My red tail......Another feeding question lol

[mdolan7653]

Ok very sorry im probably getting very annoying now but 1 more question...Ok my columbian boa at 3' with a 1 1/4" at widest part. IM feeding her small rats which are about 1 1/2" at widest part once a week.....its been 5 days sionce last feeding and its copmplely gone no bumb shes all skinny now....There was a bumb for the 1st 2 days but does this mean I should switch her to more???? Also this is my guideline now...at 1.75 inch girth she goes to mediums every 10 days...at 2.25 larges every 10 day.....2.5 jumbo every 10 days...and at 3 inches she goes to rabbits every 2 weeks 1/8 of her body weight every 2 weeks til she reaches 8 foot then she drops 1 1/0 of body weight every 2 weeks at 8 feet is this good?
thanks alot
Mike

[louise]

this is what i go by
till a year old i feed once a week, the size of thier girth
over a year i feed every 12-14 days, the size of thier girth
a little over girth is okay.

now my BCC i feed the same schedule but i always feed her under girth, they are prone to regurg.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

[Brandon28]

You've got the right idea, but there's no need to schedule it the way you are (wrong method for the right reason). Just go with prey the size of their girth every 12-14 days and you're good to go. Like Louise said, after 7ft. or so, every 3 weeks will be fine.

[louise]

also i was feeding chance rabbits every 2 weeks. she got over weight. i would switch between rabbits and rats. one feeding rats and the next feeding rabbits. that is when the snake is big enough to eat rabbits.

[Brandon28]

Don't listen to her....try to feed your 3-footer a rabbit...and take pictures!

[Slithers]

listen to louises first post.

keep things simple. you are planning way too far ahead. snakes grow at different rates, but no matter how big your snake is...after about a year you should cut back to every 2 weeks because the metabolism slows down.

not all medium rats are the exact same width, not all large rats are exactly the same either...its just a guideline. just feed the snake girth size rodents (unless its bcc, feed under girth).

You can GUESS what you will be feeding at what point in time, but it really serves no purpose... Ive never seen someone break it down into inches etc, because it does not have to be an exact science. normally i just take out a rat and say to myself "thats about right"

that bump is supposed to go away after a couple days. you do not want a lump in your snake 5-7 days after a feeding. that would mean its not digesting the food. the fact that the lump went away means the food has been digested. It does NOT mean the snake is hungry though. They need to rebuild their ability to digest the next meal. Do not feed it simply because the lump is gone.

and boas dont really have any need to eat rabbits...

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.