Reptile & Amphibian Forums

2 months ago i adopted a 7 ft RTB. I was told she was well fed, because she was really fat. It turns out she was actually pregnant and just delivered 4/9/11 26 babies. i was sooo not prepared for this. I built a holding rack and have been keeping track of heat humidity as they shed drop yolk ect but i need to feed them here soon. so what i need to know is what is best to start them on. mouse hoppers or rat pups?

You will get plenty of different opinions on this, but I would
start them on mouse FUZZIES.

After you are sure that they are all eating and a couple of
feedings have passed then I'd give them hoppers and then I'd
move them up to rat PINKIES.

They won't be big enough to eat rat pups for a number of months.

I've heard from plenty of people that don't like to feed neonates
baby rats but I start them on rats as soon as I feel they can
handle them.

Another thing to take into account is the size of the rat pinkies
and pups. Some places sell them and they are tiny, some have big
ones. You want to be very careful not to use too large a prey
item. You don't want to have to deal with regurges.

It is far better to feed them food items on the small side as opposed to large, especially with baby boas. I would start them out on fuzzy mice. Best of luck with them. Bill
-----
...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

I was told at a reptile show, by a breeder, that boas have an intolerance to rat milk and should not be fed rats who would have been nursing. It was said to cause fat deposits that develop later in age- has anyone else heard anything like this? thanks- Rob

as fast as rodent metabolism is and the time it takes from when a rodent breeder delivers they're pinkys to you till when you actually feed your boa 4-6 hours im estimating, i seriously doubt that anything could be left in the animals digestive tract that hasnt been already digested, urinated, etc. Even if i thought this was a true statement, which i dont, logistically doesnt add up. therefore feed your animal the pinky rats and stop listening to crazy non-sense. im sure boas ambush rodents nests in the wild all the time and over the millions of years they've been on earth, they've figured out how to deal with this "issue."

n/p