Update with questions!

[A10]

Well just to give everyone an update. I am the fellow who had been given a bad source of mice for our BCI, then a regurge etc. Well the boa is now a little piggie . He eats everything we put in front of him. We were raising a few gerbils for him but he has outgrown them so we have him now on baby rabbits. There is some trouble getting appropiate size food here and we are very sceptical about unknown frozen sources now.

Any way he is growing leaps and bounds now. So our question is how long should we expect to see such a growth rate........... two years maybe?. Is that when they slow down?. As well I guess they would reach sexual maturity in that approximate time frame?

He has grown about a foot since we got him and would have posted a pic for you but he just ate a bunny so I guess it will have to wait.

Thanks again everyone your a great bunch.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[spike06]

thats great to hear hes going better!! id say he'll keep growing this way up until about 4-5' or so, then gradually slow down

[A10]

Thanks Spike06;

I was wondering though more in terms of time............... ie: 2 years or three.

[spike06]

its not so much age...just to give an example, spike, my beardie, was growing anywhere from 1/2"to1 1/4" when he was young, then once he hit about 16" he slowed to about 1/4" a week....its more about size then age.

[A10]

Ok cool, so if the boa grows real fast he may stop growing sooner than most, same holds true if he grows slow in reverse. So I guess if he grows fast that it will have no bearing on how big he may get either?

Thanks again

[spike06]

with all reptiles they slow down in growing once they hit a certain legnth..this legnth is different for different individuals..yours may continue to grow at a fast, steady pace until it hits 6', then slowly get up to 7'

[LukaTisus]

Keep in mind that feeding them enough to cause them to grow too fast can severely cut back their life-span. Though growth-rate also depends soley on the snake, they don't all grow and develop the exact same way after all.

For another example, my young Columbian boa is approx. 2.3 years old, and is just over 4.5' in length. Though his previous owner fed him nothing but mice, growth-rate also depends on diet afterall.

Considering you're feeding your boy baby rabbits, the protien content vs fat content in rabbits is much higher than most feeders, which could lead to him growing at a faster rate. Just due to the low fat content in rabbits, you should offer him a supplement in the form of a different feeder, like a rat or even a guinea-pig. Something to that extent just to keep his diet nice and moderate as any carnivore requires a certain amount of fat in their diet.

As for buying good quality, frozen feeders, look into RodentPro. I believe they're a pretty well recommended supplier down there.

[razeraze]

It is about size more than age. The first two years is the largest amount of growth even in the wild, but after sexual maturity (6+ feet) they slow down a great bit. In captivity depending on food, temperatures, caging, and humidity; sexual maturity and a 6 foot snake can be dragged out for many years.
Also some snakes stress easily and do not keep food down or eat far less than other snakes. Ideally I believe 2 years is the most exponential growth and the age of maturity.

[A10]

Thanks for the reply folks.

We feed the boa every 7 - 10 days and do not power feed or wish to for that matter. He is only 11 months old and a little over three feet in length with a good size girth. As his prey is getting bigger we do plan to feed a little less frequent. We just want a healthy snake. We were curious as to the average growth rate and sexual maturity partly to gauge how we are doing in regards to proper care and since we do not actually know yet if the boa is female or male we thought the growth rate might give us a clue to the eventual size as well, who knows maybe we will bread him/her one day lol

Thanks again folks