eventually reach the same size, given enough time? I think that would be a really interesting study.

I don't know about Rainbow Boa's but I know that Red Tailed Boa's can have their growth stunted by poor feeding early on. I have talked to owners of stunted red tail's and I have even kept/helped relocate one of them. That being said I think how much effect food intake has on final specimen size is dependent on the specific species.

Sean.
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1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat

I know that some research has been done that says an under-feed snake will grow quite nicely once properly fed. I believe this was done with Burmese Python's that have a great size difference as adults - so this may not be the best species to study on this topic.

I bought one BRB that was underfed for about a year - and I took time to get it on my regular feeding schedule, but it is growing nicely.
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Mike

7.13 BRB
1.2 Spotted Python
1.0 Cal. King

It would be interesting to see the information on the burm research. I suspect the effect it different(in some cases nonexistent) by species/subspecies.

The red tail that I kept while a home was being found for it was about 7 to 9 years old and had been underfed by it's first owner for the first several years, 3 to 5 if I remember correctly, so it was past the normal age of any significant growth before it was placed on a correct diet. I'd have to double check for a exact number but it had only been being fed, by that first owner, a certain number of mice every week/month. As a result he was, as a no longer growing adult, only about five feet or so in length and not much thicker then my female BRB. When I rehomed him he had been in the care of his second owner, a friend of mine, for 1 to 2 years during which time he had not grown noticably at all.

I have also talked to a couple of other individuals who had similar experiences with their first red tails back before they realized what they were really supposed to eat and how often. This is by no means conclusive but it is enough, since I know the individuals, for me to be convinced lack of sufficient food will dwarf red tails if it is continued at least for the first few years. Not to mention I've seen other red tails that after power feeding had achieved 9 or more feet and arround 4 times the weight of that male in just 2 to 3 years.

I'd still be interested in seeing any actual research out there though.

Sean.
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1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat

I have a 2 year old male that is very close to, if not, 6 foot. On the bathroom scale he was at 5 lbs about a month ago. I will be getting a better sclae and should have a much more accurate of his weight son. I believe the the year and a half I have had him he has never refused a meal. I have been meaning to look at my feeding logs to see if he has ever not eaten.
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Mike

7.13 BRB
1.2 Spotted Python
1.0 Cal. King

I also have a 6 foot two year old male that eats a medium-large rat every two weeks. He weighs 2150 grams. No doubt he's a big boy.

Oops, turns out that a shed is not representative of the total length of a snake. I think Chomper is really much closer to 5 ft, but he's hard to measure.