Reptile & Amphibian Forums

first i just want to say that if i cant keep it at a reasonable size ill stick with getting a boa. i dont want the snake to suffer from it.

if possible can i keep it under 9 feet by just feeding it jumbo rats or just reguler rats? i cant buy rabbits they are to expensive here 10$ a pound.

i would really like a burm over a boa but dont know if i could afford the feeding cost but other than that all other care requirements are not a problem.

iv kept several colubrids for 4 years so i do have quite a bit of knowledge, and iv handled lare constictors before.

No you shoudl not even try to keep an animal from growing to its full potential. You should just stick to gettign a boa. Now if you are experienced and all know every piece of knowledge out htere and know the repsonsibility o keeping htme and all, thn you might consider ordering from rodent-pro or I think it is called hair-today.com or any of the other online sources or do liek me and breed your own then you msy do that. Just make sure you do not cause the animal pain or suffering or stunted growth or anything else it should not experience in this perfect world. Whatever you get make sure you treat it as an individual and treat it right. Searcht he forums and caresheets and soak up every piece of knowledge out there before getting an animal.
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Justin

i cant order them my girlfriend wont let me keep them in the freezer.....

i can get f/t rats because my local pet store sells them indevidualy

It sounds like a female red tail boa (grows larger than the males) or some other kind of python like a carpet or a blood would be right up your alley.
I've heard of keeping snakes small via feeding them less, but there's too many ways it could go wrong.
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0.2 chickens (Falcon & Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.0 Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (coming soon)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

I'm sure, in the long run, it would be detremental(sp) to the burms health.

Quig

There is a pet shop owner in the columbus, Ohio area that recommends cutting back on the diet of animals just to keep them smaller. I don't recommend this,because it can be very unhealthful for the animal. He claims that it doesn't hurt them at all and it happens inthe wild all the time.

If you need a smaller snake, then go with a columbian boa or something ofthat sort.

Stan

Its just plain stupid to not feed an animal properly just to keep it small.
And whats up with people freaking over frozen snake food in the freezer....come on!!! people put cow,pig,fish,chicken and who knows what else in the freezer..whats the freaking difference?? its all an animal

n/p

LOL, I think the difference is snake food has hair on it. Most gals don't like hair in their freezer.

Buy yourself a small freezer,and keep your snake food there.
They are not very expensive and worth it for serious snake keeping.Tell your girlfriend no human food in the snake freezer!
J/K.
Jered

i could do that and keep my beer in there too, but im still conserned about the size because my girlfriend was just talking about kids last night. it just came out nowere....

Kids, eh? Shouldn't be too hard to keep 'em safe. As long as you provide your snake with a well designed, insanely strong cage WITH kid proofed locks that remain locked at all times. And as long as you cautiously and vigilantly supervise any interaction, I suspect that a golden retriever would pose more risk.
But there's another reason to get a critter that won't hit 9 ft or so. Once you get over 9-10 ft, (give or take) you'll need a dedicated spotter as a precaution for your own safety. And I could be wrong, but I doubt your girlfriend would be all that enthusiastic...
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0.2 chickens (Falcon & Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.0 Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (coming soon)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

your right she wouldnt be to thrilled, she likes snakes but she really dosnt even really like holding my 9 foot rat snake.
and im not to woried about the snake with kids but shes kinda wierd about, and i understand that.

so now i thing im just going to get a female hog island boa or columbian i want it to be thick bodied but not quite as long as a burm.

If you want a strong but fat short snake...check out the Blood Pythons!