I have a 4 foot male pastel that I have been feeding jumbo rats for well over a month now. He takes them without any problem. Takes him awhile to swallow and leaves a large lump but takes him a long time to digest. Like 2 weeks or more. I think he gets constipated. He doesn't "excrete" them until I take him out and let him get some exercise for awhile. I did have him on medium rats but switched him to jumbo to save room in the freezer because my other boa eats jumbos. The mediums also were like nothing to him and really left no sign. I like to keep him with that fat tail. I hate boas with skinny tails. Anyway, I'm planning on breeding him soon and just wanna make sure I'm not doing anything wrong by giving him food that is probably a class too high for right now. He should probably be on large adults (in between medium and jumbo). Any opinions are appreciated. Thanks alot. Ryan.
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
Am I feeding my boa correctly?
Replies (2)
your issues have risen from feeding him too large a prey item.
A jumbo for a 4' is about 2 sizes too large.
My FAT 5-6' females that I hope to breed even struggle with a jumbo.
To my 4' breeder males, they get nothing more than a med rat every 12-14 days.
At the rate you're going, if he lives long, he will be huge and you will have a huge male taking up space in your cage, and his food will take up more space in your freezer.
Many believe larger males become sluggish and look for 4-5 footers when breeding.
He's not digesting fast enough because of several conditions. Could be many, many things, but one is the size of the prey.
If you have to take him out to get excercise, this can be another reason. I would also think he may not have enough heat.
I would feed him one medium rat every 10-14 days - no need for any more. At this rate he should defecate normally - much sooner and without your assistance.
Feeding too large an item can result in many problems, including a shortened life span and death.
Read around, I think many will agree.. take care, Joe
-----
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 am going to have to agree with Joe. I mean think of it this way what is the hurry ? You want him to be a more manageable size for as long as possible and once he hits the 4 - 5 foot mark and is of age he can be bred anyway so its not like your rushing to get him breeding size. you want him to be agile and alert not sluggish and lazy. I do not mean to reprimand you I am just saying take your time and enjoy him.
